- As more interactions on social media
have gone from public to private,
and more people access these platforms from their phones,
social media marketers must find new and clever ways
to appeal to a mobile audience.
Chat and messaging-based social media networks
must be a key part of a company's marketing mix
to reach people where they engage privately
with their closest circles.
Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Snapchat
are popular chat-based social media apps
where consumers communicate in short messages,
one-to-one, or in small group chats
similar to SMS texting on mobile devices.
Unlike texting, these platforms are free to use,
available internationally, provide a range of features,
sometimes have stronger security,
and offer a private space for family and friends to connect
as long as there is an internet connection.
Due to their popularity,
many organizations are already active on these apps,
especially because these social networks
tend to have a particularly active user base.
Like how U.S. consumers on WhatsApp
are active on the chat app for two minutes on average
each time they use it to communicate.
Keeping this level of engagement in mind,
companies are using these messaging apps
in a variety of productive ways
to achieve their marketing goals.
First off, Facebook Messenger is commonly used by businesses
to serve relevant advertising to users
by highlighting ads in a person's inbox.
Another business use case of Messenger
is having it act as an alternative to an email newsletter
by having customers opt in to receiving messages
from organizations they want to hear from.
One final popular use case of Messenger
and a few other chat apps is offering customer service
either live, by using canned responses, or with chat bots
automating different concierge experiences
like booking a haircut.
Secondly, there's WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is also owned by Facebook
and it's frequently used by small businesses
to provide customer service support at scale
either in real time or with automated responses.
Soon, advertisers will be able to serve ads
within a WhatsApp status which are similar
to the idea of Instagram Stories or Snapchat Snaps
that disappear in 24 hours.
Snapchat is unique compared to the other messaging apps
in that there's original content series on the platform
in the Discover section where brands actively advertise.
Companies usually advertise with short video ads
in-between the Snaps a person is viewing
from their friends or other accounts
they follow and interact with.
To get the attention of the app's younger user base,
brands often sponsor the platform's unique features
by releasing their own lenses and filters
in addition to using Snap and Story ads.
It is important to note
that unlike the other messaging apps,
organizations don't provide customer service on Snapchat
since the content shared there expires.
Keep these messaging-based social networks in mind
as more conversations move from public to private channels
and your organization adapts
to be where your audience is active.