Messaging app or social media? That’s the question. Since it’s inception, WhatsApp has changed as users require more from the app, and it’s safe to safe that it’s now gone beyond your bog-standard messaging or texting app.
So, what is a social media platform?
To gain an understanding on WhatsApp’s position, it’s important to understand what a social media platform actually is, how people use them, and the problems they look to resolve. It goes without saying that each of them serves its own purpose, but the long and short is that they’re typically a digital platform for users to create and share content with a network. Sometimes, this network is those you know, and others are wider, spanning a global network of platform users. For many, social media platforms break down barriers of distance, making communication possible globally – without facing fees of phone calls or text messages. A WIFI connection is the only requirement.
Some key elements that we have begun to see across multiple platforms is the ability to Like, Comment, Reply, create profiles and privately share content with other users in end-to-end encrypted chats.
What about WhatsApp?
WhatsApp has been around for a long time now. Launched in 2009 as a texting alternative that allowed users to message for free, using only WIFI. At this point, texting or Facebook Chat were really the only alternatives. WhatsApp introduced a $1 annual fee which was quickly scrapped, but the app continued to develop from here with the introduction of photo-sharing in 2009, and the introduction of voice-messaging in 2013.
Today, WhatsApp boasts a range of functionality that users have come to love. These include:
- Enhanced sharing capabilities including text, photos, location, contacts, documents, poll votes and event plans. This is accompanied by the in-chat features of live video or voice call over WIFI, voice audio messages and tap-to-react feature which is a speedy way to acknowledge recent messages.
- Disappearing messages, allowing messages to vanish after 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days.
- Status updates which, like Instagram, allow users to share quick statuses with their networks. Fancy switching off for the day? Let your network know.
- End-to-end encryption means your messages within the app will be encrypted by default. This term can be thrown around a lot, but it essentially means that your messages cannot be accessed by anyone – including WhatsApp themselves, Meta, hackers, government, etc.
- The Business app has a host of additional functionality, including quick replies from customisable templates, automates messages, chat labels product catalogues, broadcast lists, integration with your CRM and the list goes on.
- Meta integration which allows WhatsApp to sync with Facebook and Instagram, Meta ads which can cloth through to WhatsApp which allow you to boost your network and chat QR codes which are great for print collateral.
The Evolution of WhatsApp
Since its inception, WhatsApp has listened to its users and turned into a platform that’s hard to ignore. For a free app, it seems like a no-brainer to download and use with your network, and actually, not having WhatsApp could be hindering your communications. Over the years, heaps of new functionality have been added, allowing more functionality to its users and making it an app that’s not easy to ignore.
Is WhatsApp a Social Media?
We’d argue no – and instead, we’d suggest that it’s just a key messaging app. Whilst it’s a platform that bridges the distance and allows you to communicate widely, it doesn’t hold other key characteristics of social media platforms like wide sharing of images or video.
But (and it’s a big but,) there’s no denying that WhatsApp has blurred the lines. With features like Status updates, business interactions, group broadcasting, and integration with Meta’s wider ecosystem, WhatsApp is creeping closer to the social media realm. It’s not quite Instagram, and it’s definitely not TikTok, but it’s become a digital space where people don’t just message; they can now connect, share, react, update, and collaborate. In other words, it’s becoming social.
What we’re seeing is a hybrid: a platform that’s retained its core identity as a messaging app but embraced some of the more communal, interactive features that define social networks. Whether you consider it social media or not may depend on how you use it. If you’re posting updates for your contacts, engaging in large group chats, or even using it as a business-customer touchpoint, then you’re certainly using it in a more social way than you would a traditional text app.
Social media and digital marketing can be confusing. So maybe the question we should be asking ourselves is “How social is your WhatsApp?”