Did you know that WhatsApp is now the most dominant chat app in the world?
But it still lags behind WeChat in features which, by the way, are amazingly diverse!
Also in this post, we look at how a company in a “serious” industry wins over followers on social media. Then we delve into the somewhat dodgy territory that comes with unbranded content. We end off with emerging search patterns that will dramatically change marketers’ SEO strategies.
1) WhatsApp Just Hit One Billion Users
WhatsApp is now officially the most dominant chat app in the world. To look at it a broader digital perspective, they have as many users as Gmail.
What’s interesting for businesses is that the app is now experimenting ways for businesses to reach out to customers without ads. With a billion-strong audience, the potential for business is mind-boggling. Customer service, e-commerce and other examples aside, their big data is also a data analytics junkie’s dream come true.
>> Originally from Tech in Asia
Image source: Tech in Asia
Shared by Ying Yi, Content Marketer
2) WeChat: An App That Lets You Do Pretty Much Anything
WhatsApp may have the lion’s share of worldwide users but it’s no match for WeChat in terms of features. It seems that you can do almost everything, from fitness tracking to buying film tickets to enabling defendants to testify in court (yep), with WeChat alone.
So, while other major chat apps like WhatsApp are strong in numbers, WeChat’s strength lies in being “relevant and central…in addressing the daily, even hourly, needs of its users”. Now, that is being customer-centric and adding real value to customers’ lives, something that marketing (and businesses) sometimes forget.
>> Originally from The Guardian
Image source: WeChat for PC
Shared by Ying Yi, Content Marketer
3) Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Wins Fans with its Social Media Personality
SCDF’s social media success is a model not just for other government agencies but other businesses as well. Here’s a nugget of wisdom:
If the page were a person, he (or she) would be witty, funny, informative, conversational and non-condescending in tone, and extremely knowledgeable”.
Got that, folks from “serious” industries? If you want to be more engaging, stop talking like you swallowed a briefcase, and talk normal instead.
>> Originally from The Straits Times
Image source: The Straits Times
Shared by Sid, Business Development Manager
4) Unbranded Content: Clever or Shady Tactic?
Is unbranded content a clever alternative to using recognizable brand logos, or an insidious attempt to prime potential customers?
We think that the recent brouhaha over Rebecca Lim's “retirement” proves one thing: people don’t like being misled. Least of all, by marketers. Ethical concerns aside, shouldn’t brands be more invested in creating valuable content for their customers instead of thinking of ways to subtly slip their brands into customers’ consciousness? Remember: it is the customers, not the product that should be the focus of your marketing campaigns.
>>Originally from Campaign Asia
Image source: The Online Citizen
Shared by Ying Yi, Content Marketer
5) Why You Won’t Recognise SEO in 5 years
So far, our understanding of SEO primarily revolves around browser-based search engines (mainly Google). Marketers’ SEO understanding may soon have to expand dramatically to cover other new domains of search beyond browsers: mobile search, voice search, and social search.
In particular, the pervasiveness of mobile platform. That's why SoLoMo (Social Location Mobile ) areas for brands" - Nai (Digital Project Manager)
>> Originally from The Next Web
Image source: Pexels
Shared by Ying Yi, Content Marketer
Want more digital news? Check out the rest of our 5 Digital Bites b/f Breakfast series!
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