Alexis Kestler
WhatsApp has become one of the most influential social platforms on the planet, with over 2 billion monthly active users exchanging messages, photos, videos and more. The launch of WhatsApp Channels represents the next major evolution in its product capabilities.
In this comprehensive deep dive, we‘ll explore how Channels fit into the app‘s growth strategy, benefits for different stakeholders, and predictions for the future.
The Meteoric Rise of WhatsApp
To appreciate why Channels make sense as WhatsApp‘s next step, we first need to understand the platform‘s impressive growth over the past decade.
Originally started in 2009 as an alternative to text messaging, WhatsApp offered free messaging between users worldwide. This quickly gained widespread adoption.
By early 2014, WhatsApp had a staggering 450 million monthly active users – and was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion as a result.
The addition of voice calling in 2014 and video calling in 2016 expanded WhatsApp‘s scope as a communication platform. Users could now have richer conversations beyond just text.
Monthly Active Users Across Key Platforms:
| Platform | Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| 2 billion+ | |
| 2.96 billion | |
| 2 billion+ | |
| Snapchat | 363 million |
| 237 million |
With his large engagement base secured, WhatsApp began slowly building out features to cater to enterprise and business users.
The launches of WhatsApp Business accounts in 2018 and Business API access in 2020 unlocked crucial use cases beyond consumer messaging, like customer service and notifications.
WhatsApp Pay also started rolling out from 2018, facilitating financial transactions without leaving the app. This is particularly useful in emerging markets.
Now, Channels opens up an entirely new one-to-many broadcast communication capability on WhatsApp, creating fertile ground for community-building and engagement.
Each evolution over the past 13 years has retained WhatsApp‘s core strengths while expanding its market. Channels is the next stage in this progression.
Demystifying WhatsApp Channels
At its core, Channels allow creators and businesses to set up public broadcast channels that users can subscribe to for updates.
But how does it work under the hood?
Technically, Channels are built leveraging WhatsApp‘s existing Business API. A Channel creator uses the API to send bulk notifications to all subscribers, instead of having to message them individually.
This means Channels will likely eventually tie into WhatsApp‘s broader business messaging strategy. However, for now, anyone can create a Channel manually within WhatsApp.
Use cases for Channels span entertainment, news, education, marketing and more. Some examples:
- A lecturer shares must-know course updates with students
- A business sends new product announcements to customers
- An influencer engages fans with behind-the-scenes content
- A media house broadcasts breaking news alerts
The common thread is timely and relevant broadcasts tailored to a specific audience.
Compared to push notifications from standalone apps, Channels have the advantage of extending the conversation within WhatsApp rather than pulling users elsewhere.
This helps build durable engagement and community on the platform.
Evaluating the Benefits of WhatsApp Channels
WhatsApp Channels introduce valuable functionality for multiple stakeholders. Let‘s analyze the benefits in more detail:
For Users
Stay on top of interests – Subscribing to Channels around topics like sports, tech, politics etc. lets users stay in the know without having to actively look for updates.
Convenience – Following different creators and publishers via their Channels means getting all their updates conveniently in WhatsApp itself, rather than multiple separate apps.
Relevant content – Curated updates from followed Channels cuts out the noise and delivers information users actually care about.
Light feedback – Reacting to Channel updates with emojis provides a low-friction way to engage rather than full-fledged commenting.
For Creators & Businesses
Reach existing audiences – Channels allow brands and creators to engage their existing WhatsApp user bases instead of trying to build followings from scratch elsewhere.
Better engagement – Followers seeking out updates demonstrate higher intent than passive social media viewers. Channels provide a direct line to this premium audience segment.
Build community – Channels facilitate ongoing discussions and relationships between creators and their most passionate followers.
Monetization – Popular Channels give creators the ability to potentially monetize through sponsorships, exclusives, subscriptions and more. But this hasn‘t been implemented yet.
Retain on WhatsApp – By giving users valuable updates directly on WhatsApp, creators can disincentivize them from leaving the platform.
For WhatsApp
Usage – Channels incentivize users to spend more time daily interacting with WhatsApp. This boosts the platform‘s stickiness and retention.
New revenue – If WhatsApp charges businesses for advanced Channel features in the future, it could emerge as a revenue stream.
Data – Channel subscriptions and content analytics provide valuable demographic and psychographic insights into WhatsApp‘s user base.
Lock-in – Channels make it more attractive for creators to engage audiences directly on WhatsApp rather than third-party sites.
The incentives clearly align for users, creators and WhatsApp itself when it comes to Channels. This widespread win-win scenario predicts strong traction.
But to get the most out of Channels, creators need to use them effectively. Let‘s go over some best practices next.
Best Practices for Channel Admins
Here are some tips for creators and businesses to build great WhatsApp channels:
Provide Value
Think carefully about the types of updates your audience would genuinely value and tailor your content accordingly. Share exclusive previews, deals, polls and actionable advice.
Post Consistently
Strike a balance between posting frequently to stay top of mind and overloading users with too many notifications. 2-3 updates per week is a good starting point.
Multimedia Content
Vary text-based updates with attention-grabbing images, infographics, videos and voice messages. This makes the channel more engaging.
Interact with Followers
Use polls, quick reactions and broadcast lists to facilitate two-way interactions with subscribers beyond just one-way broadcasts.
Promote Strategically
Leverage your other social media, email lists and marketing channels to raise awareness of your WhatsApp Channel and grow subscribers.
Analyze Performance
Pay close attention to metrics like followers gained/lost, views and reactions to glean insights and improve your channel‘s content over time.
Moderate Carefully
Utilize available settings like disabling forwarding if required to prevent misuse and maintain control of your broadcast list.
Following these tips will help ensure your WhatsApp Channel stands out in this emerging competitive landscape. But first, you need to get followers.
Discovery: How Users Can Find Relevant Channels
For users seeking out entertaining or informative Channels to follow, WhatsApp provides a few helpful ways to surface relevant options:
Featured Channels – The app showcases verified popular channels from categories like News, Entertainment, Tech, Business and more.
Search – Users can search for specific creators or publishers they want to follow, like "WSJ Channel" or "Marques Brownlee Channel".
Recommendations – Based on users‘ recent WhatsApp contacts and activity, the app automatically suggests potentially interesting Channels.
Shared Links – Some creators provide a link to their Channel that users can simply click through to subscribe in one tap.
Additionally, WhatsApp will likely add more advanced discovery mechanisms over time, like curated topic-based Channel directories.
Predicting the Future of WhatsApp Channels
While still in its infancy, Channels hint at exciting possibilities in WhatsApp‘s future roadmap. Here are some potential upcoming evolutions.
Two-Way Messaging
Enabling creators to exchange messages directly with subscribers could make Channels more interactive and personalized.
Analytics
Advanced metrics like demographic data, subscriber profiles, and content performance metrics would help creators refine their strategies.
Targeting
Tools to target Channel broadcasts by location, user attributes or past activity would allow more personalized updates.
Monetization
Native monetization via tips, exclusive content, subscriptions or even ads seems inevitable further down the line.
Automation
Integration with WhatsApp Business API could enable automating Channel communications across large subscriber bases.
Payments
Tie-ins with WhatsApp Pay to facilitate transactions for things like channel subscriptions and exclusive content purchases.
Not all of these are guaranteed to materialize, but Channels‘ current capabilities are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to WhatsApp‘s vision.
The Bottom Line on WhatsApp Channels
WhatsApp Channels represent the logical next step in the evolution of the world‘s most ubiquitous messaging platform.
The addition of this broadcast capability brings WhatsApp up to speed with other social media in enabling one-to-many communication.
For users, it offers a new channel to get updates on topics they care about from different creators consolidated into one place.
For brands and creators, it provides a powerful way to engage and retain existing audiences on WhatsApp itself.
And for WhatsApp, it unlocks new strategic opportunities to accelerate growth, engagement, data collection, and revenue streams.
Given WhatsApp‘s scale, Channels have the potential to rapidly emerge as a highly influential broadcast medium. While still rough around the edges today, we can expect the feature to mature quickly in terms of discoverability, analytics, targeting, and monetization capabilities.
Regardless of how the product evolves, it‘s clear that Channels will fundamentally expand WhatsApp‘s utility as a primary interface both for personal communication and business/creator connections.
