What is BIMI Record? Why BIMI is important in Email Marketing?

Brand Indicator Message Identification (BIMI) is a new movement toimprove the visibility of branded email contentthrough the use of official logos. With aBIMIrecord, an email from a company will display its logo in the email header itself. It is thereby indicating to the user that the email is from a trusted source.BIMIhasn't entered into widespread adoption yet, but companies should prepare themselves for the future.

The Benefits ofBIMIfor Email Marketing

BIMIis the latest in many actions taken against spam emails and malicious emails.BIMIgenerates trustworthy emails through the use ofBIMIrecords, whichindicate that an email has come from a specific company. By combiningBIMIwith other authentication services, the number of malicious or spoofed emails can be controlled.

To useBIMI, companies need to select a logo and make the appropriate modifications from their DNS settings. From there, email clients will request aBIMIrecord from emails when reading emails. Once theBIMIrecord has been found, the email client will request for the logo and will display the logo next to the customer's emails automatically. The process will be seamless for the user.

BIMIfor Email Deliverability

Users are more likely to click on an email withBIMI. Not only does it indicate that it's a trustworthy email from a known brand, but it also makes emails more visible. Users will seeBIMIemails with a logo displayed next to them, and every other email will have that space blank. This lets them scan for emails they're most interested in.

AsBIMIbecomes more popular and supported, customer knowledge regardingBIMIwill go up. The more well-supported and this technology is, the more effective it will become. It's still a growing technology.

Further, sinceBIMIdoes requireDMARCauthentication, it enforces the need for email marketers to go throughDMARCauthentication — something thatMassMailerand Salesforce can handle. It's advised that email senders useDMARCauthentication services as away to boost their sender reputation.All of thisincreases email deliverability.

HowBIMIWorks withDMARCAuthentication

BIMIrecords are connected toDMARCauthentication. In order to maintain aBIMIrecord, a business needs to havea DMARCauthentication setup on its domain.BIMIis considered to be a part ofDMARC2.0 by some.DMARCauthentication is already advisable to improve the email deliverability.
BIMIis what controls which logo is displayed, but withoutDMARCauthentication, the client cannot be sure that the right company is displaying the right logo.

DMARCauthentication can easily contribute to email deliverability. If a company does not invest in setting upDMARCauthentication, email clients may reject their emails.DMARCauthentication verifies that email has been sent to an individual from where it says it has been. When an email can't beDMARCauthenticated, a recipient cannot be sure that the email came from its stated source.

Protecting Users from Phishing Attempts

Companies will useBIMIfor email marketing as well as email security. When properly implemented,BIMIrecords can help protect users from phishing attempts. A common tactic in phishing is to send an individual an email from their bank, credit union, or utility company, stating that they owe them money. An individual may not question this and may click on a link or respond to an email with personally identifiable, financial information.

WithBIMIrecords, users will be able to immediately see that phishing attempts don't have the same logo of their usual recipient. This will be a significant indicator of a potentially dangerous email.

How to createaBIMIRecord

ABIMIlogo must be uploaded in the SVG format and must be an exact square, to meetBIMIstandards and specifications. OnceDMARCauthentication has been achieved, aBIMIrecord can be created through the DNS records. Every domain has a number of DNS records connected to email, web services, and more. Adding a TXT record to your DNS settings will add aBIMIrecord as well.

Creating aBIMIrecord requires that you:

Have your SVG logo.
Setup authentication through DMARC.
Be able to modify your DNS settings.

From there, yourBIMIlogo will show up on supported clients.

Request for a free demoto get started!