Facebook Messenger Bot is Coming

Rise of the Messenger Bot Wars

Facebook, is hoping it has an ace up its sleeve with its new messenger automation it will be rolling out soon to counteract a decline in engagement in 2015.  No matter how big your network, if time of engagement per unique user is slipping, it's dire news. 

With more competitors than ever Facebook Messenger, is not holding attention like it once did. 

In April, we'll be able to do more in Facebook Messenger as mentioned in tech news in March, 2016,  in case you missed it. 

That's right, Facebook messenger will be able to do some new stuff, such as:

1. Hail a Taxi on Uber (your first ride is free! My gosh)
2. Chat with customer service
3. Send Money to your friends (as if FinTech wasn't doing this just fine)
4. Buy stuff 
5. Play Chess with whomever. 

Are you ready for the chat-bot revolution? Coming in April, 2016. 

• This is not just a story about Facebook. 
• This is also a story of the rise of SMS and in-app engagement. 

In Asia, however, chat apps have grown far beyond text messaging, essentially replacing the need for apps or websites altogether. Weixen, the Chinese version of Tencent’s WeChat app, “enables 600 million people each month to book taxis, check in for flights, play games, buy cinema tickets, manage banking, reserve doctors’ appointments, donate to charity, and video conference,

• Facebook is actually behind the curve. 
• WeChat in China, can do more. 
• What's the likely consequence of this flops? The big red flag? Millennials and Gen Z, two groups most likely to start using messaging apps in full-force, won’t adopt Facebook’s Messenger. Time will tell. 

• There are serious signs the Future is not Facebook's white and blue....

Time spent per User, is the Golden Metric for SMS apps

Top SMS Engagement

• In the U.S., Messenger lagged behind chat app competitors in terms of time spent per user, per the tables below pulled from Fred Wilson’s blog.

1. Kik = 297 (average minutes per unique user)
2. Snapchat = 272
3. Facebook Messenger = 226 (hmm, what are we to make of this, and you thought Facebook messenger was popular!)

Top Social+SMS Engagement

How do non SMS apps (legacy) in social media fare on this metric?

1. YouTube = 319 (notice this is better than Instagram, rise of Video content)
2. Instagram = 314
3. Kik = 297
4. Snapchat = 272
5. Facebook Messenger = 226
6. Pinterest = 176
7. Twitter = 156

2015's Story of Social Apps

Facebook has lost market share with younger users, basically since the advent of Snapchat

• Hybrid messenger/visual channels are outpacing legacy social media 
• Asian competitors are beating Facebook out in terms of innovation, at its own game as it struggles to remain relevant. 
• Can Facebook create enough hype with its April release to stay relevant?
• Facebook's  “Messenger Bot Store”, goes live soon. 

This is not a Stellar Rating for an App (Facebook Messenger)

• There are more WhatsApp users than Facebook Messenger users 
• WeChat Users are gaining ground
• SMS is the new battle-ground, and Asia is looking to disrupt. 

Let the Games Begin, Botageddon will be what makes 2016 Memorable

Phil Libin at General Catalyst has described bots as “the most important tech trend of the year” and Albert Wenger at Union Square Ventures described this new era as “the Great Bot Rush” (a notably more attractive phrase than “The Botageddon”)

• Can Kik keep it's momentum?
• Will Snapchat fade?
• Can Facebook Messenger remain relevant in a more hostile world?
• Will algorithms ruin the Instagram user experience?

What does the real App story look like?

1. Communication, Chat on Demand (rising, IM is digital life)
2. Games on Demand (huge app variety, not strong in the top 20 apps)
3. Social Media (faltering, but still a lot of our attention)
4. Videos/Movies on-demand
5. Music

I hope this article has been valuable, if you'd like to keep track of what I write, you can. I work at a company that is disrupting the way Retail does loyalty, in case you are curious.