In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital journalism, media organizations are increasingly turning to innovative platforms to connect with their readers as traditional social media avenues falter. With declining visibility on major platforms like Google and Facebook due to algorithm changes that devalue news content, news publishers are looking for alternative strategies to maintain audience engagement and advertising revenue.
One promising avenue that has emerged is WhatsApp, the dominant messaging application globally. Recently, WhatsApp introduced a feature called WhatsApp Channels. This feature works as a broadcast tool, allowing publishers to send links to news and headlines directly to their subscribers. This shift has allowed them to cultivate a more direct line of communication with their audiences, particularly those located internationally.
For example, Noticias Telemundo, one of the leading news providers within the Telemundo network, has skillfully used WhatsApp channels with significant results. Within the first few weeks of launching the channel, they amassed over 30,000 followers, a number that has since risen to over 820,000. The channel not only disseminates news but also offers unique content such as video updates from journalists and interactive polls on current events.
This platform has proven particularly vital for engaging with Hispanic communities, for whom WhatsApp is a primary communication tool. This demographic resides predominantly outside the United States, aligning perfectly with WhatsApp’s user base: nearly 95% of its two billion users are international.
Channels are hosted in a separate section of the app, ensuring that following them doesn’t require sharing private data like phone numbers or email addresses. While users can react to posts, interaction is limited to emoji responses, maintaining a level of privacy and simplicity in communication.
Despite WhatsApp’s growing success as a source of traffic, it remains a smaller channel compared to the huge volumes driven by Google and Facebook. However, the trend is positive and the direct engagement model offered by WhatsApp channels is becoming an integral part of publishers’ strategies to attract readers to their main websites and apps.
Major global news outlets, including CNN, The New York Times and BBC News, have garnered millions of followers on their WhatsApp channels, signaling robust adoption of this strategy. These channels offer a mix of news updates, exclusive content and direct interactions, clearly differentiating themselves from the cluttered, algorithm-driven environments of traditional social media feeds.
Additionally, Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, continues to explore new enhancements for channels, including potential monetization options that could allow publishers and creators to offer exclusive content to subscribers, drawing parallels with platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans.
The diversification across WhatsApp channels highlights a broader shift in how news is consumed and monetized, reflecting the ongoing transformation and challenges in the media landscape as outlets strive to satisfy their audiences wherever they are, whatever they want. way they prefer to consume content.
