Google’s email service, Gmail, just got a major upgrade! After more than a decade of its inception, and with over 1.5 billion active users worldwide, the webmail service has made big news with the launch of interactive, dynamic emails. Light-years ahead of the static page it has featured all through its lifespan, the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for email is a revolution in email marketing.
Google announced that Gmail has resoundingly joined the 21st century as it has started using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology, leading to some startlingly new functionality for marketers to smartly take advantage of. Although the Gmail user interface has changed tons of times, there was never anything as big as the static email window transforming into an interactive one. Even though email was always a communication platform, the need to click on something if you wanted to interact with a brand’s webpage was a given.
Gif indicating Gmail’s new functionality for a GDrive update email
Starting Mar 26, 2019, Google has made the new and improved dynamic emails available to a few brands. Dynamic emails let users interact with brands without ever leaving the inbox or clicking on a link. Customers can interact with brands, RSVP, comment, fill out questionnaires, surveys, book tickets, and so on, without ever having to leave the e-mail page.
Pinterest, Booking.com and redBus are some of the premier brands that are at the forefront of this innovation.
Gif indicating Gmail’s new functionality in a Pinterest newsletter
The official announcement said:
Your emails can stay up to date so you’re always seeing the freshest information, like the latest comment threads and recommended jobs…Instead of receiving individual email notifications when someone mentions you in a comment, now, you’ll see an up-to-date thread in Gmail where you can easily reply or resolve the comment, right from within the message.
What This Means for Marketers
Marketers can now reach customers right through Gmail without the stress of wondering what the number of opens and site visits are going to look like. You can now add actionable goals in the body of newsletters and jump straight to conversions. This will reduce the need for customers to click on a link and wait for the page to load, which will also save you from customers dropping off.
A great benefit of this update is that consumers will have refreshed feeds in the same message without having their inboxes populated with new emails for updates to an existing conversation. Another is the incredible customer experience you can enable through this added functionality. You can ask your customers what they want and what they think, let them voice their opinions about your products and services, all through email!
Here are some tips to implement AMP for email as part of your marketing strategy:
1. Google has provided a resource to help you get started and build your first dynamic email.
2. Begin with an actionable goal that could be as simple as showcasing a catalog or conducting a survey. A basic but engaging first go will keep you in the minds of your customers as an innovative brand.
3. Mobile support is coming soon, so you can plan ahead but get hands-on with the desktop version in the testing phase.
Read Also:
What is Email Marketing? Definition, Tips, Strategies, Best Practices, Benefits and Examples
Gmail’s update to its static message page seems like an exciting new venture. Users are definitely eager to experience the changes to their inbox messages and try out interacting with the brands that decide to make it through while the functionality is still new and shiny.
Do you think email marketing is going to be revolutionized with Gmail’s update? Tell us on Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook.
