Facebook Messenger Is Emerging As New Age Marketing Tool: Jeff Bullas
With the latest numbers on Facebook messenger users, one billion people have it installed on their devices. Jeff Bullas the number 1 Content Marketing Influencer as ranked by Onalytica calls messenger the emerging new age marketing tool.
According to Sensor Tower, worldwide iOS and Android downloads of Facebook Messenger grew 5.66% from 145.3 million in Q1 2016 to 153.5M in Q1 2017.
With messenger now being independent of Facebook, the app is being used for more than just texting. By adding 200 million users in 8 months to a product that already has a billion would reduce the average engagement, but most of the apps don’t have Facebook Messenger’s network effect.
As per the latest study report by Mary Micker. The internet is witnessing a slow growth. In the past two decades, the internet economy was affected by macroeconomic trends, but it was external issues like the housing crisis and the financial crisis that were driving the slowdown.
“You have to keep looking at other channels not just social. Especially email and search engines. Facebook Messenger is a new age emerging marketing tool. There are 1 billion people approachable on FB messenger”, Bullas says
At a time in the digital space, where content is the key and brands are evolving, and developing around the same. Bullas says that it is really important to go about brands and to automate using digital marketing automation platforms.
“You need to continuously build digital assets and challenges that you need to work your way through. Everything now comes down to creative content, building great distribution on social”, he adds.
Messenger has now reinvented itself to face competition from competing apps. It now comes with the Snapchat-esque camera, animated filters, and also has an option of putting up the popular Snapchat “My story” feature. A new addition to the feature is the group video calling option, with funky filters, which is making it immensely popular and leading to higher downloads in the Android and Ios markets.
“You have to consider marketing a long term game. If you just keep going through playing the long term game you will eventually breakthrough the market, which is a challenge for digital marketers.”
”The use of AI in the chat box and chat spots are certainly easier ways. The other one which is really booming up at the moment is live streaming of videos such as FB live etc.”
So even if FB messenger isn’t churning out cash, it sure is contributing massively to a wide reach by locking the audience in the blue app monarchy.
(Following inputs were taken at IDMA 2017, in an exclusive interaction with BW Businessworld)
Q- What are the challenges for new age marketers?
I think breaking through the noise is much bigger issues these days, there was much less noise, about ten years back. There is going to be much more ten years later, so you have to find a way to breakthrough and stand out. Everything now comes down to creative content, building great distribution on social. It is a multi-channel effort to continue and breakthrough that noise. You have to consider marketing a long term game. If you just keep going through playing the long term game you will eventually breakthrough the market, which is a challenge for digital marketers.
Q- How important is content to create the right brand online?
In B2B and B2C marketing people run away from pain and run towards pleasure. You have got to be creating content that touches people’s heart and not mind, this is really important to understand. If people can use your product as a solution and you can get there by using content to get that message out there then things will get really easy.
Q- Three best practices that leverage social media for brand building that marketers should follow?
Today with so much splinted and social media around there is no other way to go about things than to automate using digital marketing automation platforms.
You need to continuously building digital assets.
You have to keep looking at other channels not just social. Especially email and search engines. Facebook messenger is a new age emerging marketing tool. There are 1 billion people approachable on FB messenger.
Q- How important are algorithms and data points to touch down base with consumers?
We are in the middle of battle of algorithms, as they are everywhere. Facebook, twitter, Google to determine the data positioning everywhere. Facebook uses it to determine what comes on your feed, twitter uses it to determine what is trending, Gmail uses it to positioning of email under various tabs. Algorithms are now really important on every social platforms.
Q- What would you foresee as the future marketing trends in the time of VR & AI?
Marketing automation for small and medium business is certainly a big trend. The use of AI in chat box and chat spots are certainly easier ways. The other one which is really booming up at the moment is live streaming of videos such as FB live etc. These are the top three which are important and worth learning about and also to master.
