Messenger has truly become a separate creature from the main Facebook app, with some people having the former without necessarily having the latter. Last year, they already crossed the 1.3 billion threshold of active users every month and that number continues to grow. Facebook released six things that users can watch out for in 2018 when it comes to the Messenger app, and one of the things is to expect the app to undergo massive simplifying and streamlining, among other things.
Among the six mentioned trends for Messenger in 2018, the third one is the shortest and the most striking. Facebook admits that they “raced to build new features” but some of them have not been able to find their product market fit. We’ve seen comments that the app has become too cluttered already and so they promised to invest a lot into simplifying the app without necessarily removing the features that people have enjoyed about Messenger.
The other trends they mentioned are really just building on what people have come to expect from Messenger, like real-time features (video and voice chat), group chats, and visual messaging. It shows you what they will be prioritizing next year, in terms of personal messaging. As for businesses and brands, they will be working on continuing the trend of using Messenger as a true Customer Care Channel.
Facebook is also expecting that global brands and small businesses alike will continue to invest in rich messaging experiences as they realize that Messenger is a “unique and effective experience” to reach a bigger audience online. Let’s see how they will be able to balance both the personal and the marketing features for Messenger and if users and advertisers will both be pleased.
SOURCE: Facebook
