Apple iOS 8: What it Means for Mobile Marketers
June 17, 2014
A couple of weeks after its initial announcement and beta release to app developers, Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 8, continues to grab much market attention. This upgrade is major and comes with several new features and functionality. Already considered to be the next big thing, the latest OS version benefits app developers, industries and mobile app marketers as well. In this post, we analyze what exactly the latest OS version implies for mobile marketers and how they can take full advantage of the advanced features offered by it.
Marketers can use the new features of iOS 8 to fully leverage their ASO or App Store Optimization efforts. The new upgrade helps in 2 main ways, namely, app discovery and visitor conversion.
Improved Search
- The App Store adds in a new “Explore” tab, which enables users to easily explore their way through the several categories and sub-categories of apps in the marketplace. This is presented as a continuous scrolling interface, so as to further smoothen the entire user experience.
- Trending Searches help users discover apps which are the most popular at that particular time – it also includes related searches, so as to help them find similar apps.
- Spotlight Searches are now capable of returning results from the App Store itself and are no more merely based on the apps installed on the user’s device.
User Conversion
- App developers and marketers can now bundle multiple apps together and offer them at a discounted price, so as to encourage users to make more purchases, thereby potentially increasing their own sales.
- The Video Clips feature helps developers add in short videos, telling their audience what exactly their apps are all about.
- Developers can invite users to beta test their apps via the TestFlight service. While this works to engage users and encourage them to download the app, it also enables developers to access information about their apps, right from within the service.
- iOS 8: How it is Beneficial for Enterprise
How iOS 8 could Hamper Marketers
A hidden feature of Apple’s latest mobile OS can make the going tougher for mobile marketers, as they will not be able to track phones with ease. When phones perform a scan for available Wi-Fi networks, they transmit a MAC (Media Access Control) address, which is unique to each phone. Tracking this unique ID can enable marketers find out the phone’s make, its location and its user’s behavior while in that particular area or region. This in turn helps companies send tailored mobile marketing campaigns to users, while they visit that area.
iOS 8 puts a stop to this, as it automatically randomizes a phone’s MAC address each time it searches for networks. This means that marketers would no longer be able to track user behavior via his or her phone’s activity.
Apple has been actively promoting iBeacon, its trademark proximity system, which is powered by Bluetooth technology. The company is presently running this system on its own stores as well as at Starbucks locations. It is possible that the company finally aims at integrating iBeacons within all its services.
This move on the part of Apple is undoubtedly beneficial for users, as its helps keep their phone’s data private. However, it will certainly curtail mobile marketers, thereby potentially lessening their profits to a certain extent.
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