despite technology research specialists Gartner suggesting the Android’s marketing penetration had reached its top in 2014 with 82% of the smartphone market locked up, the platform appears to be on the up.
According to the data analyst group, Q2 performance in 2015 was the slowest in the platform’s history with 330 million units being sold to end users during the period (13.5 over the amount sold in Q2 of 2014).
However, in reaction to Gartner’s assessment, Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, highlighted the platform’s growth in “emerging markets” by pointing to countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. stating that the company had added “400 million active devices” to the platform in 2015, Pichai’s sentiment seemed to be that Android is still the dominant force in the smartphone world.
The Insta-Brand
Indeed, with 1.4 billion users around the world, according to Google, the platform is certainly a bountiful place for online marketers. through Android apps such as Instagram and Twitter, marketing companies are now able to engage much more users than ever before.
Greenlight digital states that Instagram ought to now be a primary marketing tool for every company with an online presence and not simply an “afterthought”.
In detailing an effective Instagram strategy for brands, Greenlight not only noted the size of the Instagram market (400 million users, half of which used an Android device, according to Facebook, in 2013) but how independent content creators can help build up a brand’s following.
Noting the guidance of Brogan Mooney (a social media figure with millions of followers), the digital agency highlighted how finding the best “influencers” can help a company engage with much more users and build up much more credibility through the use of “brand ambassadors”.
The upshot of using Instagram is, according to those in the digital marketing industry, therefore, a much more personal brand that connects with much more people around the world.
The Twitter GIF
via GIPHY
Along the same lines as brand engagement through Instagram, Twitter is now being seen as the most recent frontier for digital marketers. Topping the recent list of Twitter developments in recent months is the launch of the GIF button.
First announced in February 2016, the new keyboard feature essentially allows Twitter users to submit GIFs (animated images) to their timeline with a single click.
After noting the fact that users shared much more than 100 million GIFs in 2015, Twitter moved away from a third-party GIF system to an internal one powered by Giphy and Riffsy.
From a marketing point of view, Twitter reaches around 320 million users and, according to Kiss Metrics, the new GIF feature could make it simpler for companies to show off new products without having to produce videos.
Citing the power of the new button, Kiss Metrics stated that GIFs allow companies to show off new features without “data problems”. Moreover, they allow marketers to add some “fun” into their Twitter campaigns.
The changing face of Marketing
The face of marketing is continuously changing and, with 1.4 billion Android users now dispersed around the world, the way in which brands can engage with new demographics is much more diverse than it’s ever been.
Harnessing the power of Instagram and Twitter, digital marketing agencies are now able to inject much more fun and much more individuality into their campaigns.
Indeed, there’s something much more personal about a mobile advert and, as much more developments such as the Twitter GIF button come to light, we can expect marketing trends to continue shifting over the coming months and years.
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