Facebook Copies Snapchat Yet Again…

Facebook owns WhatsApp, the popular messaging app that has 1.2 Billion monthly users around the world who send over 60 Billion messages every day. Crazy numbers. Anyway, WhatsApp just launched “Status“, which is a blatant Snapchat clone (see a timeline of Facebook’s Snapchat clones here).

WhatsApp embedded their new Status feature as a tab in their app. Users can now share decorated photos, videos, or GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. This is obviously another stab at Snapchat, showing that Facebook wants to do everything it can to stave off Snap’s growth.

What Does This Mean For You?

Regardless of your thoughts on Facebook’s copycat strategy, this potentially opens up a new social advertising opportunity for marketers. We believe that companies will soon be able to run ads in between “Statuses” just as we can now run Snap Ads in between Snapchat Stories. Instagram Stories ads will be coming very soon as well. So, stay on top of it. New advertising platforms always provide the best arbitrage opportunities for greater ROI on ad spend.