Google began to roll out its Gmail update late last month, complete with new features and a subtle new look. With a focus on user safety and productivity, according to Gmail’s lead product manager Jacob Bank, these new updates include email snoozing, a side panel for access to your calendar and a “confidential mode.” But how will these changes affect your email marketing strategy?I sat down with our Director of Email Marketing, Marissa Jimenez, to see what new features intrigue her the most. Check out her top choices and how she thinks they’ll affect the email marketing game.

Gmail Update: Unsubscribe Suggestions

What Is It: Get ready for Gmail’s big unsubscribe feature! Gmail will begin alerting users to which brands they haven’t engaged with and suggest they unsubscribe. With rising concerns surrounding consumer data, this feature is right on trend and aims to cut down on inbox clutter.Why It’s Important: How could an unsubscribe feature help marketers? It’s simple. An opt-out is better than being marked as spam or graymail. List health is extremely important to strong deliverability and can make or break your email marketing efforts. The more targeted and relevant your emails, the better off your company is in the long run.

Gmail Update: Goodbye, Goomoijis!

What Is It: Gmail has always had its own set of emojis - called Goomojis. They’re basically an emoji that’s melting…like goo. With this update, Gmail is now making it so the emoji in a subject line will render as the default emoji of the subscriber’s operating system rather than the off-brand Goomoji.Why It’s Important: Okay, so this isn’t the most groundbreaking technological breakthrough, but this update will allow for greater consistency in the inbox and a more cohesive experience for our ever-critical users.

Gmail Update: Interactive Email Support Gets Suspended

What Is It: Gmail has temporarily nixed support of interactive email effects like roll-over and hover features. Unfortunately, those interactive emails you’ve seen and engaged with in the past, won’t function anymore in Gmail. While this may seem like a pretty big step backward seeing as interactive emails pack a powerful punch in terms of inbox disruption, it’s not permanent! Why It’s Important: Why would Google pull this kind of move? We’re not sure but we have a feeling it has something to do with Gmail launching support for interactive email in the near future with the help of open-source framework AMP, aka Accelerated Mobile Pages. This will allow users to take action straight from their emails, like incorporating an interactive calendar to find a meeting time or embedding a survey for customers to engage with, and will have a strong focus on the mobile experience. Once it hits the scenes later this year, email marketers can rejoice once again.For more information on how Marissa and her email marketing could help your business, head on over to our services page or shoot us an email at hello@hawkemedia.com.