The possibility of ads on the Whatsapp platform has been circulating via news headlines for a while now. For Android users, this possibility is all set to be a reality with the Whatsapp for Android version 2.18.305, the most recent beta version of this popular messaging platform.
The ads are expected to be implemented in the status section of the app as reported by the Wall Street Journal and the ads will be displayed prominently via the Status Section beginning of 2019. Bolstered by Facebook’s localized ad generation mechanism; the ads are set to accustom Whatsapp users with business on the communications platform.
According to Whatsapp Beta Tracker, WABetaInfo; these ads are not visible to users yet as the feature is in a disabled state but the feature is set to go live next year.
Whatsapp Ads – Move To Attract Users
Bearing in mind that the Whatsapp Status feature attracts 450 million active users every day; the ads are bound to be noticed and are expected to generate revenues for the parent company Facebook. The status feature currently serves as a platform for user-generated status updates and short personal videos that remain in this section of the app for 24 hours. While users can currently access records of other Whatsapp users that view their status and video updates; this feature will serve advertisers as well to track their outreach as well.
While the Whatsapp status feature was originally inspired by Snapchat Stories; this feature has gained widespread popularity which Facebook hopes to harness for the purpose of advertising. The ads will provide a direct contact feature wherein users can contact the advertisers through Whatsapp. Currently, this feature is being tested by major companies such as Singapore Airlines and Uber.
Let us see how will users react to ads being displayed in WhatsApp. Since WhatsApp was founded, there had been no monetization method. To recall, Facebook bought Whatsapp in a whopping deal worth over a billion dollars and now it seems that Facebook is inching forward to monetize its most widespread messaging app – WhatsApp.
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