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Messaging apps: Worth trying (carefully) for community engagement

by: Amy Gahran |

Messaging apps are gaining in popularity in the U.S., according to new Pew research. They offer some potential for community engagement, especially among younger and lower-income community members. However, exploring this communication channel should be handled sensitively. Pew also highlighted other current trends in social media engagement.

Messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Kik function rather like conventional text messaging -- but they can bypass wireless carrier caps and fees for messaging, and support consistent communication even if users switch devices.

Pew's recent report, Mobile Messaging and Social Media 2015, highlighted these statistics: 36% of all U.S. adult smartphone owners (and 49% of those age 18-29) now use messaging apps. Furthermore, 42% of adult smartphone owners who live in urban areas, and 45% of those who are college graduates, use messaging apps.

Messaging apps are an increasingly popular alternative to standard text messaging (simple messaging service, or SMS, offered by wireless carriers), and to private messaging offered through companies such as Apple (iMessage) and Facebook. Like text messaging, these apps offer the advantage of perceived privacy for interpersonal communication. Some apps, notably Snapchat and Wickr, also automatically delete messages as well -- fostering a greater sense of privacy and the ephemeral, similar to face-to-face conversations.

Like SMS text messaging, messages received through messaging apps tend to be read quickly and responded to more often -- indicating a strong potential for engagement, as long as people don't fell like they're being spammed. In addition, messaging apps offer some potential advantages over SMS:

1. Consistency of contact. A key challenge with engagement via SMS is that people often change their cell phone number, especially in low-income and immigrant communities. When this happens, they often neglect to resubscribe to texting services. But when you install a messaging app on a new phone, you simply log into your existing account and retain all existing connections to other users.

2. They're free for users. Messaging apps are free to install and use. Also, when users are connected to Wi-Fi, messages sent and received via messaging apps do not count against wireless carrier limits on mobile data or text messaging. This is still a concern for many lower-income mobile users and other demographics, which still tend to rely more on very limited cell phone plans.

3. It's free, and less legally risky, to try messaging apps for outreach. Interactive texting services that rely on SMS messaging are rarely free (and those that are free tend to be far less reliable). Also, the provisions of the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act, which protect consumers from spamming via texting and email, has not yet been clearly applied to messaging apps -- perhaps reducing (for now) the potential consequences if your attempts at engagement are interpreted as spamming.

Text messaging has an established, although probably underutilized, role in local community engagement. Services such as Groundsource and Textizen are specifically targeting this use case. But if the popularity of messaging apps continues to grow, they should be considered as an option for any outreach involving direct interactive messaging.

Messaging apps are an especially sensitive communication channel because of how they mostly get used: for private communication between individuals who already know each other. According to Pew, the people (especially younger adults) who use these apps tend to value that they offer more private interaction than social media. Also, like SMS, messaging apps tends to be a very personal and informal medium.

But messaging apps aren't only about one-to-one conversations. WhatsApp supports group chats of up to 100 users; Kik, up to 50. Some major publishers have complained of technical hurdles with using WhatApp for outreach and alerts; but for smaller-scale community projects, this may be less of a problem.

Therefore, if community news or engagement projects wish to experiment with messaging apps, it might be more useful to try chats with defined, fairly small groups of community members -- rather than broadcasting alerts. Perhaps start with one conversation with just a few community members.

Messaging apps might prove to be a useful way to connect with sources, or to discuss privately more sensitive community issues. It'd be helpful to set forth the ground rules for such conversations, to create a sense of safety for participants. You may not end up being able to publish some (or any) of the content of these discussions; but this could be a way to build bridges and foster goodwill, either with individuals or community segments.

Messaging apps can also be useful to coordinate with volunteers and sources for reporting on local events, meetings, etc.

Of course, whether community members would want to participate probably would depend on your prior track record of engaging locals in constructive yet flexible conversation. A messaging app group chat probably should not be your first effort at fostering a community conversation. But if you're already talking to community members on a regular basis, maybe ask them if they use messaging apps, and start conversing with them this way. Using this kind of tool even for personal communication can help indicate its potential uses.

…Aside from messaging apps, the Pew report also highlighted some current trends in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter) that might indicate other new community engagement opportunities:

  • "Facebook remains the most popular social media site: 72% of online adults are Facebook users, amounting to 62% of all American adults. But growth on the site has largely plateaued.
  • "The proportion of online adults who use Pinterest and Instagram has doubled since Pew Research Center first started tracking social media platform adoption in 2012. Some 31% of online adults now use Pinterest (up from 15% in 2012), while 28% use Instagram (up from 13% in 2012)."
  • Facebook remains highly engaging. "70% [of Facebook users] say they log on daily, including 43% who do so several times a day. Fully 59% of Instagram users, 27% of Pinterest users and 22% of LinkedIn users visit those platforms daily."
  • Don't underestimate discussion forums, especially local groups in reddit, Digg or Slashdot. "Some 15% of internet users read or comment in discussion forums such as reddit, Digg or Slashdot, while 10% use the blogging website Tumblr. Young adults are particularly likely to use both Tumblr and discussion forums more generally, and men are more likely than women to participate in discussion forums online."

Amy Gahran

Amy Gahran is a journalist, editor, trainer, entrepreneur, strategist, and media consultant based in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to writing
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