Latest News

Get the message: why your business shouldn’t overlook messaging apps

The days of us “texting” friends and relatives are an increasingly distant memory; these days, “messaging” is where it’s at. Messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Snapchat have become as fundamental to our lives as, say, our morning toast or that evening yoga session.

Still, you might not have realised that many popular messaging apps come in business-friendly versions allowing you to more easily reach out to target customers – for the following reasons…

Messaging apps are becoming more and more popular

While social media’s popularity arguably peaked years ago, the same isn’t true of messaging apps, which are continuing to attract new users. WhatsApp currently has about 1.6 billion monthly active users, according to Statista – while Facebook Messenger has met the 1.3 billion mark.

In short, the customers you want are already on messaging apps, making them great places to meet these people – whether to handle their orders or simply answer their customer service queries.  

These apps are especially appealing to younger people

You probably don’t even know what passions your especially young targets – think members of Generation Z, or “Gen Z” – have, let alone where they are active online. Well, you need to cast your thoughts to messaging apps, with Facebook Messenger and Snapchat especially popular with Gen Z.

Key to the Gen Z-friendly appeal of Snapchat is that, as it isn’t tethered to a wider social network, it’s a great place for these people to escape their parents’ prying eyes – but not necessarily yours!

For marketers, messaging apps are basically the new email

With email marketing, it’s too easy to feel as though you are repeatedly hitting a brick wall. That’s probably because emails are easy to both ignore and delete – but, judging from the experience of the inventory management software purveyor ProfitBooks, it’s a very different case with messaging.

The company found that, once it switched to WhatsApp for following up with customers, the response rate grew by a massive 40%.

Messaging doesn’t necessarily rely on a strong internet connection

One key differentiator between messaging and old-school “instant messaging” apps like the long-gone AIM and Yahoo! Messenger is that the former are largely used on mobile rather than desktop.

For this reason, modern messaging apps are built to work well on the go. You could be pleasantly surprised, for example, by how light WhatsApp is; even when cellular coverage is spotty, you can still send messages over the platform, thanks to its very limited use of data.

Messaging apps can serve well for customer service

If you sign up a corporate account on a platform that many of your ideal customers already use, it will be simple for them to contact you as they seek.

Whether someone wants to message you to place an order or reservation, make a purchase or utilise customer support, you can be ready and waiting for them. When you phone our marketing gurus on 01325 582112, we can explain how other social media marketing measures can work, too.

Get the message why your business shouldn't overlook messaging apps
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Are you interested in any of our packages?

Contact us today for a free quote!