Messaging Apps: The New Face of Social Media and What It Means for Brands
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The document discusses the rise of messaging apps as a new social media frontier, particularly highlighting Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp. It emphasizes the unique capabilities of messaging apps for brands, including 1:1 interaction with consumers, and provides case studies and best practices for engaging audiences on these platforms. Young adults are leading the adoption of messaging apps due to their desire for privacy and exclusivity, making them critical for brand strategies.
Messaging Apps: The New Face of Social Media and What It Means for Brands
- 1. Messaging Apps: The New Face of Social Media and What It Means for Brands April 15, 2014
- 2. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Messaging apps: the new face of social media Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp solidified 2014 as a breakthrough year for messaging apps, but what role can brands and media owners play in the conversation? If you think apps are just a cheaper way to text, you’re missing their potential: they’re content portals enabling 1:1 interaction with friends and fans. Give fans the right experience, and they will not only like you, but even seek out the platforms you endorse. ! What follows are highlights from IPG Media Lab’s new white paper “Messaging Apps: the New Face of Social Media and What It Means for Brands,” which details the development of messaging apps, case studies, and best practices for brands interested in exploring the space. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2
- 3. An Introduction to Messaging Apps
- 4. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential A history of messaging Computer-based messaging as a concept dates back to early computing, when engineers needed to communicate within primitive software. As the Internet, mobile phones, and text messaging spread to the general public, people quickly became accustomed to communicating with peers or groups of people via text from an electronic device. Today, the messaging ecosystem boasts over twenty apps with different social and sharing features that act as, essentially, “SMS+”, with group chats, video conferencing, voice calling, stickers, content sharing, and more. 4
- 5. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential What’s the difference between social networks and messaging apps? • A messaging app acts primarily as a one-to-one (or -few) communication mechanism, and can be temporary or long-lasting. Content is intended to be private, or at least directed towards a specific group ! • A social network consists of “many to many” connections, is durable, and is capable of producing network effects. When used to publish information, it acts primarily as a many-to-many broadcast mechanism. Content is essentially public. 5
- 6. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Select apps and features 6 App GlobalUsers Chat Video Calling Voice Message Stickers Media Sharing Gaming WhatsApp 450M* • • • • WeChat 355M* • • • • • • • LINE 400M • • • • • • • Viber 280M • • • • • • Tango 200M • • • • • • • KakaoTalk 130M • • • • • • • Kik 120M • • • • • • GroupMe 12M • • • • FB Messenger n/a • • •
- 7. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Apps dominate in different markets 7 WeChat KakaoTalk Facebook Messenger WhatsApp LINE
- 8. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Young adults lead adoption of messaging apps Teens and young adults are leading the growth of messing apps due to several factors: • Privacy • Disposability • Sociability • Visual Orientation • Exclusivity 8
- 9. Case Studies
- 10. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Creating a great fan experience This new medium requires a different strategy and willingness to experiment, as many of the platforms have yet to develop turnkey solutions for advertisers. Let’s take a look at how some innovative companies have already joined the conversation. 10
- 11. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Kik connects fans to One Direction The Lab witnessed the power brands have to elevate messaging apps and brought on Kik as a strategic business partner to launch a One Direction experience we created for Syco/Columbia Records. The band actively encouraged fans on Facebook and Twitter to download Kik to access and share exclusive content. Collaborative purchase behavior is encouraged by rewarding fans with even more exclusives. It is a place where fans can chat and make friends with other fans from around the world and it’s clear they’re doing that: there have been over 956,800 installs of the 1D experience, over 2.4M visits, and the massive 1D Kik chat room is always crowded with people joining the community. 11
- 12. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential LINE finds success with stickers Japan’s LINE is the “fun” messaging app, and is known for its “stickers”— icons, images, or GIFs of playful characters that users can include in their messages. Paul McCartney’s LINE account, which has over 10 million followers, released a set of eight exclusive stickers showing Paul’s face making various expressions. 23 stickers were free for the first few weeks and then offered at $1.99. 12
- 13. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Snapchat takes fans behind the scenes Snapchat’s unique offering —photos that disappear after a few seconds —makes it ideal for brands that want to give their fans a feeling of exclusivity.The Philadelphia Eagles capitalize on this by sending out behind-the-scenes photos and videos to promote upcoming games or events, as well as tease announcements or break news to drive traffic. With over 7,000 fans within the first week, it’s one of the most successful brands on Snapchat. 13
- 14. Best Practices for Brands
- 15. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential How brands can participate in the messaging ecosystem Create content and context • Enhance the conversation • Create opportunities for fans to interact • If you have to hard sell, give them something they really want Select a platform • Audience • Location • Action Build a community • Provide shareable content • Encourage messaging to and between users 15
- 16. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential A new mindset for a new ecosystem Brands must seek inclusion in order to influence how consumers talk about the brand with their peers. Ready to get started? These four tips will help guide the way: ! 1. Messaging apps are SMS+ 2. People love messaging apps because they can better control and dispose of online identities 3. Content and context are the key to connecting 4. Third parties can help enhance brand executions, simplifying implementation 16
- 17. © 2013 IPG Media Lab. Proprietary & Confidential Thanks! Download the full white paper here, or contact us for more information: ! ipglab.com @ipglab info@ipglab.com 17