Major tech companies like Google and Apple are famous for composing updates to their system that leave the marketers scuffling to modify their marketing and advertising strategies. Earlier this year, on June 7, Apple broadcasted its new update for iPads and iPhones, iOS 15.

Like always, Apple introduced updates that were consumer-centric; assuring new features that improved FaceTime, refurbished design of the Weather app, and changes in the user interface for easier navigation of notifications. The new update features enhanced Safari privacy protection. It involves intelligent Tracking prevention that stops trackers from profiling you using your IP address. Safari will impulsively restore sites known to assist HTTPS from insecure HTTP.

Nevertheless, this update has also brought some changes, particularly regarding privacy changes, that marketers must know. This update had forced the marketers to build substitute strategies to find potential customers and hold the existing ones. This version of iOS has given the Apple product owners the power to restrict or block data-sharing.

How the iOS 15 update has impacted email marketers?

Ever since iOS 15 has been announced earlier this year, it has been a talking point for all marketers. Many marketers are still reeling from the iOS 14 feature that prevents apps from tracking and data-sharing. Marketers are majorly affected by these features in the new update:

Mail Privacy Protection

With this feature, the email service provider will not be able to determine whether the email was opened by the recipient or not, their geographic location at the time of opening the email, and if the email was opened on desktop or mobile.

Hide Email

iCloud+ subscribers can enjoy the privilege of creating a one-time use email address, to keep their personal or work email address private. These single-use addresses will be forwarded to the personal email addresses and can be enabled or disabled at their preference.

After everything is said and done, marketers remark that this new update hampers the advertisers’ ability to estimate success over email marketing campaigns. iOS 15 is not certainly the apocalypse, the marketers state. The new feature is simply the first one in the series of blocking data tracking for third-party apps, shoving advertisers to count more heavily on first-party data.

What should email marketers and advertisers expect?

With the new changes in the privacy protection of consumers, marketers are surely going to have a hard time. But that does not mean that advertising and marketing techniques have come to an end. There are still a variety of methods marketers can use to gather data from consumers. Some of the ways are:

Personalized messaging

With restrictions on tracking users’ surfing patterns and data sharing, marketers need to double down their efforts and brainstorm ideas to grab consumers’ attention. One strategy to grab their attention is the old-school way - send personalized messages.

Sending emails is free of cost but marketers need to learn about their audience to be able to send messages at the appropriate hour and grab their attention. To entice consumers in sharing their personal information, marketers will have to offer them something in return. Consumer preference and purchase intent can be tracked by asking your audience to take part in a survey and stand a chance to win exciting rewards.

Move beyond IP address

Apple stopped all the third-party cookies from its browser last year. Later Google also announced to bring a similar update in Chrome, but recently announced that the launch of this feature has been postponed to 2023.

With two years in hand before Google also blocks third-party cookies, marketers should develop substitute ways of cookie tracking. It is time to ditch the old technology & methods and start getting creative and brainstorming advertising agendas like humans.

Leverage Zero Party Data

Zero-party data is described as information consumers want to give to marketers and expect them to use the information and represent an eccentric opportunity for significant personalization. Instead of piling up emails with information the consumer doesn’t want, show them that you are on their side and you respect their privacy and the data they have shared.

For emails, marketers can give the consumers the authority of deciding what kind of email they wish to receive, whether informational or promotional or strictly related to their account.

Though the world is evolving in a manner that gives rise to some challenges for both digital and email marketers, it doesn’t mean that advertisers cannot continue to fabricate new strategies to reach audiences and prospects wherever they are.

Takeaways from iOS 15

The key takeaways from this article and iOS 15 are:

Marketing is not constant

Marketing has revamped itself more than anyone or anything. You have managed to work with changes in Facebook, Google, and Apple earlier, you will get through this also. The marketers who adapt to changes are the best ones - and this adaptability is the reason why they are still in business.

Email remains the King

No matter how many changes are made, email marketing will always remain the King. There isn’t any better way to construct an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand. When the consumer shares their email address with you, they are permitting you to share your brand story with them.

The most influential tactics are still in inviolate

Open rates were one of the most reliable ways to monitor your email marketing campaigns’ success. But with new updates, it is no longer a trustworthy tool. However, the most analytical methods like click-through rates, onsite behavior, and purchase patterns still prevail.