Stickers Are Hot! -- Celia Francis, CEO, WeeWorld

Have you been watching the explosion in audience size on the mobile messaging apps like Kik Viber Tango and WhatsApp and wondering how to participate as a marketer Here are common questions answered and an offer available only to Myers Media Business Network participants that will get your brand in front of these massive audiences Messaging is hot At least fifteen companies are seriously competing to dominate this space In February 2014 Facebook paid 19B for WhatsApp and Rakuten paid 900M for Viber According to Strategy Eye 71 trillion messages are expected to be sent worldwide this year on messaging apps These apps started out to be a way to avoid SMS costs but have blossomed into new ecosystems involving hundreds of millions of usersWhy are messaging apps importantOne reason is that the new messaging apps allow people to communicate with a smaller set of friends at a time On Facebook you may find yourself broadcasting your personal life to 500 amp8220friendsamp8221 In the messaging apps you can chat with one friend at a time or choose a smaller group to share and chat with Some apps like Viber or Skype also let you make phone calls less expensively Some photo and video apps like Vine and Instagram have recently added the ability to send direct messages to friends So some people are moving conversations away from Facebook and into these appsSo is it just greater privacy intimacy and security that make these apps so valuable The answer is not entirely Some messaging apps are already so big that they are being used to disrupt four established markets virtual goods gaming commerce and payments For example Kakao Talk in Korea has launched a gaming line just for its app In Japan Line launched a peer to peer marketplace called Line Mall where sellers earn rewards that can be redeemed in the mall In China WeChat allows users to enter card details to use WeChat Pay to pay for anything from virtual goods to offline purchases like taxisWelcome to the newest social revolution These platforms are evolving into a third channel for acquisition discovery and distribution on a similar scale to Facebook or Google Whether youamp8217re looking for a restaurant a new game or just paying your bills you may rely on these new networks to do so As Kikamp8217s CEO Ted Livingston said to TechCrunch amp8220Having a popular mobile messenger is simply going to become table stakes for competing in the mobile eraamp8221How can I participate as a marketerAs a marketer you know how Facebook and Google profoundly changed the way brands acquire and engage with their customers The good news is that you can get involved today Thereamp8217s an excellent opportunity to incorporate your brands into conversations using stickersVirtual stickers are already big business Line made 120 million in 2013 on stickers from 350 million users Today you will find rich emotionallyexpressive or funny stickers on Viber Tango Kik Path GroupMe and a range of other messaging apps used in the US and EuropeHow do stickers workStickers help convey emotion and personalize messages Some people send a sticker on its own to simply say amp8220hiamp8221 and check if someone is up for a chat Stickers stand out because they are larger and more visual than just plain text Stickers typically come in packs of up to a dozen some of which are free to use Others cost around 2 per pack These packs may be customized for brands products or limited edition events Once a sticker is selected you just tap to add it to your stream of textBranded stickers are a fun and effective new way to engage with your customers Below is an example of stickers from Despicable Me 2 Stickers have been used to promote a wide range of products including music drinks airlines and moreHow do I get startedIf you are interested in branded stickers WeeWorld has a groundbreaking opportunity to incorporate stickers into photos Our new app SlapSticker coming out in the next few weeks lets your brand be part of the big picture With more than 12 billion monthly photo uploads to Facebook and Instagram alone branded photo stickers are a strong visual opportunitySlapSticker lets you take a photo and add a sticker that can be shared on any social media platform including messaging apps amp8211 Facebook Instagram WhatsApp Viber Pinterest Imgur or any site that accepts photos It helps the user add emotion and humor to any photo and is a great way to get your visual brand product or characters straight into your customeramp8217s hands where they are spending their timeIf you want to be one of the first to preview SlapSticker and understand how it could work with your brand email Celia Francis at celiaweeworldcom now Only the first twenty respondents can be accommodated Weamp8217ll select two brands to be included in SlapSticker for freeJack Myers is an equityoptions holder in WeeWorld IncCelia Francis is Chief Executive Officer of WeeWorld Inc She has two decades of experience leading and building innovative mobile entertainment and messaging companies in Silicon Valley and the United Kingdom Currently Celia sets the strategic direction for WeeWorldamp8217s continued growth and innovation making apps and content that allows people to express themselvesCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentariesamp160amp160

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Stickers Are Hot! -- Celia Francis, CEO, WeeWorld

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