Why Messaging is the Future of Communication Between Consumers and Brands

There are currently over three billion social media users globally. Facebook is the most popular platform, with 2.2 billion active users on a monthly basis – that’s 29% of the world’s total population. With such a massive global user base, it’s no surprise that Facebook is the most popular platform for brands to reach out to the consumer and sway them into purchasing products. Businesses in their millions have jumped on the bandwagon to use the platform for reaching their target audience – to date, 80 million companies have established a Facebook business page.

The current state of social

Early this year, there was a shift in the social media marketing scene, when Mark Zuckerberg revamped Facebook’s algorithm to show more posts by friends and family on a consumer’s newsfeed. It became a challenge for businesses to be noticed in a pool of content that, for the average user, can be as high as 2,000 posts a day.

In fact, research from Social@Ogilvy found that organic news feed posts reach just 2% of your target audience and even fewer will engage with the brand. Fewer people seeing your page’s organic posts means fewer clicks, comments and shares, and having less of those interactions means fewer leads and conversions. Brands tried to overcome this by focusing their efforts on advertising tactics to reach their target audience – resulting in around 5 million active advertisers on the platform. However, this can be very costly – particularly for smaller businesses. Plus, research suggests that 44% of all ads on Facebook are of low quality and costing marketers more than they should.

How effective has social media marketing really been for brands?

Over the last few years, there has been a debate on what success looks like concerning social media effectiveness. It was found that 84% of social marketers track and measure the effectiveness of social media efforts against defined goals and objectives, yet 29% are still trying to prove its value. Now, marketers are measuring success by the connection that the brand creates with its audiences on a personal level.

For centuries, businesses have wanted a two-way, interactive relationship with consumers to create that personal connection. And Messenger is the simple solution.  

How can Messenger reshape communication?

Chat has high open rates and brands have the power to engage directly with their fan base with creative, storytelling content, rather than just everyday ‘news updates’. Businesses can develop narratives for sharing news, information about products and services, run quizzes or just have direct personal contact with consumers.  

98% is now filtered from our newsfeeds but via Messenger you can reach your audience directly with open rates above 90%. Engagement wise, it’s night and day. As it is mobile-first, it’s an easy way for most people to communicate wherever and whenever they want. Moreover, both consumers and brands can showcase their personality and creativity. Rather than just pushing out text and a link to fans, Messenger allows brands to tap into their creative minds and upload pictures, share locations, include emoji’s and GIFs – enabling an emotional connection with the fan.

Businesses will continue to refocus on creating a real connection with their consumers rather than rely on the likes of automation and technology. Messenger will be the most significant marketing tool for brands to keep in touch with and engage consumers while cutting through Facebook’s oversaturated newsfeed.