The popular messaging application “WhatsApp” on app stores worldwide, turned 10 years old this week.
WhatsApp now has over 1.5 billion users, more than 1/6 of the entire earth’s population. One of the perks of WhatsApp is the functionality of being able to message those around the world with only a WiFi connection. In celebration of their 10th anniversary, WhatsApp launched the “first iteration of the WhatsApp Business app” which aims to bring business owners more user-friendly interactions with customers in hopes to maximize opportunities around the globe.
WhatsApp also introduced their own variant of stories, and an ad program as well. This is foreign soil for other messaging companies too. Nobody enjoys seeing ads in their private messages because it’s a private space. I understand why WhatsApp is trying to generate more revenue from its giant user base, but pulling it off will not be an easy task. I’m curious to see if these ads within the messaging component itself will last. Maybe they should look into doing what Instagram and SnapChat already do. Embedding ads into the stories function of the application makes them almost impossible to avoid, generating more money for the company. Ads are a pretty tricky road to navigate, and most users do not enjoy seeing them on their feeds. However, if WhatsApp can figure out a way to embed these ads in a non-invasive way, they will grow exponentially.
I’m excited to see what other features WhatsApp offers next. The amount of growth that they’ve seen in the last decade is truly remarkable. Going from an SMS replacement to the biggest free messaging application in the world is a very respectable feat. Here’s to 10 more!
JMC 367 Spring 2019 Blog 
In-app advertisements are so annoying, but I can’t imagine being a big company and not having any revenue from that kind of outlet. You made a good point about how weird and invasive it would feel to have ads pop up in a private messaging app. That is one app that should feel personal and free from marketing schemes. Imagine seeing ads in iMessage, thats absurd. It will be interesting to see how WhatsApp pulls this off with the addition of their stories.
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While I do agree, I hate in app advertisements, I have yet to stop using an app because of the advertising. I think they are doing a great capitalizing on what a lot of companies already do. I feel if it’s been proved to work on social media outlets then they will only gain from this!
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Advertising on social media is definitely an issue companies face frequently. Users come for the content the apps provide, not to be advertised to. Imbedding them into the stories would probably be their best bet because it is already being done on other platforms, so it will be a format people expect to see and are used to.
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