SOCIAL
WhatsApp Partners with Indian Government to Provide Digital Identity Documents In-App
This could be a significant advance in Meta’s push to make WhatsApp an essential utility in India.
Today, India’s Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology has announced that Indian citizens will now be able to access various official documents via WhatsApp.
Fetching your important documents is now as easy as chatting with your friend on WhatsApp!
Enjoy #DigiLocker services through the #MyGovHelpdesk. Send ‘Hi’ to 9013151515 on WhatsApp to access your Insurance Documents, PAN Card, Driving License, etc. pic.twitter.com/pbSOnLmOE0
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) May 23, 2022
Integrating with its Digilocker digital documentation initiative, the program will make WhatsApp a more important connector, in even more ways, which could help to reinforce the value of the app for Indian users.
WhatsApp is currently the most popular messaging platform in India, with over 487 million users. And as India’s digital transformation continues to take shape, more and more people are becoming increasingly reliant on WhatsApp to stay connected, with Meta also looking to build in more options for bill paying, money exchange, shopping and more.
In many ways, Meta’s looking to replicate the way messaging apps are used in China, where WeChat has become an essential tool for many day-to-day interactions.
Indeed, amid the COVID outbreak, the significance of WeChat was underlined once again, with Chinese citizens required to show their health status via barcodes in both WeChat and/or Alipay in order to catch public transport, or travel to certain areas.
Chinese users regularly use their digital identity, via messaging apps, to conduct virtually all of their day-to-day transactions, including shopping, transport, utilities payments, banking, etc.
As per The South China Morning Post:
“Many people outside China either still haven’t heard of WeChat or they think it’s the country’s equivalent of popular messaging service WhatsApp or social media giant Facebook. For many people in China, WeChat is much more – it is not an overstatement to say it’s an indispensable part of their everyday lives.”
Meta has tried, at various stages, to replicate the utility of WeChat with western users, starting with its push to integrate messenger bots in 2016, to the addition of games to expand usage, to rolling out Facebook Pay (soon to be Meta Pay) in various markets.
Those efforts haven’t seen Messenger expand beyond a messaging platform, which has stunted Meta’s efforts to monetize its messaging apps. But in India, where social media adoption is still evolving, it sees significant opportunity to make messaging a more essential element for the nation’s 1.4 billion citizens.
For comparison, the US, Meta’s biggest market in terms of revenue, has a population of 332 million people.
You can see, then, why Meta is so keen to build on WhatsApp’s presence in the Indian market, which this integration will certainly help with, while Meta’s also rolling out new business tools, like recurring notifications and WhatsApp Cloud hosting, which are available for free for now, but will eventually become paid tools.
India is where Meta wants to see the biggest take up of these functions, with each step further cementing the app as a key utility for the region.
Again, up till now, Meta hasn’t been able to effectively monetize WhatsApp, despite paying $19 billion for the app in 2014. This is the strongest pathway to building it into a necessary layer for business interactions, which will help Meta dominate in another new market, while also driving significant future revenue opportunities.
SOCIAL
Snapchat Explores New Messaging Retention Feature: A Game-Changer or Risky Move?
In a recent announcement, Snapchat revealed a groundbreaking update that challenges its traditional design ethos. The platform is experimenting with an option that allows users to defy the 24-hour auto-delete rule, a feature synonymous with Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging model.
The proposed change aims to introduce a “Never delete” option in messaging retention settings, aligning Snapchat more closely with conventional messaging apps. While this move may blur Snapchat’s distinctive selling point, Snap appears convinced of its necessity.
According to Snap, the decision stems from user feedback and a commitment to innovation based on user needs. The company aims to provide greater flexibility and control over conversations, catering to the preferences of its community.
Currently undergoing trials in select markets, the new feature empowers users to adjust retention settings on a conversation-by-conversation basis. Flexibility remains paramount, with participants able to modify settings within chats and receive in-chat notifications to ensure transparency.
Snapchat underscores that the default auto-delete feature will persist, reinforcing its design philosophy centered on ephemerality. However, with the app gaining traction as a primary messaging platform, the option offers users a means to preserve longer chat histories.
The update marks a pivotal moment for Snapchat, renowned for its disappearing message premise, especially popular among younger demographics. Retaining this focus has been pivotal to Snapchat’s identity, but the shift suggests a broader strategy aimed at diversifying its user base.
This strategy may appeal particularly to older demographics, potentially extending Snapchat’s relevance as users age. By emulating features of conventional messaging platforms, Snapchat seeks to enhance its appeal and broaden its reach.
Yet, the introduction of message retention poses questions about Snapchat’s uniqueness. While addressing user demands, the risk of diluting Snapchat’s distinctiveness looms large.
As Snapchat ventures into uncharted territory, the outcome of this experiment remains uncertain. Will message retention propel Snapchat to new heights, or will it compromise the platform’s uniqueness?
Only time will tell.
SOCIAL
Catering to specific audience boosts your business, says accountant turned coach
While it is tempting to try to appeal to a broad audience, the founder of alcohol-free coaching service Just the Tonic, Sandra Parker, believes the best thing you can do for your business is focus on your niche. Here’s how she did just that.
When running a business, reaching out to as many clients as possible can be tempting. But it also risks making your marketing “too generic,” warns Sandra Parker, the founder of Just The Tonic Coaching.
“From the very start of my business, I knew exactly who I could help and who I couldn’t,” Parker told My Biggest Lessons.
Parker struggled with alcohol dependence as a young professional. Today, her business targets high-achieving individuals who face challenges similar to those she had early in her career.
“I understand their frustrations, I understand their fears, and I understand their coping mechanisms and the stories they’re telling themselves,” Parker said. “Because of that, I’m able to market very effectively, to speak in a language that they understand, and am able to reach them.”Â
“I believe that it’s really important that you know exactly who your customer or your client is, and you target them, and you resist the temptation to make your marketing too generic to try and reach everyone,” she explained.
“If you speak specifically to your target clients, you will reach them, and I believe that’s the way that you’re going to be more successful.
Watch the video for more of Sandra Parker’s biggest lessons.
SOCIAL
Instagram Tests Live-Stream Games to Enhance Engagement
Instagram’s testing out some new options to help spice up your live-streams in the app, with some live broadcasters now able to select a game that they can play with viewers in-stream.
As you can see in these example screens, posted by Ahmed Ghanem, some creators now have the option to play either “This or That”, a question and answer prompt that you can share with your viewers, or “Trivia”, to generate more engagement within your IG live-streams.
That could be a simple way to spark more conversation and interaction, which could then lead into further engagement opportunities from your live audience.
Meta’s been exploring more ways to make live-streaming a bigger consideration for IG creators, with a view to live-streams potentially catching on with more users.
That includes the gradual expansion of its “Stars” live-stream donation program, giving more creators in more regions a means to accept donations from live-stream viewers, while back in December, Instagram also added some new options to make it easier to go live using third-party tools via desktop PCs.
Live streaming has been a major shift in China, where shopping live-streams, in particular, have led to massive opportunities for streaming platforms. They haven’t caught on in the same way in Western regions, but as TikTok and YouTube look to push live-stream adoption, there is still a chance that they will become a much bigger element in future.
Which is why IG is also trying to stay in touch, and add more ways for its creators to engage via streams. Live-stream games is another element within this, which could make this a better community-building, and potentially sales-driving option.
We’ve asked Instagram for more information on this test, and we’ll update this post if/when we hear back.
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