Whatsapp might put money into a neighborhood characteristic. What does it imply for entrepreneurs?

Recently the XDA developer Portal identified mentions related to “communities” in the internal files of the new Whatsapp beta version.

Shortly afterwards the WABetaInfo The website had access to screenshots that further substantiate the previous discovery:

What is ahead In this article, we’re going to talk about what to expect from this mysterious new feature and how marketers can benefit from it Marketing strategies.

After all, what is a community?

WABetaInfo shows that the new function is about a new area in which administrators have greater authority over groups.

While it is still difficult to provide many details about this new feature, according to website, Administrators can send messages in this group chat, invite new users via links or QR codes, and create a collection of groups related to the community.

Another point that caught my attention was the format of the community icon. Probably used to allow distinction between groups and communities, it should be noted that the symbol layout is square with rounded edges, which is different from the circular shape that exists today.

Why did Whatsapp choose to implement this new feature?

Corresponding Statista, with more than 2 billion monthly users, Whatsapp is the most important instant messaging platform in the world, followed by Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion) and Chinese WeChat (1.2 billion).

So far, however, there has been a clear interest in the app to maintain itself as a more private communication channel and not to scale. In other words, Whatsapp didn’t want large groups or spam messages within the platform.

By working on a community feature, WhatsApp may be trying to bridge the growing gap between it and other messaging apps like Telegram and Signal.

A good example of this is WhatsApp’s limit of 256 users per group, an extremely low number compared to its competitors Telegram (up to 200,000 users per group) or Signal (up to 1,000 per group).

There are two other important factors that should be analyzed here.

In early 2021, WhatsApp’s new privacy policy caused controversy among users about what kind of data could be shared with the parent brand Facebook (now meta) which sparked a mass exodus to these other apps.

Another recent fact was the sudden demise of the platform along with the entire network of Facebook apps over the past month. Telegram has gained a whopping 70 million users in just a few hours.

Given these important data, it is clear the need for the platform to reinvent itself and propose new features while maintaining its sovereignty in the marketplace.

How can marketers benefit from this new community feature?

The creation of communities, be it on WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, among others, can offer your company several options:

Communities create a sense of togetherness

Man has a deep desire to belong.

A study published by Plus one showed that identifying people belonging to groups increases their sense of personal goals, expands their perception and outlook on life, and consequently increases their self-esteem.

Other Series of studies by Dr. Gregory Walton has shown that belonging to a community with common interests and aspirations has a direct impact on our motivation, health, happiness, and our view of the world.

Surveys like this help us understand why people love to participate in communities on platforms like Facebook groups, Telegram channels, and others.

Greater public interaction with your brand

Strengthening the Bond between your company and your audience is important to any marketing strategy you develop.

Here are some of the many benefits community marketing can bring to your business:

• Increases the trust of your customers or prospects in your brand
• Provides you with incredible data about your audience: their needs, wants, and perceptions
• Increased conversions in your marketing offers
• Ability to see improvements in your product or service
• More open and transparent communication with the public
• Improved feedback process.

Content deliverability

It’s no longer news that social media algorithms greatly reduce the deliverability of content to audiences.

The official reason, according to multiple platforms, is that tons of content is shared every day and it is necessary to show only the best to users. But you know Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. make a lot of money with ads, right?

This has led marketers to look for new and more efficient ways to deliver content.

Paid media, newsletters and communities on messaging platforms are increasingly present in the marketing strategies of many companies.

The deliverability of content within platforms such as Telegram or Signal is far greater than with any existing social network today.

So it’s worth keeping an eye on this new feature WhatsApp will be offering as it could mean a big turn in your overall marketing strategy.

Prepare yourself

As the world’s largest messaging app today, Whatsapp’s mysterious new feature could become not only an option but also a trend in corporate marketing strategies.

As the channel most used by people in their daily personal and professional conversations, the new functionality could fundamentally change the way people interact with their acquaintances, companies and people with common interests.

On the other hand, the growing popularity of platforms like Telegram and Signal in the occidental world can threaten the sovereignty of this giant.

Now we have to wait and prepare for these changes.