Apple Showcase Posting | Yext Hitchhikers Platform
With the release of the Business Connect APIs, businesses can now add ephemeral promotions and announcements to their Apple Maps listings called Showcases. Any Yext US customer with a Listings subscription can now create Apple Showcases using Yext’s social posting tool.
Note: Apple Showcase social posting is currently only supported for locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
Showcase posts will appear in the “From the Business” section on Apple Maps:
Setup
In order to post on Apple, you need to delegate access to your Apple Business Account to Yext. For full setup steps on both delegation, and specifying your Apple account information, visit the Delegate Yext as an Agency in Apple Business Connect Account guide.
Posting
For general details on how to create posts with Yext, visit our Create a Social Post help article.
Fields Supported
Apple supports the following fields on Showcase posts:
| Field | Limitations | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | Maximum 38 characters | Title of the Showcase |
| Content | Maximum 58 characters | Content of the Showcase |
| Photo | Photo to be displayed alongside the Showcase. | |
| Call-to-Action | See details below | Call-To-Action displayed in conjunction with the Showcase. |
| Start Date | Because Showcases require manual approval by Apple, the start date must be scheduled at least 3 days from the date of creating the post in Yext | Date and time when the Showcase should be posted. |
| End Date | Maximum 30 days after start date | Date and time when the Showcase should expire. |
Call-to-Actions
When creating an Apple Showcase, there are two different types of Call-To-Actions that can be provided:
- Call-To-Actions that interact with some core metadata data from the listing, such as the phone number or website. Other examples include call-to-actions that trigger a native Apple Maps feature, such as get directions or leave a rating. For example:
| Field | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Get Directions | When tapped, allows user to get directions to the location. |
| Share This Place | When tapped, allows user to share an Apple Maps link to the location. |
| Rate Us | When tapped, allows user to rate the location. |
| Message Us | When tapped, allows user to message a location. |
| Add to Guide | When tapped, allows user to add a location to a guide. |
| Call Now | When tapped, allows user to call the primary phone number of the location. |
| More Info | When tapped, leads user to the primary website of the location. |
| Save as Contact | When tapped, allows user to add the location as a new contact. |
| Add to Favorites | When tapped, allows user to add a location to their favorite locations. |
| Add Photos | When tapped, allows user to submit a photo of the location to Apple Maps. |
- The other type of Call-To-Actions is one that leads to an Apple Action Link . When creating an Apple Showcase post, users will be able to choose from the action links they have created in the platform:
For example, if you had the following action link:
| Sub-Field | Value |
|---|---|
| CTA | Order |
| Quick Link URL | https://www.yelp.com/biz/turtlehead-tacos-new-york-105 |
| App Name | Yelp |
| App Store URL | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yelp-food-delivery-reviews/id284910350 |
When you go to create an Apple Showcase post in Yext, you would see this action link as an option as follows:
Not all Action Links are supported as Showcase Call-To-Actions. The full list of supported Showcase Call To Actions is as follows, where empty rows on the right indicate a Call-To-Action that does not require an Action Link:
| Showcase Call-To-Action | Corresponding Action Link Category in Yext |
|---|---|
| Add Photos | |
| Add to Favorites | |
| Add to Guide | |
| Check Availability | Availability |
| Book Now | Book Travel |
| Call Now | |
| Check In Now | Check in |
| Save as Contact | |
| Order Delivery | Delivery (Restaurant) |
| Get Directions | |
| Check Flight Status | Flight Status |
| Buy Gift Card | Gift Card (Restaurant) |
| See Our Menu | Menu |
| Message Us | |
| Order Now | Order |
| Find Parking | Parking |
| Order Pickup | Pickup (Restaurant) |
| See Pricing | Pricing |
| Rate Us | |
| Reserve Now | Reserve (Restaurant) |
| Reserve a Room | Book |
| Make an Appointment | Schedule |
| Share This Place | |
| See Showtimes | Showtimes |
| Get Tickets | Tickets |
| Join Waitlist | Waitlist |
| More Info |
When creating an Apple Showcase post for multiple locations at once, users will see the lowest common denominator of Call-To-Actions that are available to those locations. For example, let’s say the following Call-To-Actions were available for each of the following Locations:
| Location 1 | Location 2 | Location 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Call Us | Call Us | Call Us |
| Get Directions | Get Directions | Get Directions |
| See Pricing (Expedia) | More Info | See Pricing (Expedia) |
| Book Travel (Booking) | See Pricing (Expedia) | Order (Yelp) |
This results in the following available CTAs when creating an Apple Showcase post:
| Only Location 1 Selected | Location 1, 2, 3 Selected |
|---|---|
| Call Us | Call Us |
| Get Directions | Get Directions |
| See Pricing (Expedia) | See Pricing (Expedia) |
| Book Travel (Booking) | n/a |
API Support
Apple Showcase posting via the Social Posting API is not currently available.
Post Requirements: Timeline Details
Apple posts require a 72 hours review period for Apple’s support team to approve them. As a result, Apple posts cannot be posted immediately, and must be scheduled for a date more than 72 hours from the time the post is created.
Posts will only display on Apple for 30 days. After this time, they will automatically be removed from the listing, and will be marked with an ‘Expired’ state in the Posts page in Yext.
Multi-publisher posts
You can still make multi-publisher posts alongside Apple, but posts on other publishers will be restricted to the scheduling limitations of Apple. To make immediate posts on other publishers, posts need to be created separately from Apple.
Embedded Fields
Embedded fields are not supported in Apple Showcase posts.
Managing Posts
Rejected Posts
As mentioned above, posts require a 72 hours review period for Apple’s support team to approve them. Posts that have been rejected by Apple will appear as ‘Failed’ in the Yext posting interface alongside an error reason with more details on why it was rejected.
Deleting Posts
Post deletion is not currently supported via Yext. Posts can be deleted directly from an Apple Business Connect Account.
Post Comments
Apple does not support comments on Apple Showcase posts.