The Marketer Quarterly

THE MARKETER QUARTERLY WINTER 2015 38 | MQ

HOW GMAIL’S NEW INBOX APP WILL
AFFECT MARKETERS
BY MURRAY NEWLANDS

IN 2014, GOOGLE’S GMAIL SERVICE un- derwent an extreme overhaul. Among the changes was a revamp of how its inbox organizes email, introducing five new tabs: social, primary, forums, updates, and promotions. These categories had the goal of helping individuals read emails of the same kind all at one time, as well as simplifying the process of tracking mail.

Disrupted digital marketers were initially panicked. At first glance, it seemed Google’s sort algorithm for social and promotional emails soon would soon be filing all marketing messages as spam within the reader’s eyes, never to be seen again.

Google has since made more changes with another application, Inbox, and marketers wonder how Inbox will impact strategies for email marketing. Anyone involved with Search Engine Optimization or online marketing ought to be aware of Google’s Inbox, and its implications.

UNDERSTANDING GOOGLE’S INBOX

Generally, the Inbox application was devel-
oped to “fix” emails. The interface appears
sleeker and might make for an experience that
is more intuitive while sifting through emails.
Basically, it will do the heavy lifting in which
Google Mail (Gmail) left off. As Gmail always
was compatible with mobile platforms, Google’s
Inbox will take the following step and create a
system in which mail will be optimized for use
on smartphones. Inbox essentially develops a
network for contacts. Organizing emails more
efficiently, a user may access data and easily
search associated subjects.

WHAT DOES GOOGLE’S INBOX MEAN FOR DIGITAL MARKETERS?

What most digital marketers are curious about includes the Bundle feature which Inbox provides. Gmail’s interface essentially sorts emails within 5 tabbed categories. It’s the limitation of its function.

With user-generated Bundles, the idea is taken a step further. Moving an email to a new bundle is easy, as is developing a new one to store certain kinds of messages. Gmail’s Categories are occasionally frustrating, as, at times, the system