Messenger now requires Facebook account, US military bans TikTok, YouTube adds new copyright feature, Facebook and Twitter announce latest account removals

Welcome to our first news roundup of 2020! Unsurprisingly, things were fairly quiet over the festive and New Year period, but there are still a few interesting updates we believe its worth knowing about. To start with, Facebook has now removed the ability to sign up for a Messenger account without an associated Facebook account. [si_blog_banner_cta] The end of December saw the US military follow in the US navy's footsteps and ban personnel from adding TikTok to government-issued devices due to data security concerns. YouTube is making it easier for creators to deal with any content that becomes subject to copyright claims with the launch of a new feature. Finally, Facebook and Twitter have announced the latest work undertaken to remove accounts that have been found to be involved in political manipulation on the platforms. Get…

Chart of the Week: 57% of people in the UK spend most of their time on social media or messenger apps, but Facebook is no longer the favourite app.

Facebook is no longer as indispensable as it once was, with an increasing number of people saying it is the app they most consider quitting. Throughout the last two years, it has fallen from being the most important app in the majority of markets to one that is failing to keep its audience. As well as people getting rid of their accounts as part of a digital detox, younger audiences are turning to new social media platforms rather than Facebook. Although this means more people opting for Facebook-owned apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, it shows just how volatile the world of social media and apps currently is. [si_blog_banner_cta] We’ve taken a look at AudienceProject’s new app and…

One of the newest tools in digital marketing, messenger applications present a great opportunity for brands to boost their open rates, enhance their visibility, and build a great relationship with customers

Messaging applications are online communication channels that facilitate free, instant messaging between individuals or within groups. Some popular examples include Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and WeChat in China. In recent years, companies have started to use these apps to privately share relevant content with customers. So, are messaging apps the next big thing in customer communications? As of 2015, mobile messaging app usage surpassed social media usage for the first time and has continued to grow since. As such, messaging apps have become an essential marketing and communications tool for businesses. Many marketers in 2019 are drawn to messenger apps by their impressive open rate, which is far higher than that of traditional B2C communication methods such as email.

The stats on messaging app…

Incorporating the latest Messenger updates will help you drive business success

As a professional in the digital marketing space, you are probably aware of the restrictions on Messenger responses because of Facebook's 24 + 1 policy. However, you can still take advantage of this narrow time frame, boost marketing efforts on the platform, and connect strategically with consumers. In fact, 1-800-Flowers has experienced success using Messenger for outreach. The flower and gift delivery service reports that 70% of its chatbot orders are made by new customers, many of whom fall into a younger demographic than its usual audience. As a result, the use of Messenger has helped 1-800-Flowers stretch its consumer reach further than before. Other high-profile uses of Messenger included the Wall Street Journal, which allowed users to get stock quotes or headlines delivered to them; HP, which enabled users to print files from Facebook…

Messenger apps have a bigger audience than social networks. Here is how to reach them.

Messenger apps are big. The top four messaging apps - Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Viber - now claim nearly three billion monthly active users combined, which is more than the combined active users on the world's four largest social networks (source: BI.com). Brands understand that one of the key ways of being increasingly relevant to customers is to be where they are; more specifically, communicate where their customers communicate. This of course was a key reason why many early-mover brands began to shift budgets away from TV and towards social networks. Fast forward to 2017, and being ‘where your customers are’ means focusing on one-to-one chat apps like Facebook Messenger and China’s WeChat. Indeed, in terms of the latter, users can not only use the app…

Facebook messenger hasn’t been around for that long but it has definitely made an impression. With 1.2 billion active users, ⅙ of the global population is using this app!

Messaging apps have become extremely popular overtime, with a lot of the younger generation spending more time socialising through text messages, than face-to-face conversations. There are many different platforms, vying for users, in the messaging app ecosystem. In the battlefield of messaging apps, Facebook Messenger even leads Whatsapp for memberships, while WeChat is dominant in China, with over 90% using the app. Even though geographic locations play a role in determining the popularity of messaging apps, the rise in usage of Facebook Messenger remains undeterred, with 1.2 billion active users that make ⅙ of the global population. 88% of online adults are a member of at least one of Facebook’s four main services: Facebook, Facebook Messenger,…

Allo, Allo, Allo, what marketing implications do we have here then?

Importance: [rating=4] Recommended Source: Allo.Google.com Google announcement this week of the launch of its new messenger app has got marketers excited. And no, it's not because of the new emojis. It's because it follows the industry-wide trend for integrating AI-powered digital assistants into messaging apps. The announcement comes hot of the heels of Facebook's announcement earlier this month which hailed the introduction of 'Messanger version 1.2', which would include facilities to let chatbots handle payments within the app. The chat app has lots of nifty little features to tempt users, which aren't all that important to marketers. These are things like being able to enlarge or shrink text, send auto-generated responses, doodle on images or send an impressive range of stupid emojis. The key feature from a marketing perspective is the fact the app contains a personal assistant that utilises 'Google Now', which uses a natural language interface…