December 30, 2015 — Published by: Drew Benvie
All Posts in 2015
May 28, 2015 — Published by: Drew Benvie
Messaging apps to become the social media of the future: Meeker Report 2015
One of the major publications worth reading in digital communications each year is the Mary Meeker Internet Trends Report. The 2015 edition has been published, and at 197 pages long, we've reviewed the key points at a glance.
Content discovery is in the hands of consumer
Social media, messaging apps and mobile have changed how we discover and access media, one of the first trends Meeker points out and one which she predicts will continue to develop significantly in the future. Twitter, Google Chromecast, Facebook and games consoles all get a mention as disruptors.
Messaging apps to become content hubs
Services such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Wechat and Line are flagged up as major influences on consumer engagement with brands and the media. Meeker points out that many are starting to become media hubs, and predicts that this will continue to develop. What she's saying here, is that messaging apps are the future social networks.
Consumers engage with brands on mobile
Advertising on mobile is showing growth, whereas other areas such as desktop and print are 'over-indexed', according to Meeker. We see a similar trend in our ad campaigns here at Battenhall - mobile is showing the greatest engagement. Slide 20 of the report looks at new mobile ad formats from Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook and Google as examples of innovation in this space.
Social media reinventing email
Slack is singled out by Meeker as an example of how social media is reinventing email, with elements such as mobile-first usage, instant messaging speed, presence and social grouping to change user habits.
12-24 year old user trends show a window to the future
This age group is referred to by Meeker as the trend setters. Mobile first, visual social media such as Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat, 'presence, and live streaming such as Periscope and Meerkat all get the nod as ways in which mainstream social media will be heading.
The full report also looks at wearables, drones, cyber security, the sharing economy and much more, and is available on Slideshare to swipe through or download.
