While WhatsApp has long been the biggest messaging platform in the world, it’s never really been a major focus in the U.S., where other platforms, like Messenger, have been the DM platform of choice.
Till now.
Today, WhatsApp has announced that it’s reached a new milestone of 100 million U.S. users.
As per WhatsApp:
“It’s been a long time since we’ve written about the momentum of WhatsApp and today we have some exciting news to share. As of this month, WhatsApp now has 100 million users in the United States. This milestone has been a long time coming and it proves that WhatsApp is the solution to the cross platform divide in America. No matter if you have an iPhone or Android, people want private and secure messaging that works well for everyone and that’s what we do best.”
To be clear, Messenger still has many more U.S. users, at close to 200 million actives.
But WhatsApp has been on the rise of late, as more people look to enhance their privacy, and ensure that others can’t snoop on their private conversations.
Which, overall, is becoming a bigger focus. These days, fewer people are posting updates to their social media profiles, as they instead opt to maintain more exclusive, intimate messaging chats with friends.
The novelty of sharing with everybody has worn off, due to the permanence of social media posts, as well as angst and argument in the comments. For many, it’s better to just stick to their friends, and that, combined with rising concern around data privacy, has seen a steady stream of users downloading WhatsApp.
WhatsApp’s also good for cross-border communications, as the most used global messaging app, while it also continues to add new features, enhancing its offering.
This new milestone is a testament to this, and it’s interesting to consider the expanded messaging shift, and how that might relate to your marketing strategy.
And while you can’t advertise on WhatsApp, you can drive conversation in the app via Click to Message ads, while you can also create WhatsApp groups and communities to solidify connection with your audience.
It’s something to consider, because as the numbers show, your target audience is increasingly likely to be active in the app.
