5 reasons why the fight between WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Line matters

Are you tired of tech blogs covering messaging apps that you’ve never used, which are popular in countries that you’ve never been to? Do you read news about e-commerce on Line, or games on KakaoTalk, or HTML5 apps on Kik, and want to scream “I don’t care… I’m still going to use WhatsApp!!!”?

The mobile messaging space is cluttered with apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Kik, WeChat, Line, Viber, Hike, Tango, KakaoTalk, Cubie, and dozens (yes, dozens) of others, all of which do essentially the same thing.

Since clear winners and losers are already emerging, some might say that mobile messaging has reached saturation, both in terms of apps and (dunh-dunh-dunh) media coverage.

Yet the mobile messaging competition is one that’s important for several reasons. Below we’ve compiled five simple questions that arise from the ongoing battle between WhatsApp, Line and other social networks.

1. Can aggressive marketing and branding top first-mover advantage?

As competing chat apps fight for market share, two different business strategies are pit against each other: word-of-mouth driven marketing versus aggressive top-down marketing.

Upon first entering markets where it now reigns supreme, WhatsApp earned its spot as the go-to messenger by using one marketing tactic and one marketing tactic only: word of mouth. The app, which once charged users $0.99 for a one-year subscription, lured customers simply by being among the first cross-platform messengers of its kind. A friend telling another friend to “WhatsApp me” on Facebook, Twitter, or in conversation was enough to inspire smartphone owners to shell out a buck for free SMS.

WhatsApp’s conservative approach to marketing was no accident. The company has historically shunned traditional advertising – both as a promotional tactic and a monetization mechanism – out of principle. In a June 2012 post on the WhatsApp blog, CEO Jan Koum explains how his experience at Yahoo led him to consider advertising a drain on both engineering and financial resources, writing:

Advertising isn’t just the disruption of aesthetics, the insults to your intelligence and the interruption of your train of thought. At every company that sells ads, a significant portion of their engineering team spends their day tuning data mining, writing better code to collect all your personal data, upgrading the servers that hold all the data and making sure it’s all being logged and collated and sliced and packaged and shipped out… And at the end of the day the result of it all is a slightly different advertising banner in your browser or on your mobile screen.

This doesn’t mean that the company isn’t actively fighting for market share. It partnered with Nokia to build Asha 210 phones with a built-in WhatsApp button, and in India it’s collaborated with telecoms to come pre-installed on certain devices.

WhatsApp’s quieter marketing tactics are pretty much invisible in contrast to those of Line, its most aggressive competitor. In its three strongest markets – Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan, Asia-made Line has plastered subway stations and buses with advertisements. It’s launched television campaigns in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, in addition to the aforementioned territories. Line (as well as WeChat) can afford these efforts thanks to the deep pockets of its parent company Naver, whereas it’s out of reach for WhatsApp.

Think about it: when was the last time you saw an ad on television for Facebook? Or Spotify? Or LinkedIn? Or Dropbox? In an age where the most influential social networks remain dogmatic about relying on spreading among new users recommending it to friends, Line is swimming against the current.

2. Can razzle, dazzle, bells, and whistles top “it just works?”

Marketing can spread awareness and get consumers to download a free app. But only meaningful differentiation will get people to use it – and later, hopefully, spend money on it.

3. Can like-minded social networks co-exist and make money?

4. Have Facebook and Twitter missed the boat on something big?

5. Can an Asian social network make its way around the world?