Re: The Rise of Instagram & WhatsApp
In the world of rapid change & innovation, I love to speculate. Speculation is a peculiar trait you acquire once you’ve been right enough times to develop a sense of being ‘with it’.
Subjects of today’s speculation are – Instagram & WhatsApp.
In the more recent social media history we’ve seen both Millennials & Generation-Z jumping different platforms in efforts to get away from their parents. Let’s face it, not all of us are overly comfortable with Mom reminding you how you used to start a scene every time she took you to the dentist.
According to a recent survey done on American online users in 2016, 79% of all online users were on Facebook this past year. That’s roughly 4/5 people online & this statistics comes with an even further revelation – if you are a Millennial/Generation-Z, the probability of your Mom & Dad being on Facebook currently exceeds 67% as of 2016 & is expected to increase at a rate of 10% in the next year alone. So, in other words Facebook is no longer ‘cool’ as it used to be in the mid 2000’s. Although, this usage shift comes with a number of excellent marketing opportunities, it is very fair to say that Facebook today is THE most important platform for users over the age of 50.
The above also means that Millennials/Generation-Z are a lot likelier to use other platforms for self-expression & networking as we go into the 2020’s. Both Millennials & Generation-Z have grown up during the most visually stimulating times in human history. Instagram truly delivers the ‘all-in-one” social platform for those highly social, attention-seeking and addicted to visual stimuli Millennials & Generation-Z.
Instagram’s inevitable rise to being the #1 most used social media platform in the upcoming 5 years also seems natural due to its hashtagging ability that other platforms don’t support to the same extent.
When you look at Instagram’s numbers for the year of 2016, one aspect is very evident – Instagram dominates amongst Millennials & Generation-Z. Of those between the ages of 18 and 29 about 59% use Instagram while only 33% of those between the ages of 30 and 49 do. The more important part is that Instagram is continuing to acquire a ton of new users quarter-after-quarter (something a lot of other social platforms are having hard time with). Like all things social, Instagram is also expected to increase its user base amongst those above the age of 30. It is less likely to become #1 choice for those over the age of 50 as its overwhelming visual nature may be hard to keep up with for the less narcissistic Baby Boomers & Generation X. Nonetheless, Instagram’s rapid user base expansion alone makes Instagram the centre of attention for those marketing to Millennials or Generation-Z.
WhatsApp’s path on the other hand, is a lot less obvious. Considering the fact that WhatsApp in its original state was primarily used as a text messaging tool & eventually as an online phone (especially those of us who used it for international calls and travel), it really doesn’t scream ‘social network’ at a first glance. On top of that, for those of us that were not born in North America, it still is a platform to keep in touch with your parents back home that we are so actively trying to avoid on social media.
However, as times go on and new features become available it really all comes down to how big of a user base are you working with to make these new features stick even in a somewhat out-of-place environment. When you take a platform like WhatsApp (who carries a 1 billion daily user base) & you roll out the Stories feature I really can’t think of better positioning for success. Will this new Stories feature make WhatsApp as sticky as Snapchat? Very likely. Although some may disagree, I believe that it will. In fact, if we were to bet money on the most under-appreciated emerging social platform out there today (in July of 2017), I’d probably put a big chunk of my money on WhatsApp.
Think of it this way, if you are a soda brand with an established 1 billion daily international client base, you are simply in a better position to succeed than a smaller soda brand from Iowa with 166 million daily local client base (given that both sodas come with the same set of flavours).
In the world of rapid change & innovation, I love to speculate. Speculation is a peculiar trait you acquire once you’ve been right enough times to develop a sense of being ‘with it’.
Subjects of today’s speculation are – Instagram & WhatsApp.
In the more recent social media history we’ve seen both Millennials & Generation-Z jumping different platforms in efforts to get away from their parents. Let’s face it, not all of us are overly comfortable with Mom reminding you how you used to start a scene every time she took you to the dentist.
According to a recent survey done on American online users in 2016, 79% of all online users were on Facebook this past year. That’s roughly 4/5 people online & this statistics comes with an even further revelation – if you are a Millennial/Generation-Z, the probability of your Mom & Dad being on Facebook currently exceeds 67% as of 2016 & is expected to increase at a rate of 10% in the next year alone. So, in other words Facebook is no longer ‘cool’ as it used to be in the mid 2000’s. Although, this usage shift comes with a number of excellent marketing opportunities, it is very fair to say that Facebook today is THE most important platform for users over the age of 50.
The above also means that Millennials/Generation-Z are a lot likelier to use other platforms for self-expression & networking as we go into the 2020’s. Both Millennials & Generation-Z have grown up during the most visually stimulating times in human history. Instagram truly delivers the ‘all-in-one” social platform for those highly social, attention-seeking and addicted to visual stimuli Millennials & Generation-Z.
Instagram’s inevitable rise to being the #1 most used social media platform in the upcoming 5 years also seems natural due to its hashtagging ability that other platforms don’t support to the same extent.
When you look at Instagram’s numbers for the year of 2016, one aspect is very evident – Instagram dominates amongst Millennials & Generation-Z. Of those between the ages of 18 and 29 about 59% use Instagram while only 33% of those between the ages of 30 and 49 do. The more important part is that Instagram is continuing to acquire a ton of new users quarter-after-quarter (something a lot of other social platforms are having hard time with). Like all things social, Instagram is also expected to increase its user base amongst those above the age of 30. It is less likely to become #1 choice for those over the age of 50 as its overwhelming visual nature may be hard to keep up with for the less narcissistic Baby Boomers & Generation X. Nonetheless, Instagram’s rapid user base expansion alone makes Instagram the centre of attention for those marketing to Millennials or Generation-Z.
WhatsApp’s path on the other hand, is a lot less obvious. Considering the fact that WhatsApp in its original state was primarily used as a text messaging tool & eventually as an online phone (especially those of us who used it for international calls and travel), it really doesn’t scream ‘social network’ at a first glance. On top of that, for those of us that were not born in North America, it still is a platform to keep in touch with your parents back home that we are so actively trying to avoid on social media.
However, as times go on and new features become available it really all comes down to how big of a user base are you working with to make these new features stick even in a somewhat out-of-place environment. When you take a platform like WhatsApp (who carries a 1 billion daily user base) & you roll out the Stories feature I really can’t think of better positioning for success. Will this new Stories feature make WhatsApp as sticky as Snapchat? Very likely. Although some may disagree, I believe that it will. In fact, if we were to bet money on the most under-appreciated emerging social platform out there today (in July of 2017), I’d probably put a big chunk of my money on WhatsApp.
Think of it this way, if you are a soda brand with an established 1 billion daily international client base, you are simply in a better position to succeed than a smaller soda brand from Iowa with 166 million daily local client base (given that both sodas come with the same set of flavours).