MARKETING
WhatsApp Reaches 2 Billion Active Users
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees privacy-focused communications as the future of social networking, with messaging playing a key role – and WhatsApp, Facebook’s largest messaging platform, is central to that shift.
And this week, the significance of WhatsApp has been underlined once again, with the messaging app reaching a new user milestone of 2 billion monthly actives.
As per WhatsApp:
“We’re excited to share that, as of today, WhatsApp supports more than two billion users around the world. Mothers and fathers can reach their loved ones no matter where they are. Brothers and sisters can share moments that matter. Coworkers can collaborate, and businesses can grow by easily connecting with their customers. Private conversations that once were only possible face-to-face can now take place across great distances through instant chats and video calling. There are so many significant and special moments that take place over WhatsApp and we are humbled and honored to reach this milestone.”
As you can see in the above chart, while Messenger is more commonly used in western markets, WhatsApp is now significantly larger overall, and it continues to gain traction in developing markets.
WhatsApp hit 1.5 billion users back in 2018, so it’s taken two years to reach this next stage, but as noted, it’s now starting to gain more momentum in regions like India, where Facebook is already looking at the next stage, and how it can expand into WhatsApp business use.
That remains a key challenge – last month, Facebook announced that it would back away from plans to roll out ads in WhatsApp threads, a key monetization opportunity for the app. Instead, Facebook appears to be looking to shopping as its next step, buying up eCommerce providers and tools which are already tapping into WhatsApp to connect with consumers.
If Facebook can encourage more shopping activity in developing regions, that could make WhatsApp a key connector moving forward – and if Facebook can also facilitate funds transfer, through either it’s Libra cryptocurrency or WhatsApp Pay, it could be the best way forward for WhatsApp monetization.
And as underlined by the numbers here, that opportunity is massive. WhatsApp has presented challenges for Facebook in regards to maximizing its revenue potential, but the indicators would suggest that Facebook is closing in on the next opportunity – and stands to see huge benefit, if it can get it right.
Privacy limitations have also caused Facebook to re-think its traditional monetization approach, and that doesn’t look set to change. Initially, there were concerns that Facebook would weaken WhatsApp’s privacy measures, including end-to-end encryption, but more recently, Facebook has actually doubled-down on this approach.
WhatsApp has reiterated its stance on the same within its announcement:
“Strong encryption is a necessity in modern life. We will not compromise on security because that would make people less safe. For even more protection, we work with top security experts, employ industry-leading technology to stop misuse as well as provide controls and ways to report issues – without sacrificing privacy.”
It’s amazing to consider just how many people are actually logging onto Facebook-owned apps every day.
The numbers are repeated so often that they lose impact, but across Facebook’s family of apps, some 2.26 billion people – close to 30% of the entire population of the world (7.76b) – are now interacting in a Facebook app every single day.
When you also consider that around 26% of people are under the age of 15, and 40% of the world’s population cannot access the internet, the numbers are staggering – Facebook’s unmatched reach is truly amazing, and a massive achievement in its own right.
WhatsApp is a key part of this. And with new opportunities coming, it looks set to become an even bigger platform moving forward.
MARKETING
Trends in Content Localization – Moz
Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.
Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.
Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.
MARKETING
How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy
MARKETING
More promotions and more layoffs
For martech professionals salaries are good and promotions are coming faster, unfortunately, layoffs are coming faster, too. That’s according to the just-released 2024 Martech Salary and Career Survey. Another very unfortunate finding: The median salary of women below the C-suite level is 35% less than what men earn.
The last year saw many different economic trends, some at odds with each other. Although unemployment remained very low overall and the economy grew, some businesses — especially those in technology and media — cut both jobs and spending. Reasons cited for the cuts include during the early years of the pandemic, higher interest rates and corporate greed.
Dig deeper: How to overcome marketing budget cuts and hiring freezes
Be that as it may, for the employed it remains a good time to be a martech professional. Salaries remain lucrative compared to many other professions, with an overall median salary of $128,643.
Here are the median salaries by role:
- Senior management $199,653
- Director $157,776
- Manager $99,510
- Staff $89,126
Senior managers make more than twice what staff make. Directors and up had a $163,395 median salary compared to manager/staff roles, where the median was $94,818.
One-third of those surveyed said they were promoted in the last 12 months, a finding that was nearly equal among director+ (32%) and managers and staff (30%).
Extend the time frame to two years, and nearly three-quarters of director+ respondents say they received a promotion, while the same can be said for two-thirds of manager and staff respondents.
Dig deeper: Skills-based hiring for modern marketing teams
Employee turnover
In 2023, we asked survey respondents if they noticed an increase in employee churn and whether they would classify that churn as a “moderate” or “significant” increase. For 2024, given the attention on cost reductions and layoffs, we asked if the churn they witnessed was “voluntary” (e.g., people leaving for another role) or “involuntary” (e.g., a layoff or dismissal). More than half of the marketing technology professionals said churn increased in the last year. Nearly one-third classified most of the churn as “involuntary.”
Men and Women
This year, instead of using average salary figures, we used the median figures to lessen the impact of outliers in the salary data. As a result, the gap between salaries for men and women is even more glaring than it was previously.
In last year’s report, men earned an average of 24% more than women. This year the median salary of men is 35% more than the median salary of women. That is until you get to the upper echelons. Women at director and up earned 5% more than men.
Methodology
The 2024 MarTech Salary and Career Survey is a joint project of MarTech.org and chiefmartec.com. We surveyed 305 marketers between December 2023 and February 2024; 297 of those provided salary information. Nearly 63% (191) of respondents live in North America; 16% (50) live in Western Europe. The conclusions in this report are limited to responses from those individuals only. Other regions were excluded due to the limited number of respondents.
Download your copy of the 2024 MarTech Salary and Career Survey here. No registration is required.
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