WhatsApp has serious competition in regards to Kakao Talk
Popular mobile messaging application WhatsApp has attracted a great deal of attention recently due to its acquisition by Facebook. The prominent social network spent $19 billion to purchase the application and has been working to incorporate the application into its overarching social structure. WhatsApp already boasted of a large user base but with Facebook’s backing, this user base is expected to grow exponentially in the future. While WhatsApp may become more popular in the months to come, it does have a competitor that could destabilize its growth.
Application aims to leverage mobile commerce to gain support
Kakao Talk is another messaging application that has become very popular in Asia. The application has more than 133 million registered users in South Korea and is currently preparing launch an initial public offering being valued at more than $2 billion. What Kakao Talk may offer that WhatsApp does not is the ability to allow users to participate in mobile commerce. Using the application, people can connect with brands more effectively, taking advantage of special deals being offered by retailers and online merchants.
Mobile gaming supported through Kakao Talk
Kakao Talk also boasts of a gaming feature. Mobile gaming has become quite a lucrative aspect of the game industry as a whole. Providing consumers with a platform that has strong social interaction features and that can support mobile games could help Kakao Talk surpass WhatsApp in terms of popularity. Similar platforms have managed to find success with type of approach. The WeChat application, which had initially been a messaging app, is now on its way to becoming one of the most prominent mobile commerce platforms in the world.
Demand for mobile services is on the rise
As people become more reliant on their mobile devices, the demand for comprehensive mobile services is growing. While applications that are meant to serve a single purpose are likely to remain popular well into the future, people are beginning to show more interest in applications that can serve multiple purposes at the same time. These applications have shown that they are able to accommodate the interests of a new generation of mobile users.
Though more consumers are using smartphones than ever before, advertisers aren’t allocating much money to reach them.
SEMPO and Econsultancy have now released the results of a study that they have conducted to better understand mobile marketing from the perspective of companies when compared to the increased use of smartphones and tablets by consumers.
The research was able to come up with a considerable amount of insight regarding digital ads and promotions.
When it came to the impact of the various trends and technologies it was the use of smartphones and tablets that took the cake in terms of affecting SEO, paid search, display advertising, email marketing, and social media marketing. Mobile marketing clearly has a very important role to play according to the opinions of the company respondents to this survey. They stated that they feel that the increased use of these devices by consumers is significant or highly significant in the context of the marketing and advertising efforts that those businesses were making.
This insight could be defining when it comes to the development of future online and mobile marketing campaigns.
In fact, the companies put the use of smartphones and tablets ahead of the Enhanced Campaigns from Google and the changes that were made to AdWords as well the integration with social media when it came to the impact that was made to the overall marketing efforts. Among the respondents, 49 percent said that the use of the devices by consumers was highly significant. Comparatively, the changes made by Google were deemed highly significant by 33 percent.
When it came to the impact of the use of mobile devices by consumers on paid search efforts, 55 percent of the respondents said that it was highly significant, while 38 percent said that it was significant.
The only area in which the ownership of smartphones and tablets by consumers was not seen as having a considerable impact was in the area of search engine optimization (SEO). Although the “not provided” keyword data was considered to be highly significant by over half (52 percent) of the survey respondents.
Clearly, the use of these devices will have companies looking into mobile marketing trends and techniques in order to be able to keep up with the impact that the gadgets are having on current campaigns and efforts.
