Coping with Apple’s iOS 15 Update

Apple’s newest iOS upgrade has marketers pulling their hair out once again. Shortly after the devastation of the 14.5 iOS update that nearly killed retargeting as a viable marketing tactic, we are now seeing the next phase of Apple’s commitment to user privacy. This short post will dig into what iOS 15 means (as I understand it) and what you can do about it.

What is iOS 15 and what’s the “big change”?

Apple’s iOS 15 update in regards to what it means for marketers is going to mean big changes specifically in the reporting of email marketing metrics.

Currently, if you are deploying email marketing, you can track open rates and make intelligent decisions based on what % of opens your email gets.

The newest iteration of Apple’s iOS updates will essentially skew those numbers beyond the point that they’ll be usable.

What’s the big deal?

Essentially, this update will essentially “count” each email delivery as an opened email. This of course will skew performance overall because marketers will essentially be partially blind if a number of email subscribers are using apple devices (which is a significant part of the market).

What should you do to combat the iOS 15 update?

The first step? Accept it.

Personally, I’m jumping for joy over this update because it’s another “hit” to the tricks that make up what disguises itself as marketing today.

Am I happy we’ll be losing critical decision making data? Of course not!

But, I am happy about the fact that lazy marketers will be forced to deploy effective strategy instead of cheap tricks like tricking people into opening emails.

What should the focus now be?

Looking at things as “gloom and doom” as possible means that we can assume the end of retargeting and the end of accurate data for email marketing.

(Of course… I know it’s not that bad.)

But what you should be focused on now is frankly getting back to the basics.

First… Focus on providing value instead of tricking someone into opening an email. This is actually probably the perfect timing for this. More and more people are admitting to being annoyed about their email boxes being inundated with spam, marketing, and other stuff that they don’t want to see. Instead of shooting for an “x% open rate” deliver something valuable!

Second… Focus on the front end. Similar to the old school tactics like TV, Radio, and etc… It’s critical now to nail down your messaging. Marketers have been lucky lately where a sale can be won in the retargeting. Now, it may be worth considering widening your Top of Funnel and really nailing your messaging when people see you there.

Third… It’s more important than ever to be found. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a mention of using SEO as a strategy to combat these changes. 🙂

It’s important to make sure you are found when people are looking for the products you sell. This does not just mean being there for “the sale”, it means the top of the funnel as well. Like in the other points mentioned above, it’s important to make that great first impression.

Once you have the visitor, work to make sure you create the best experience possible.

In short… treat your customers like people & with respect.