In December, WhatsApp sponsored Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One as the team’s “first official messaging partner.” That was just in time for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which showed how WhatsApp and the Mercedes F1 team were looking for a greater U.S. audience with the push of Channels. The racing league and WhatsApp are both global brands that are gaining in popularity in the U.S., Odior said. Part of Odior’s marketing mission has been to shift the perception of WhatsApp in the U.S. WhatsApp is more than just the “travel app, the travel messaging app, or the international friend app,” Odior said.
In the U.S., messaging behavior is different than in the rest of the world, where free communication and talking to family abroad is a necessity and messaging apps are at the center of people’s phone habits.
Messaging is more private than traditional social media platforms, which is one of WhatsApp’s core selling points. The content and interactions are encrypted, so the engagement is more anonymous and harder to track.
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So far, the growth of WhatsApp Channels has been organic. There are no ways to pay to promote a channel and gain followers or to pay for higher visibility in search, but given Meta’s track record, ad support is likely.
“We haven’t pushed out opportunities for promoting or highlighting channels,” Odior said, “but it’s definitely a conversation we’ve had.”
But Netflix, NASCAR, UFC and other brands have still surfaced on Channels. WhatsApp is working on how Channels are discovered in search and featured on the updates tab. Fans of a channel can message their contacts, inviting them to join.
“When people share, they’re sharing the channel, or the brand as a whole,” DRL’s Gianutsos said, “instead of an individual piece of content.”
DRL expects a flurry of new users in January, when they could get a bump from the WhatsApp-run “Channel Crush” channel, which recommends channels to its more than 90 million followers. The league has an account team from WhatsApp, which helps them learn how to use the platform as it evolves, and they were told to expect a shoutout on Channel Crush.
“They have so much information about how the platforms works, how the algorithm works, best practices, posting times,” DRL’s Gianutsos said, “and this reminds me of the early days of Instagram.”
One feature DRL would like to see in WhatsApp is livestreaming. The league has no insights into WhatsApp’s product roadmap, but Gianutsos said live video would be a natural fit.
“We can’t wait for that, that is not a current feature,” Gianutsos said, “but we’re going to dominate that if that launches.”