Here's just a short list of things you can do, or will soon be, through Facebook Messenger: welcome an Uber , chat with customer service , send money to your friends , buy a nice pair of red high heels and share Spotify playlists .
Yesterday, MarketingLand reported that Messenger will soon allow publishers to distribute content through what Wired be considered “Zuckerberg's app for everything.” At the same time, Facebook will also open this platform to advertisers according to leaked documents obtained by TechCrunch in February.
Not only can these developments change the way we use the Internet, they have the potential to revolutionize the way publishers and marketers distribute their content. Messenger has a billion users and is the second most popular app in the US , thanks in large part to Facebook's controversial decision two years ago to force users to download a separate Messenger app if they want to chat on their mobile devices. What is the number 1 application you ask? Obviously Facebook. [/note]
The evolution from social networking to chat applications is perhaps the biggest change on the Internet since then, social networking. Chat app dominated in China, Japan and much of Europe; Facebook controls the market in North America. But it looks like 2016 will be the year Facebook tries to make Messenger an integral part of our digital lives.
However, it is still unclear how publishers and advertisers will deliver content through the chat app. Some have already started experimenting — Examples: The Economist, using Line ; Quartz also ran an interesting news test with iMessage – but any particular kind of practice has yet to emerge. In addition, it remains to be seen whether users really prefer to receive their news via the chat window.
Making money is also a big question mark. When Facebook opens Messenger to advertisers, will publishers be able to control the ad experience like they can with Instant Articles? How much would advertisers be willing to pay? And would users feel comfortable receiving ads in such an intimate setting?
Publishers have expressed some demoralized because of the lack of control they have over their audience on Instant Articles — though most have given up the fight . Using Messenger as a platform raises similar concerns, but it's hard to imagine publishers turning away from its potential reach. 800 million people.
Meanwhile, marketers are excited about Messenger's potential for one-on-one interactions. Proven brand bots they can succeed on Kik and e-commerce and customer service seem like native functions of chat apps. More traditional advertising — send Intermittent advertising like Quartz's bot — looks also promise . But if brands ramp up these efforts too aggressively, it won't be surprising that users dismiss them once the novelty appeal fades.
It will still take quite a while to see if that marketing potential leads to tangible results. WeChat is regulated in China, but in the US, there is no universal chat application yet. If most of your friends don't use the app very often, you probably won't either.
Messenger wants to be that access app, and Facebook is throwing around its considerable weight to make that goal a reality.
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