By 2018, 3.6 billion people—90% of the world's internet-enabled population—will be registered to use at least one messaging app, according to Activate, a strategy and technology consultancy. Facebook would like to have its Messenger app on each of those 3.6 billion devices. It may get there. The company announced July 20 that 1 billion people globally use Messenger every month.
More stats: Facebook Messenger users send 22 million GIFs per day; they also sent 300 million flower stickers on Mother's Day and 360 million Valentines via the app. (You'd better support your local florist and card shop before they become nail salons.)
Brand communicators know they must go where their audience is. Many are hesitant to use messaging apps as part of their communications strategies, but there are intrepid businesses that already are using Facebook Messenger—at least 50 million of them, in fact, according to Facebook.
At PR News' Aug. 10 Big 4 Social Media Summit in San Francisco, Carlos Gil, global head of social media for BMC Software, will lead a session on the future of social marketing, with a focus on using Messenger and Snapchat to personalize how audiences interact with brands they follow. A lot of time and research needs to be invested now to see payoffs down the road in using messaging apps, or any social platform, according to Gil.
"There is no instant ROI in social media," he says. "Marketers must apply their focus to developing a 12-to-18-month strategy that outlines how they will grow their followers, create engaging content and then convert."
Let's see, 18 months down the road—that puts us squarely in 2018 and in the vicinity of those aforementioned 3.6 billion messaging app users.
Follow Carlos Gil: @CarlosGil83
Follow Steve Goldstein: @SGoldsteinAI