Throughout 2014, live webcams remained one of the most robust sectors of the adult entertainment industry. And as 2015 progresses, prominent cam trends to be on the lookout for include mobile optimization, widespread use of social media as a marketing/promotional tool, and new promotions in developing markets.
Douglas Richter, webcam unit director for DNX Network (whose major sites include Xcams.com and Xmodels.com), said that in 2015, a valuable trend for the cam sector will be “model education” — that is, models learning to market themselves as effectively as possible. And a vital part of that, according to Richter, will be consistent use of social media.
In live, it is all about the interaction, and with so many performers, the key is finding what it is that makes a model unique and stand out. -Douglas Richter, webcam unit director for DNX Network
“In live, it is all about the interaction, and with so many performers, the key is finding what it is that makes a model unique and stand out,” Richter advised. “Having the best technology and highest quality stream and Internet are not enough. While watching closely how social media continues to evolve, we strongly recommend our performers to run their social media channels as a way to communicate and stay in close personal contact with their users.”
Jeffrey John, business development manager for the Luxembourg-based Jasmin.com (one of Europe’s leading webcam platforms), noted that mobile traffic became increasingly lucrative for cam-oriented companies in 2014 — and that trend will continue in 2015.
“The cam industry has to pay extra attention to the trend of mobile devices, smartphones and tablets,” John asserted. “More and more users are getting familiar with these tools, and as a result we have more visitors using such devices.”
Marie-Hélène Doyle, account manager for Quebec City-based CrakRevenue, predicted that mobile optimization will be a high priority for cam companies in 2015. “With the ever-growing amount of mobile traffic available on the market, cam companies need to keep working on mobile-friendly solutions for their platforms,” Doyle stressed. “A fluid user experience on mobile which rivals that of the desktop is what this industry needs to continue growing. A cam show is a personal one-on-one experience. For a visitor on a mobile device, it’s important that nothing related to this one-on-one experience is lost due to mobile limitations.”
North America and Europe remain prominent webcam players as the adult industry enters 2015. And Richter said that in 2015, the cam sector should keep a close eye on growth markets in Latin America.
“When you target a more global audience, it matters even more how easy to use and straight-forward both your tools and processes are,” Richter explained. “Regarding models, some regions show huge interests towards our services these days where webcam platforms were historically not available due to regional issues, lack of high-speed Internet and decent computer parts for a reasonable price. We have all noticed a lot of excitement around the recent Latin American trade shows. Partners are investing a lot in South American studios and models these days. It makes sense for our business because consumers like variety. These emerging studios’ activities are going to have a very positive effect on our business.”
John cited countries in both Eastern Europe and Latin America as healthy growth markets for the cam sector in 2015. “The divided E.U. market still has a huge potential to grow comparing to the U.S. one, especially on the qualitative content,” John observed. “We see countries such as Colombia or Russia being a great platform for models and studios and being able to take an important share of the market.”
John added that the stronger the U.S. dollar becomes in 2015, the better it will be for the adult cam sector. “The U.S. dollar exchange rate’s changes will make U.S. incomes more valuable, which also makes it important to focus on this market,” John noted.
Because the cam sector has become so competitive, some cam models have been focusing on specific niches — which could be anything from BDSM cams to MILF/cougar cams to BBW cams. But John emphasized that whatever a cam model’s focus might be, 2015 will be a year in which consumers favor any technology that enhances model/user interaction.
“In 2014, a very high percentage of the best models completely forgot their keyboard,” John said. “Thanks to this, they reached a higher quality than before. The communication is smoother and brings the customer and the model as close to each other as possible, virtually speaking. This should become a trend in 2015: to increase the number of models who concentrate on this. Talking about exact types would not be necessary, as blonds, redheads, skinny and chubby girls will have fans until the end of the world. The main point is to not try to catch the visitors who are not really interested in you, but to raise the quality of your performance to the level that will make your visitors become addicts.”
