The Apple Watch may be the hottest gadget to hit the world stage in a long time, but many want to know how this device is going to impact the world of inbound marketing. Based on the positive consumer response to Apple Watch so far, I believe that marketers who understand how to effectively promote with the Apple Watch and fully exploit its features will have a significant advantage. In order to fully understand inbound marketing’s relationship with the Apple Watch, here are 6 big changes I think the Apple Watch will bring.
Apple Watch Will Eat Into Mobile Inbound Marketing
In previous years, mobile phone usage exploded and became the primary way many people interacted with e-mail and the broader web. However, Apple is predicted to ship tens of millions of Apple Watch units over the next few years, indicating just how large the market for this product will become.
That’s why wearables are expected to increasingly cut into the mobile market. After all, emails that can be read with a simple flick of the wrist offer a more immediate and unobtrusive response than mobile phones. This means marketers will have the challenge of crafting inbound content that appeals to both wearable tech users and smart phone devotees going into the future.
Useful Notifications Will Be Key
With Apple Watch, a new e-mail, app update, or information on a new deal is the type of information that can prompt a notification, delivering a gentle buzzing to a user’s wrist. Unlike a mobile phone that has notifications that won’t necessarily bother a user, it’s predicted that Apple Watch users will tailor their watches to accept only the notifications they truly want.
If an Apple Watch devotee happens to find your e-mails or app messages annoying or uninformative, they will likely filter you out. As a result, I believe inbound marketers are going to want to deliver content that quickly gets to the point.
Less Content Equals More With E-Mail
Given the smaller screen featured on wearable tech, I predict that successful marketers will be the ones that find ways to optimize email marketing content and other inbound messages for the Apple Watch. That means succinct messages, condensed information, and easy to digest bullet points will be key. Marketers will unfortunately have to struggle with ways to grab attention without extensive use of images in their email messages, as Apple Watch displays only a plain text version of your HTML email marketing campaigns.
Local SEO Through Bing Will Grow In Importance
I see local SEO as an important element of any inbound marketing campaign. Users who are looking for a cafe, restaurant, product deal, or information on a local company are expected to use Siri for their searches on Apple Watch. After all, speaking into the Apple Watch is far easier than typing in a search. That’s why it is important to keep track of your local SEO search rankings on Bing Search instead of just Google, as Siri utilizes Bing.
Geofencing Will Be A Great Feature For Inbound Marketers
The key to inbound marketing with the Apple Watch will be to provide solid content as well as content that is quickly actionable. Geofencing may offer at least a partial solution. Apple Watch incorporates a “haptic feedback” feature, which delivers tiny directional buzzes to guide Apple Watch users to a particular location through GPS. You can market directly to Apple Watch users with geofencing features when they walk near your store, restaurant, or business, delivering them product information and deals, and even guiding them directly into your store through this haptic feedback feature.
Social Media Will Be Key For Apple Watch
Social media is an important way for inbound marketers to advertise events, special sales, and new products. It is also a great way build a community around their businesses. While social media is already important, I believe the Apple Watch will make users even more invested in services like Facebook and Pinterest now that they'll be able to explore their network of friends and family right on their wrist.
I expect Twitter to be especially important for inbound marketers because of its ability to deliver a short but succinct message that can draw Apple Watch users in further. Social media content that is easy to digest on the Apple Watch will ultimately be key, such as short status updates, photos, and quick blurbs instead of long-from articles or videos.
Sources:
http://marketingland.com/5-ways-apple-watch-changes-marketing-99544
http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-watch-15-million-to-ship-in-2015-2015-4?r=US
https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/post/4523/6-predictions-as-to-how-the-apple-watch-will-impact-email-marketers
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/WatchHumanInterfaceGuidelines/Notifications.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/09/22/how-the-apple-watch-could-change-the-world-of-local-seo/
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