Are you using Messaging Apps like WhatsApp, Instagram Direct or Facebook Messenger for business? If not, this year may be the time to execute a strategy for these platforms because of the way people are adopting them.
This collection of Social Media Must-Reads includes 2 articles that discuss the rise of a “curated” feed on messaging platforms and in private groups/chats, and what that could mean for your business.
(1) The Rise of the Curated Feed by Avtar Ram Singh on Mark Schaefer’s {grow} blog
This article provides some interesting new insight into the changes in the use of social media platforms.
The “Curated Newsfeed” describes content shared on private groups created on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram Direct (messaging).
Why the growth of these curated newsfeeds?
“It’s no longer algorithms that seemingly understand us based on what we interact with that are serving us content in these instances. It’s people that truly know us, and understand exactly what we’d like to see. And you can’t beat that.”
As users shift from public spaces (like the Facebook Newsfeed) to walled, private spaces (like Messenger), what does this mean for marketers/businesses?
- You won’t know or be able to measure the eyes on your content as well
- It will be harder to identify “followers”
Users will share other people’s content in these private groups/spaces, so creating quality content is still very important, even if you can’t measure its reach/engagement in these private groups/spaces.
What can you do? Two tips:
- Be consistent in creating content that puts your target audience’s interests first
- Build a community of your own that your target audience will want to join (email list, FB group, membership site, etc)
(2) Facebook’s Planning to Integrate its Messaging Platforms to Simplify Cross-Communication | Social Media Today
The second top resource this month is Facebook’s announcement that they plan to integrate their owned messaging platforms (Messenger, Instagram Direct, WhatsApp), so users can send messages across them.
Right now, the rollout/launch is scheduled for late 2019, but we can probably expect to see more changes and features added to messaging platforms as the year continues.
What can you do to prepare?
- Focus on one messaging platform now if resources are limited.
- If your business uses a Facebook Page more than an Instagram account, then integrate Messenger into your page’s communication plan now.
- You may want to investigate ChatBots and/or Facebook Messenger Ads this year.
I’ll keep you posted as we learn more about Facebook’s messaging plans, and if there is something specific about these messaging apps you’d like to learn more about, just let me know!
(3) Other helpful resources for your social media marketing strategy:
Facebook Marketing in 2019: A Study of 777M Facebook Posts
10+ Marketing Predictions for 2019 From Top Marketers
Marketing Psychology: 6 Powerful Biases That Influence Human Behavior
40+ Video Marketing Statistics for 2019 [Infographic]
Facebook & Instagram News and Updates in January (from my company blog)
I hope you find these must-read resources helpful! If you have questions or want more information on any topics discussed in this post, don’t hesitate to contact me:
Message me on my Facebook Page or fill out the contact form here
