Facebook Messenger Hits 1 Billion Users and What it Means to Marketers

Facebook is the largest social media application with over 1.6 billion daily users. Facebook is constantly introducing new features to engage users and stay on top of their game. One new feature that was introduced in 2011 was Facebook Messenger. Facebook and Messenger were once connected but the company decided to separate the two after additional features were added to Messenger. In the last 20 months, Facebook required its users to download Messenger as an iPhone app in addition to Facebook. By pressing its users to download Messenger in order to contact people privately through Facebook, their numbers have increased to one billion users.

By forcing users to download Messenger, they doubled their user count which helped them obtain their current one billion. Messenger has become a trustworthy messaging app that is used every day. According to TechCrunch, 22 million GIFs and 380 million stickers are sent each day. And on top of that, each month, there are 17 billion photos sent and 1 billion messages sent between people and businesses.

Messenger took baby steps in the last five years to make their dreams a reality. The Messenger team was constantly introducing new features to improve. It all started with Beluga which focused on chat over data, then came Messenger v1 which was the first version of Messenger before they added additional features and next came forced migration which is a big reason their numbers grew so quickly. Facebook forced users to download Messenger and in return, Facebook received tons of backlash. People did not want to have two Facebook applications on their phones and thought it was completely unnecessary.

With Facebook Messenger, users are able to do so much more than just message privately on Facebook. Messenger introduced read-receipts to simulate a face-to-face conversation, audio calling, SMS with users phone numbers if you weren’t Facebook friends, and more. Additionally, Facebook Messenger prided itself on speed and making sure your message is sent and delivered efficiently. Messenger uses little circles next to your message which could mean three different things. An empty circle means sending, an empty but checked circle means sent, a filled in and checked message means it was delivered to the recipient, and if their picture is in the circle, it means they have read your message.

Hitting one billion users on Facebook Messenger will change Facebook tremendously. Developers and brands will be more attracted to Messenger because of its strong numbers and statistics. Messenger’s ability to send messages, audio and video, GIFs and more has made this a very powerful communication tool for marketers. Being able to contact someone knowing just their name and internet access will be beneficial for marketers.

Utilizing Facebook and Facebook Messenger for your business can be difficult but working with a Facebook marketing agency such as Bright Age can help. A social media agency can target specific people within the daunting one billion users. Facebook Messenger is one of the largest communication tools next to WhatsApp and is expected to grow even more in the next few years.

Author: Alyssa Perel

Alyssa is currently pursuing a degree in Media Studies with a minor in Marketing at San Diego State University. Her interest in social media and marketing has grown vastly over the years and she enjoys discovering new things about this field every day. You can connect with Alyssa via Facebook and Instagram @aperel.