Things aren’t looking good for Research in Motion (RIM) as far as the smartphone market is concerned. Recently, comScore released data related to the U.S. smartphone market that paints a grim picture for the maker of BlackBerry.
According to comScore, Google and Apple continue to steal market share from competitors in the smartphone market, namely RIM, Microsoft, and Symbian in the United States.
Check out the numbers below to see how these competitors fared in the fight for market share between June 2011 to September 2011:
- Google: 44.8% market share (up 4.6%)
- Apple: 27.4% market share (up 0.8%)
- RIM: 18.9% market share (down 4.6%)
- Microsoft: 5.6% market share (down 0.2%)
- Symbian: 1.8% market share (down 0.2%)
There is no doubt which brands are dominating the smartphone market, and it seems unlikely that this trend will change anytime soon. For companies and brands looking to pursue mobile marketing initiatives, this data is very important. It tells you which platforms to focus on for exposure to more of the 234 million Americans over the age of 13 who own smartphones.
However, there is more to this story than smartphone platform market share. comScore also keeps track of the activities that people engage in with their smartphones. The number of mobile subscribers using their smartphones for more than just making phone calls continues to increase as the data below shows:
- Sent text message to another phone: 71.1% of mobile subscribers as of September 2011 (up 1.5% from June 2011)
- Used browser: 42.9% of mobile subscribers (up 2.8%)
- Used downloaded apps: 42.5% of mobile subscribers (up 3.0%)
- Accessed social networking site or blog: 31.5% of mobile subscribers (up 2.4%)
- Played games: 28.8% of mobile subscribers (up 1.9%)
- Listened to music on mobile phone: 20.9% (up 1.9%)
The fastest growing mobile activities according to this study are using downloaded apps, using a web browser, and accessing social networking sites or blogs. Get out your creative thinking caps, because there are opportunities waiting for you to promote your brand via mobile marketing.
Mobile apps, mobile-friendly websites, Facebook pages, and brand blogs are just a few ways you could be connecting with the active mobile audience. Their mobile engagement is only going to continue to grow, so you need to make sure your brand is mobile before it’s too late!
Image: Flickr
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
