At Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference in June, the company revealed some of the biggest announcements it has delivered in years. They also shed light on some of the changes expected with the next iteration of the brand’s mobile operating system – iOS 15. These announcements, centered around user privacy and security, have caused quite a commotion amongst marketers and advertising agencies who rely on email marketing strategies to drive ROI.

As of September 20, 2021, iOS 15 is now available on all compatible Apple devices. So, what exactly do these updates entail – and should you be worried about them? We’ll cover all of these topics and more in this week’s blog.

iOS 15: What’s New?

Apple has rolled out three main features that email marketers are paying close attention to:

Mail Privacy Protection

Privacy protection removes marketers ability to track open rates. With the new feature, mail will load images as well as all script and code data when the email is received, rather than when it’s actually opened by the user. This will create the impression of an email open, when the action may not have occurred.

Private Relay

Apple Mail now allows users to hide their IP address while browsing the web. Without an IP, marketers will be unable to send geographically-targeted emails to leads.

Hide My Email

Users wil be able to create a temporary email address when interacting with websites online. Businesses will still be able to send promotional emails to leads, but won’t be able to see their real email address.

The Impact on Marketers

There’s no doubt that these changes will have a significant impact on email marketing strategies. Most notably, inflated rates will diminish the reliability of email data. Brands will need to learn to move away from open rate statistics, as they are now highly inaccurate. However, advertisers can still use data such as signups, purchase data, subscriber lifetime value, and more to inform their strategy. Communicating urgency to leads will also improve the most important metric – conversions.

How Email Marketers Can Navigate Apple’s Open Privacy Changes

Focus on Customer Retention

With opening rates trending towards obsoletion, it becomes harder for marketers to know when they’ve made an impression on new leads. Brands must adapt by focusing on keeping customers retained with enticing offers and a consistently great user experience. If a company would like private information from a customer, they’re going to have to provide tremendous value to that individual.

Send More Emails

It’s never good to bombard customers with emails. However, sending more personalized email could create better relationships with your customer base. Consider using survey data, click behavior, and other information to segment your audience and ensure you’re communicating messages that they resonate with.

Remember, This Change Won’t Impact Everybody

Apple mobile devices only take up between 30%-50% of market share globally. There are still email providers such as Outlook, Yahoo, and Google who haven’t announced similar privacy measures, meaning data such as open rates and IP addresses are still valid. However, it is still a good idea to adapt to Apple’s privacy changes, as other firms could follow suit at any moment.

Follow Vonazon for Updates

The marketing landscape is everchanging. Keeping up with updates on your own can be time consuming if you don’t know where to look. At Vonazon, we live and breathe marketing. Our team stays up to date with all developments in the space to drive profitable strategies for clients. We also share them with readers like you in our blog. Be sure to bookmark or save this page to stay current with all marketing updates.

We’re Here for You

Apple’s announcement has placed obstacles in the face of many email marketers and advertising agencies. However, it is not the only challenge impacting digital marketers this year — and it likely won’t be the last. Companies must continuously update their strategy in order to keep up with the changes being presented to the industry regularly.

All of this may seem overwhelming – but it doesn’t have to be. Vonazon is your trusted partner for email marketing and all other types of inbound marketing strategies. Our team of experts have delivered profitable results to clients for years and understand what it takes to maximize ROI. Schedule a free consultation with Vonazon today to learn more.