As Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s F8 developer conference approaches next week, it is believed that the social media giant will explore ways to integrate third-party experiences with its Messenger app. The company is deeply involved in vision of expanding its Messenger platform from just a texting window to offering richer content and as a one-stop source of information for its users. The move appears to be inspired by the success of Asia based chat apps WeChat and Line, which have created a different, identify among users than being just a texting app.
An inspiration
Till date, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s Messenger has no compelling feature to differentiate it from an ordinary chat experience. On the other hand, Japanese messenger ‘Line’ is loaded with an array of unique features. It’s ‘More’ tab lets users access to a wide-range of premium emoji at Sticker shop, while ‘Line Pay’ could be used to make quick purchases at offline stores. Other than this, many more apps and games such as Line Toss, Line Brush, and Line Card are available for Line users.
Similarly, Snapchat has lined up a glossy and premium content strategy, which allows a range of media outlets to present their articles and videos with embedded ads on its platform.
Content then Commerce
Certainly, there is a lot of learning for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) from these Asia’s monolithic Chat Apps. The company has multiple options to try with its Messenger platform, like, for instance, letting third-parties assist users to create and share enhanced photos through the app. Also, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) could experiment with its News Feed and allow it to be pushed to Messenger.
Multiple sources stated that Facebook will primarily work on improving content on its Messenger platform, after which, it may consider expanding to commerce, on the lines of WeChat.
Currently, almost 500 million people use Facebook Messenger, which gives a pretty good reason to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) to improve its content inside Messenger and link more users to its News Feed.
