Facebook has come up with yet another new announcement. A few days ago we learned that the social media giant launched updates on its subsidiary platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The latest announcement is Facebook is planning to launch with WhatsApp by target advertising.
In simple terms, WhatsApp will be serving ads in the future. This new development has come up when there were speculations going on about Facebook still not leveraging WhatsApp to put up ads. WhatsApp has got more than 150 crore global users.
What was the initial announcement of Facebook?
Facebook has already announced that it will be using WhatsApp for showing ads on the platform. The ads will be displayed in WhatsApp statuses, just like Instagram and Facebook stories to promote paid content.
This was the plan during the initial announcement. However, Facebook didn’t completely carry on with the announcements on WhatsApp. It was suspended on the grounds to “avoid antagonizing regulators”.
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In 2016, WhatsApp had announced a change in the privacy policy where some user data will be shared with the parent company Facebook for target advertising. By coordinating more with Facebook, WhatsApp wanted to track the basic metrics on user behaviour for better ad-targeting.
The idea was to offer much more relevant ads. For instance, if you see an ad from a company that you already work with, it enriches the user experience for that particular company. The data to be shared includes the phone number and the last time they used WhatsApp.
Why Choose WhatsApp now?
Initially, WhatsApp was not such a popular platform that can be used for multiple purposes. With its gradual updates like WhatsApp status, broadcasts improved video, and voice calls, it has become a versatile platform to be used for digital marketing, social media marketing, and e-commerce.
The primary reason to choose WhatsApp is the number of users it has. As we already mentioned, WhatsApp has got more than 150 crore users. Thus, it can be leveraged as a platform for social media marketing. WhatsApp for business is also available to communicate with customers.
Another reason for choosing the WhatsApp status feature for target ads is, in recent times, the status feature is being used by a huge number of people. Not only you can share any content, but you can post links, images, info-graphics, and more.
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Also, since the status feature can be seen by the people in one’s contact, thus, it is a much better platform for sharing customized and tailored ads according to specific user behaviour. It makes it an ideal feature to be used for digital marketing and target ads.
What is target advertising? A brief explanation in layman’s terms
There is no doubt that advertisement is everywhere, whether it is online or offline. People have gotten used to seeing and ignoring it. Thus, to win back the attention of their target audience, the advertisers at present opt for ways to monitor consumer behaviour and their interests.
It might sound strange, but it is true. Using the information on consumer behaviour and interests to sell things is a practice known as target advertising. It is a form of online advertising focusing on the specific preferences of a consumer. Here is how it works.
For instance, you visit Amazon to check a new book. To keep a track of your visit, Amazon will create a “cookie” file on your computer. Later, automated advertisements will read the cookie and generate ads for the item related to your visit to Amazon.
Apart from the cookies, the advertisers can also learn about your interests and preferences in other ways like checking the search engine history and personal information on social media. A lot of people might see this as a violation of privacy.
It is important to remember that all the search queries, social media updates, interests, and preferences that you present on the internet, can be tracked. If it can be tracked, it might come back to you in the form of a targeted ad. There is nothing to worry about it.
What are the speculated features of WhatsApp target ads?
The social media giant will monetize the messaging application by hosting ads on the status message feature. The primary mode of monetization is going to be putting up ads in the WhatsApp statuses. The feature is going to benefit business owners who can reach out to potential customers.
The targeted ads will be supported on the messaging platform with Facebook’s advertising system. The Facebook profile of the user will be matched with the WhatsApp profiles using the phone numbers. Then it will determine which ads will be shown on the messaging platform.
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This is how Facebook is going to use target ads. Even though the news has been confirmed, the company has also that the implementation of this decision will take quite some time. This feature will come into action once the social media giant completes the unification of the messaging platforms.
What are the possible adverse effects?
The plan to leverage the WhatsApp user base on Facebook for target advertising might raise issues for the social media mogul. The reason is that Facebook has already faced complaints about various anti-trust issues and information leakage. It is under scrutiny due to allegations of the possible misuse of personal information.
Thus, if this feature is not implemented satisfactorily, it could backfire. The reason is WhatsApp will share user-data with Facebook that includes the phone number and the last seen of the user. Any hint of a breach in personal information can backfire and might lead to the mass deletion of Facebook accounts.
Those who won’t be allowed to join the two social media accounts together by verification will become frustrated at one point. It might also lead to the deletion of Facebook accounts. Thus, it is imperative for social media mogul to take careful measures for avoiding negative impacts.
It is not clear yet whether Facebook will allow in selling ads directly on WhatsApp. During the annual Facebook Marketing Summit in the Netherlands last year, Facebook mentioned that WhatsApp statuses are going to be a solution for monetizing the platform with ads.
It will be similar to how ads are presented through Instagram stories. The ads in statuses will be a long-term opportunity for WhatsApp. At present, it can be said that WhatsApp statuses will be used to serve ads, whether it will be directly or indirectly, this we have to wait and watch.
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