Businesses today have more tools for social influence than ever before, including mobile chat applications.

The nature of marketing is changing with more and more businesses utilising mobile chat solutions like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and other mobile applications/social media networks to connect with consumers directly.

These methods of communication represent a new and very personal way to connect with consumers one-on-one, to deliver a more individual and unique customer experience.

A great example of a retailer utilizing WhatsApp for marketing purposes is Clarks Shoes. In 2015 Clarks began using a storytelling campaign through WhatsApp, to display some of the main features of its desert boot and its fashion history. They were some of the first to leverage WhatsApp as a marketing tool, to tell a story to a mass number of users. Storytelling, using mobile chat and image-sending features with product links, created a very compelling marketing campaign.

Facebook Messenger is also a great way that many companies are leveraging success, beyond just a simple social media profile. Through Messenger’s auto-reply features and Chatbots, it’s possible for a business page to deliver instant customer service responses, or create user-specific advertising that can appear in a message. Facebook is opening up these tools to retailers to connect with users on a much more personal basis and to ensure that product creators can deliver a more personal connection with the platform.

When it comes to influencing social media and mobile chat habits, these messaging applications aren’t going away anytime soon. As more retailers focus on a more personalised consumer approach to advertising it can create more in-depth customer loyalty and improved conversion rates. The future of social media marketing and influence could very well rest with messaging apps moving forward!