Pssst: Are Private Messaging Apps Really the Future of Mobile Marketing?
Pssst: someone’s talking to you — and it’s increasingly a marketer.
That’s the sentiment of Fernando Cuscuela in a commentary recently published by VentureBeat.
“Private-messaging apps are coming at us fast,” writes Cuscuela. “Everyone’s heard about Facebook’s massive acquisition of WhatsApp and recent development of a Snapchat lookalike under the name Slingshot. Yahoo has also made noise in the messaging app world with its acquisition of private messaging app Blink. And then there are new apps like Blink, Chadder, Confide, and Wickr that are radically changing digital communication and forcing brands to experiment with how to best use private messaging for their marketing campaigns.”
Cuscuela is no newbie in this arena. An experienced entrepreneur who “likes nothing better than to start new businesses and make them profitable,”his background includes stints at international companies including America Online, Cartoon Network, and Grupo Infobae. He’s currently the CEO of Everypost, a social media posting application which he founded.
The question is: How does one market when the tool is a disappearing message?
Cuscuela begins with a story about the New Orleans Saints.
“It was one of the first brands to adopt a Snapchat marketing strategy last year, providing behind-the-scenes looks at the team off the field,” Cuscuela explains. “The NFL team also used Snapchat to send sneak peeks of uniforms, photos of new merchandise, and clips of players joking around. This intimate interaction and playful communication with fans helped maintain loyalty for the brand, even during the off-season.”
For companies considering playing the private messaging marketing game, Cuscuela offers some advice:
1. “Private messages are short-lived, so get your message across quickly.”
2. “Focus on creating messages that are meant to be understood within seconds and don’t feel spammy.”
3. “Creating shorter messages and focusing on one key point at a time lets you share announcements… quickly and redirect interested users to that specific content; whether it’s redirecting them to a website, app, or social pages.”
4. “You’ll need a different approach for communicating with different age groups.”
Though Cuscuela is banging the drum for the potential of private messaging, he nonetheless thinks it’s still “just one part of your mobile marketing strategy.”
“Having a multichannel mobile marketing strategy that includes private messaging apps in addition to a mobile-friendly website and strong social media campaign will help your brand reach your target audience wherever they are interacting most,” he advises.
Here’s a private message for you: Read the whole commentary here.
