Apple’s iOS 15 update marks a unique step in privacy development while at the same time presenting digital marketers with new hurdles to cross. Senders will now know less about the recipient and their experience, affecting reporting and email marketing efforts.
In this post, we’ll dive into the details of this update and highlight the areas where marketing teams can still run a successful marketing campaign despite the changes.
What Do the iOS 15 Privacy Updates Change for Users?
There are two changes specific to user privacy in the iOS 15 update. The first is that Mail Privacy Protection “stops senders from learning whether an email has been opened, and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location or use it to build a profile on them.”
The second iOS privacy change is the addition of a feature called Hide My Email, which lets users create unique, random email addresses to use with apps, websites, and other digital platforms to keep the user’s email private. This feature is built right into the Apple and iCloud+ Sign In.
How the Changes Impact Reporting
When IP locations and accurate email addresses are hidden from view, digital marketers will have a tougher time implementing campaigns and reporting accurately. This is because marketers rely on factors like timing (affected by IP location) and user experience (affected by hidden email).
Open Emails & Engaging Content
Furthermore, when email senders (your marketing team) are unable to tell whether an email has been opened (a feature now blocked via Mail Privacy Protection update), they will find it more difficult to know the degree to which the email content is successful.
To give some context here, let’s say you have two different subject lines for an email campaign. These different subject lines share the same email content and you want to test which subject line is more interesting to the Apple user – i.e., which subject line will lead the user to read your email.
With the iOS 15 update, you’ll no longer have the option of seeing if the Apple user opened their email. So, refining subject lines for engagement becomes more challenging. If you know one subject line works over another, you’re going to want to use that going forward. Right?
Why Does This Matter for B2B Companies?
Businesses across every industry rely on digital marketing for new leads. But B2B entities like manufacturers, distributors, and IT companies especially rely on efforts like email marketing. After all, B2B operations are often built on networking with professionals whose very communicative channels exist by proxy.
See, a B2C company can mass distribute emails and paid marketing efforts using a broad approach – thus less impacted by a privacy change like this. But B2B marketing is a naturally niche endeavor and requires a bit more finesse to be successful.
This finesse is better achieved when digital marketing can be tailored toward the right audiences. Without accurate reporting, audience outreach may prove difficult. Thus, B2B stakeholders will need to adjust their marketing approach–particularly email marketing–to ensure that they aren’t negatively impacted by the iOS 15 update.
Should You Continue Email Marketing in Light of iOS 15?
Yes. The amount of Apple users with these new features will vary from campaign to campaign. And there are still plenty of users who aren’t under the new iOS update – Windows and Android users, for example.
To combat this change, consider a change in philosophy as it relates to your email marketing. Instead of relying solely on reporting that depends heavily on clicks and open rates, bring in some content expertise or marketers who already know what works in your industry. A simple shift of focus toward metrics you can trust may be all you need.
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