Is WhatsApp the New Secret Weapon for News Publishers? Discover Why Social Media Traffic Is Declining

In today’s world, that’s all about moving quickly, and that is first digital, news consumption behaviors are changing at breakneck speed. Barely even a short period ago, Facebook and Twitter were the best places casual news readers were turning – both for the former’s casual readers and for news organizations. Social media traffic flowed steadily there, driving engagement, page views, and revenue. But over recent years, something has changed. The seemingly unstoppable flood of traffic social media channels has begun to slow. Many social media news publishers have found that what once worked can no longer do so through traditional social media channels. What is the alternative? It can be found in the quiet game-changer news distribution that has lately become WhatsApp, the messaging app.

The Fall of Social Media Traffic

Several social media news publishers have registered a persistent drop in social media traffic in the last few years. Data from a company called Parse.ly note that there has been a near-11% drop in social media referral traffic search engines since 2018. Facebook, which used to account for 50% of referral traffic, now ranks behind online news search engines like Google. Several factors may account for this shift:

• Algorithm Hacks: Social media is constantly updating its algorithms. Facebook, for example changed the trend to focus more on people’s connections rather than public content, and therefore, the stories may not appear in users’ feeds most times.
• Reader Fatigue: The sheer volume of information and headlines has made social media users insensitive to news. Most of them tend to scroll past the articles without even clicking it.
• Rise of Incorrect Information: Fake news and misinformation have dampened social media’s reputation as a reliable news source. As a result, users are seeking alternative platforms for reliable news.

While Facebook and Twitter are no longer the reliable traffic drivers they once were, WhatsApp is stealthily emerging as the new news frontier for news publishers.

WhatsApp: The New News Channel?

In one sense, WhatsApp might not be the most obvious choice for social media news publishers in many ways; it’s still just a messaging application used for personal conversations. Or is it? Its reach, after all, is undeniable: it has 2+ billion users worldwide. And perhaps its closed, private nature could be one of its greatest strengths.

• Private Sharing is the new Boom: More intimate compared to social media, where the content is public and marketed to lots of people, WhatsApp works at a different level when news is shared between small groups or directly to individuals, the sense of privacy means that the news seems more personal and trustworthy.
• Higher Engagement Rate: According to a study conducted by Poynter, content shared using WhatsApp usually receives more engagement than content shared on social media. People more often click on the link if someone sends it to them in a private message rather than on their news feed.
• Power of Communities: News publishers are now creating WhatsApp groups or broadcasts to reach audiences directly. For example, during the 2019 UK election, the BBC reached out to its subscribers on WhatsApp using real-time coverage while sending news alerts directly to their devices.

WhatsApp is an opportunity for publishers to create an intimate, highly engaged audience. More than content consumers, WhatsApp readers participate in social media news sharing, promoting greater engagement.

Why Social Media Traffic Is Declining

Social media traffic decline is attributed to algorithm change and user fatigue, among many other reasons. There is much more to it, and that’s the core reason for adapting to this new face of the digital world.

• For attention: Social media content is literally a crowded sea. Not just cat videos but viral memes and trending news—everything is competing for attention. The user becomes overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the content, hence lowering the engagement with news articles.
• Rise of Direct Search and Apps: Readers are now bypassing social media and heading directly to news websites or using dedicated news apps. Statista fact-finding reports that news sites have registered an increase in direct visits of 18% over a three-year period.
• Platform Fragmentation: Though Facebook and Twitter used to monopolize the social media landscape, newer ones, such as TikTok and Instagram, are slowly rearing their heads. But these ones were not born to share news, which further splits the cracks for news publishers to reach their audience.

How Whatsapp can fill the gap

Now that social media traffic is declining, how can WhatsApp help these news publishers bridge the gap? The answer lies in its exclusive approach to communication and content distribution.

Direct Access to Readers

WhatsApp is nothing like Facebook or Twitter, where algorithms filter social media news. Here, publishers could send content directly to readers, with no guessing work. What you want your audience to see, they will see.

• More Trust: WhatsApp is a close-end system, so the news published in their personal network can be trusted more. Thus, damaging problems like those faced by traditional social media companies can be curbed.
• Personalized Content: WhatsApp makes personalized news dissemination feasible. For example, publishers can now create varied content groups for individual users to choose their preferences.

Challenges With Using WhatsApp in News Distribution

Of course, newspapers on WhatsApp pose significant challenges.

• Limited Analytics: One of the main disadvantages of using WhatsApp for news distribution is the absence of detailed analytics. WhatsApp lacks insight compared to Facebook and Google into how users are engaging with your content.
• No Native Advertising: Though WhatsApp allows publishers to share content, it does not encourage native ads quite the same way Facebook or Twitter does. That can make monetizing shared content cumbersome.
• Privacy: WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, which is a two-edged sword. It offers privacy but makes it tough for publishers to track and measure engagement.

Despite the above mentioned challenges, many publishers have reportedly been thriving on WhatsApp. Consider Reuters. It has launched a fact-checking service for WhatsApp news in India. This, through WhatsApp, allows users to check news stories by sending them directly to fact-checkers. Direct engagement may be the future of news distribution.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is WhatsApp a safe medium for news dissemination?

Yes, WhatsApp can be a good way to distribute news if one is looking to build a close-knit community and reach readers directly. However, it requires much more labor-intensive work than traditional social media.

Can publishers monetize their content on WhatsApp?

WhatsApp doesn’t have native ads at the moment; however, publishers can still use the platform to drive traffic to their news websites’ web traffic, where they can then monetize their content through ads, subscriptions, or other means.

What are the key challenges a publisher faces when using WhatsApp effectively?

There are no robust analytics, no native ad buy options, and certain privacy concerns; however, direct engagement opportunities on the platform may still work out as a good trade-off for many publishers.

Key Takeaways

Wrapping Up on Whether WhatsApp Is the Secret Weapon for News Publishers What’s being seen with increasing force in the waning traffic to traditional social media sites is the massive potential with WhatsApp. And three key takeaways from this conversation:

• Agility in changing trends: When the algorithm changes or when there’s over-saturation of information, social media traffic changes; hence, publishers have to reach out to new platforms, such as WhatsApp, that offer them direct and personalized access to readers
• Leverage on WhatsApp Engagement rate: The engagement on WhatsApp surpasses that of those social platforms that put private sharing and community use; hence, their interactions are much more active and trusted.
• Challeges of strategy implementation overcome: WhatsApp has several challenges, such as limitation in analytics and monetization options, yet the potential to develop deeper relationships with readers makes it a well-worth tool when applied in a strategic plan in the context of content distribution.

We’ve tackled how WhatsApp can bridge the declining social media traffic gap for news publishers and why it might be an essential platform to focus on going forward. To engage further, feel free to share your thoughts or questions in our comment section or reach us through any social media page.

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