A couple of months ago, Gmail launched a brand new tabbing system for
inboxes, sending users and marketers into a veritable frenzy. The new
tabs aim to organize your inbox into three core sections: Inbox, Social,
and Promotions.
Your default inbox will mostly contain personal or business-related
emails that are likely from people you know directly. Social contains
blasts from social networks, like LinkedIn connection requests and
Facebook mentions, as well as news from any social tools you subscribe
to. Promotions is pretty
self-explanatory – this ought to contain
consumer-focused newsletters, discounts, and related marketing
materials.
It’s obvious why marketers would specifically be worried – will their
meticulously crafted newsletters be sent into utter obscurity, now that
users must click one more section to read them?
The answer is simple: there’s nothing to panic about. If you already
create quality content that your audience wants to read, they will still
get your blasts. If you’ve been sending meaningless drivel, however,
you’ll still be ignored or marked as spam.
See? The sky isn’t falling. Here’s proof.
Users are Still in Charge
The new tabs are simply a way to keep our oft-cluttered inboxes much
more organized. Some, however, are erroneously touting that Google is
getting bossy.
Take the team of customer support experts HelpScout. In
a recent article about the new tabs, they had this to say:
“The premise behind these changes is sound, but there’s a major
concern to be addressed: Google is now organizing your inbox for you,
and it can be argued that they are filtering messages without your
consent.”
Without my consent? That’s a bit dramatic. The truth is, Gmail users
still have full control over their inboxes. Google now attempts to
organize things into folders, but we all have a very easy way to
override the filtering. Nothing is etched in stone.
See an email in your Promotions tab that you feel belongs in your
default inbox? Simply drag it from promotions onto the Inbox tab, and
wahlah, it’s official. At that time, Gmail will ask if you’d like to
move all emails from that sender into your inbox – if you click yes,
it’s a done deal (until, of course, you move it elsewhere.)
Google hasn’t become the email police. They just decided to respond
to the bazillions of users complaining inboxes were too crammed and
messy.
Now, the real question is, are the new tabs preventing folks from reading newsletters? Let’s investigate.
How the Tabs Affect Online Marketers
We will first tackle this from a user perspective. The verdict’s
still out about whether or not this will decrease readership of
marketing-centric emails, but regarding those that are actually
appreciated by consumers, they will still get read.
The Promotions and Social tabs illuminate nicely when new email lands
in either one, and it’s incredibly simple to click over and see what’s
landed. If you, as a marketer or business owner, have worked hard
crafting worthwhile emails that users have voraciously consumed in the
past, expect that to continue now. Organization is not a barrier to
entry.
Most people already organized their email consumption; meaning that
when one has free time, one dives into the promotional type emails, and
responds accordingly. Nothing dramatic will change with the new tabs,
except that perhaps you can’t get away with sending bad content anymore.
Those days have been numbered for some time anyway.
The concerning part of all of this, however, lies in the additional way Google is using the Promotions tab. They are now
sending unsolicited advertisements
through this tab, thinly veiled as promotional emails. It’s easy enough
to spot them – they have an “ad” label – but it still smacks of a
sneaky way to shove more ads at us. Still, that’s how they make money –
and since they’re only doing it in the promotions area, it’s not so
heinous.
Don’t Believe the Negative Hype
Since the tabs were released, the internet has been teeming with
angry marketers making extremely dramatic claims. Many quote a recent
MailChimp survey
that tracked early statistics on newsletters, and they did show a
slight decrease in readership. But please don’t jump to conclusions like
the masses, as this survey did not capture a huge majority of Gmail
users that just recently enabled tabs. In other words, it was a
premature survey with limited reach. Nothing to bet the farm on.
So what should you do? First, don’t panic. There’s no data supporting
the negativity and fears, so hang in there. Next, follow the steps
below to ensure you’re creating content your users want.
How to Weather the Gmail Tab Storm
Be proactive in your approach now that the tabs have launched; let
them motivate you to create better marketing materials. Here are some
top tips:
- In your next communication (and all future blasts), ask your users
to move your content to their primary inbox, and link to easy
instructions that tells them how (either through the drag/drop process
or reverting back to the Classic view.)
- Study exactly how Gmail is filtering all communications, and take
steps to prevent your other sends from landing outside the primary tab.
- Concentrate your communications on valuable information in your
niche or industry, and not so heavily on your own company promotions. In
other words, create content people actually want to read, and you
seriously have nothing to worry about.
Why Marketers Should Embrace the Tabs
There is a big upside to these new tabs that few are discussing.
These changes may even increase the readership of newsletters overall.
Think that’s crazy talk?
Consider it this way – in the old model, all emails were crammed into
a single view, with little rhyme or reason. That means your company
newsletter had to compete with an email from mom, from various critical
business partners, or from little Tommy who just learned to write. You
aren’t going to win that battle for attention.
But you may very well earn the click-through when you’re sitting next
to other, less interesting promotional sends. If a user clicks the
Promotions tab, they know exactly what to expect – you have their
attention. It is therefore up to you to not lose it in those critical
moments.
See, it is possible that Gmail’s new system is a win-win. I challenge
you to view this as a glass half-full scenario and see what the data
tells us in the near future!
Read the full article here: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/08/12/google-launches-new-gmail-tabs-the-fallout-report/
For more information or advice on any of the topics raised in this article or with more specific IT Support questions why not contact the experts at Click Networks today with your query. Visit our website for all contact information and support here:
http://www.clicknetworks.co.uk
