Social messaging apps have taken over the way consumers are interacting with brands. Their increasing popularity means your business needs to embrace this new trend.

No one can deny the reach of social networks. After all, Facebook has over 2 billion active users. But as marketers, we’re noticing that consumers are moving away from social networks and welcoming the popularity of messaging apps with open arms.

Social media is constantly changing, and every new app gives users a new way to engage with family, friends, and brands. With the shift toward messaging apps, your target audience is making the leap, so your business needs to as well.

Messaging apps have a strong appeal: personalized engagement. Brands are able to make a one-on-one connection with every potential customer that comes in contact with their app pages. This is an opportunity you cannot miss!

Companies reaping the messaging app benefits

Yoox Net-a-Porter, a UK-based ecommerce firm with U.S. operations, made the switch to messaging apps after the brand discovered that many of its customers preferred WhatsApp for product details and suggestions and purchases. WhatsApp easily integrated with its order management system and is currently being tested as the company’s shipping notification system.

“Realizing that consumers increasingly prefer to receive information via personal messaging services rather than email, we have been working with WhatsApp to improve the way we use the WhatsApp service with great results so far,” writes Yoox Net-a-Porter on its blog.

And Yoox Net-a-Porter isn’t the only brand making the switch. WhatsApp, a social messaging platform owned by Facebook, reported 1.5 billion active users and over 60 billion messages sent per day at the end of 2017. These numbers, continuing to grow at a staggering rate, make it hard to ignore that brands need to be investing their marketing time and dollars in messaging apps.

In our latest video, Kettie Laky, our social media director, discusses why social messaging apps are becoming so popular and the top four apps your brand should become familiar with.

Video: Top 4 social messaging apps your brand needs to be using

Takeaway

As with any new marketing effort, trial and error are a big part of the equation. In order to get the most from your time (and budget!), make sure you’re utilizing the best messaging app for your brand. Before committing to an app, ask these important questions:

• Who is my target audience?
• How will the app add value to my target audiences?
• How do I want to deliver my content?
• Do I want to use more than one app?
• How frequently will I be marketing on the app?

These questions can help you find the social messaging apps that will work best for your marketing campaign and start connecting with customers in a more personalized way. These apps making sharing valuable content easier than ever.

What social messaging apps has your business tried?

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