Did you know that people who have smartphones have a 3 in 4 chance of installing one or more messaging apps? In the current era of hyper-communication, messaging apps have become a vital part of daily life. They are among the conventional ways of communicating, both for individuals and businesses.
With billions of monthly users, messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and Instagram Messenger offer endless opportunities and massive potential for growth for companies around the globe.
What are Messaging Apps?
Why Texting has Become so Popular
Did you know that approximately 42 million messages are sent each minute? In 2018 alone, people spent 685 billion hours on social and messaging apps. It is undisputed that messaging is the number one digital activity people engage in.
- Texting is low cost or even free.
- Quick response times – 90% of text messages are opened in three minutes.
- You can engage in multiple conversations at once.
- Text messages are meaningful, just like phone calls.
- Most messaging apps now enable a richer media experience than traditional texting and integrate this with a lot of social sharing functionality that increases their appeal.
- Texting has multigenerational appeal. It’s not just for the younger generations.
Evolution of Popular Messaging Apps
Over the years, advancement in technology has led to the growth of messaging apps. These apps have revolutionized how people communicate, with billions of people using more than one app. The current messaging experience is seamless and intuitive. People have access to features, such video, photos, e-commerce, gaming, and the old messaging, all in one platform.
The top three messaging apps by the number of users are WhatsApp – 2 billion users, Facebook Messenger – 1.3 billion users, and WeChat at 1.12 billion users. Messenger is the top messaging app in the US. In 2017, approximately 260 million new conversations were taking place each day on the app. In total, 7 billion conversations were occurring daily.
As technology advances, so do the messaging apps. Currently, Facebook intends to integrate the top messaging apps –WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger to allow users to communicate across the platforms seamlessly.
The Growth of Messaging Apps: Statistics Marketers Must Know
Stats Usage in 2020 and Beyond
- 36% of people who use messaging apps have at least two messaging apps.
- Messaging apps have overtaken social media platforms in the number of active monthly users by 20%.
- Messenger seconds WhatsApp as the most downloaded app globally.
- WhatsApp for Business has 5 million users. Learn more about WhatsApp for business here.
- Forty million businesses are active on Messenger.
- By 2021, WeChat will have 674 million monthly users.
- In the US, Messenger is the most popular messaging app, with 107.87 million users.
- Businesses and users exchange 20 billion messages on Messenger monthly.
- By 2020, messaging apps will have an average revenue of around $15 per user.
- 66% of consumers are more confident about making a purchase when a company is active in messaging apps.
What Does This Mean for Marketers?
Messaging apps offer enormous opportunities for marketers. They can be great additions to your marketing plan. You can use messenger chatbots to communicate with customers and prospects.
- Expanded reach to the billions of people using these apps
- Promoting products and services using ads
- Personalized brand experience on a one to one customer basis
- Guiding shoppers and responding to questions in real-time
- Adapting to consumer needs and preferences on the fly
- Increased customer engagement
- Building valuable long-term customer relationships through persistent communication
- Leveraging digital payments through messaging apps
- Attaining a competitive advantage
How Bots Built with Spectrm can Increase Sales by Driving Traffic and Building Relationships at Scale
When many people hear the term ‘messenger bot,’ they think about a chatbot that appears on a company’s homepage ready to answer any questions. Such chatbots are reactive and require customers to come to you. They are not the best chatbots for forward-looking businesses.
- Reach more customers at a low CPC and higher ROI. Happy Socks reported a 3.3x return on ad spend and 20% revenue lift in five weeks using conversational marketing powered by Spectrm.
- Offer customers personalized experiences that beat ad fatigue.
- Decrease acquisition cost by up to nine times.
- Attain five times more conversions. Spectrm customer, Telekom, achieved a 60% conversion completion rate, 35% CTR to cart landing page, and 9x contract conversion lift.
Bottom Line
The last few years have seen the tremendous growth of messaging apps. From WhatsApp to Messenger and WeChat, individuals are spending millions of hours on these apps. This represents a huge opportunity for marketers to engage in messenger marketing and connect with customers and prospects using social messaging bots.
