Make sure you’re ready or you may experience a drop in engagement rates…
In the never ending race for contact security, Google and Yahoo are upgrading their email authentication requirements which enables organizations to implement BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification).
BIMI gives your contacts a visual cue your emails are authentic instead of malicious.
Read our last blog post on Email Authentication to learn about SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Historically an organization’s email authentication configuration has been hidden from public view and accessible only in DMARC reporting. But now it’s becoming another influential open rate variable where contacts will not only evaluate an email based on the subject line or sender name, but also on whether it seems like the email is safe to open.
What is BIMI?
BIMI shows your logo next to your emails in inboxes as a way to visually confirm that the email is really from your organization and not a scam. BIMI is the email equivalent of the checkmark on social media influencer profiles, visually establishing an account as the real account of an influencer instead of a knockoff.
Why does BIMI matter?
Think of BIMI as the reward for successfully configuring SPF, DKIM and DMARC. BIMI proves to your contacts that you’ve done the leg work to protect them (and your own organization) from bad actors who would impersonate your brand for malicious purposes.
The benefits of BIMI goes beyond just security. BIMI will improve your contacts’ trust and confidence in your email communication which could ultimately improve engagement rates.
Once you’re done with your holiday sending, use the downtime to start setting up your email authentication configuration or get across the finish line if you’ve already started. February is fast approaching and many organizations will encounter a rude awakening when they realize their competitors are fully authenticated but they aren’t.
BIMI is your aspirational goal, but don’t rush the DMARC process because you want to ensure any genuine communication from your organization isn’t being flagged as malicious.
Steps to Configure BIMI
Complete your Email Authentication configuration
Analyze your DMARC reports over several months to ensure genuine email isn’t being flagged as malicious.
Create your company logo as an .svg file and host online.
Obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). This is optional but strongly recommended to get the full benefit of BIMI. This has the added benefit of a checkmark next to your BIMI logo in Gmail.
Add a BIMI TXT record to your domain.
Carefully monitor your emails and how they’re displayed with different Email Service Providers.
Learn more about meeting BIMI requirements with Google and Yahoo.
Motiva is here to help configure your Email Authentication and BIMI. Schedule an introductory call to learn more by booking a demo.
