Social Media

WhatsApp to Change Social Media Marketing?

“WhatsApp to change Social Media Marketing?” is an article edited by Samantha Collier on January 29, 2015 in the practical ecommerce ignite magazine. Just like its name says, it is an application (APP) that works just like the other mobile apps we know. It was first introduced in 2009 and later gained enormous popularity as a messaging app. According to Samantha, WhatsApp has over 700 million users and 70% of these users actively use this app daily in their lives. Because it has been enhanced, it is possible now to send even images and other attachments through WhatsApp. The editor observes that WhatsApp broadcasting feature will be the transforming power in social media marketing in 2015.The broadcasting feature was started in 2015 and many adverting companies are now using this feature to market their products. Samantha merits this feature in several ways. Firstly, it allows group messaging without revealing the other recipients of the same message. Other advantages includes direct and instant messages which do not require log in to access.

Samantha says, “News organizations worldwide have been experimenting with the WhatsApp broadcast feature. In 2014, the British Broadcasting Corporation used WhatsApp “Broadcast Lists” to push news to relevant communities on the general elections in India and the Ebola crisis in West Africa. The BBC used their existing channels to promote the mobile number for users to add to their contact list, and asked them to send the word “JOIN” to the same number to start receiving messages. Users could also unsubscribe by sending “STOP” at any point — much like a standard SMS campaign.” This was a defining moment for WhatsApp as it impacted not only the victims of Ebola in West Africa but the whole globe. Another impact was felt in India during elections where people received election updates through WhatsApp.

It is easy to start using this app. Just download the WhatsApp app from the...