Apple Passbook – What is it?  Why do I care?

Editor note – it’s now called Apple Wallet.

If you’re doing any mobile marketing whatsoever, it behooves you to figure out:

• what Apple Passbook (and Google Wallet) is
• how it works
• what the advantages are to you if you use it
• how to successfully use it.

Why would I be doing mobile marketing, you might be asking yourself…  I suppose.  I was listening to a webinar that Michael Hyatt was participating in this morning, and it quite struck me when he made the following statement –

“If you don’t exist on the web, you flat don’t exist.”

Well, you know what?  That’s how I feel, but about mobile more than the web these days.  And apparently, so does Google.  More than 50% of searches via Google are done on mobile phones.  People LOVE their mobile phones.  Way more than the love their desktops, their iPads, their TVs, or their tree killing books(I am a HUGE fan of paper books, but still).

Whether you’re a realtor or a retailer, selling sandwiches out of a food truck, or paying top dollar for social media ads to drive lead gen traffic into your funnel, there is not a place that mobile doesn’t touch your business, and to some degree (which increases every day) determine your success with existing customers and prospects alike.

Here’s a quick video that gives you the barebones detail of how Apple Passbook works – there’s more about the WHY YOU CARE part below:

 

So, you can see, or did see, if you watched the video – that Passbook is a nifty little app, brought to you by Apple, that exists on every iPhone that’s being used on the planet pretty much.

iPhone users cannot uninstall Passbook.  Apple does not allow that.  They can delete your install if they wish, but studies show that 95% of them won’t delete it.

That means that when you update the pass, the user gets a second (third, fourth, you get the idea) chance to connect with you directly, engage with the installed pass and use the live links on the back to view your website, address on Maps, dial you directly via the Phone Dialer, and more.

Want to demo a real, live mobile wallet campaign pass?  

If you’re on an iPhone reading this, you’ll get the most bang for your buck, but you can still get a decent idea of the structure and you can email yourself a demo pass to your phone if you like — https://passs.co/Q4GNWpOeiLU

 

Apple Passbook installs are one of the modern miracles of marketing.  

They allow the user to see what you have going on via the live links on the back.  They enable constant updates and communication between you and your prospects or customer base.  Tell your story, let people know what’s going on with your business and how you can show them tangible benefits that others who don’t have it will not receive.

Your competitors will be using mobile wallet marketing before you know it.