The
growing popularity of new apps such as SNAPCHAT, and a few other emerging players
such as FRANKLY, WICKR and BLINK – reflect emerging trends in the social media
landscape.
Firstly,
we are seeing a stratification of social media users group. With the advent of private
messaging groups and erasable messaging features, teenagers are forming a distinctive
group of social media users via various ‘teenage-friendly’ messaging apps.
These groups are distinctly different from other groups of users such as the
Gen-X and Babyboomers groups due to the content they share and the way they
communicate.
Secondly,
a new sub-culture is emerging; one that exists mainly in the mobile realm, thrives
on personal connections, offers interesting visual content, and offers impermanent
records.
Last
but not least, social media is gravitating towards messaging apps that can be used
to share all kinds of information, including the use of in-app purchases. In a
way, many of these messaging apps , such as KakaoTalk
(South Korea), WeChat (China) and LINE (Japan) etc. have developed their winning business models that are driven largely
by large pool of local adopters. As
such, there may not be one universal social media messaging model that can work
across different cultures but the winning model should be sufficiently flexible
to suit what works in the local culture.
As
such, for digital marketers, it may be useful to take note of the following
trends:
- Personal connection. Young people are showing us that they are more interested in connecting online with people they already know. Marketers should find ways to make their messaging more personable and unique to such private groups.
- Mobile enabled. Marketers need to ensure that their communication strategy incorporates mobile platforms, whether by means of apps or by making web portals e-mobile friendly.
- Visual Imaging. Messaging via interesting and captivating visual imagery is a given in the new social media.
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