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:

components of showcase post

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
  • JPEG, PNG, or HEIC
  • No transparency
  • Minimum: 492 x 492 px
  • Maximum: 4864 x 4864 px
  • Aspect Ratio: 1:1
  • 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:

    Apple Action Links field

    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:

    CTA field

    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.

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