Facebook Making a Move into Snapchat Territory
Facebook seems to be testing a new service that emulates Snapchat in a bid to attract more young people.
Facebook has already made a move into Craigslist’s market by rolling out their new Marketplace feature. And, according to reports, Facebook is now testing a new addition to their service that looks and feels very similar to Snapchat. This new service could be important for the social network’s future growth prospects among young people, who have tended to favor other social media outlets such as Snapchat and Instagram to Facebook. What is this new product? How can this benefit Facebook? Let’s take a closer look.
Disappearing Pictures
The central conceit of Snapchat is the ability to take a picture and send it to a follower. Visible for a few seconds, the picture then disappears forever (unless the recipient screenshots it). Snapchat has expanded through the years to include a dedicated messaging service.
Facebook is currently testing a new product very similar to this in the Irish market. Facebook says it will allow users to “share moments as they happen and express (themselves) more”. The camera and messaging feature includes special effects and filters like facial masks, and a photo or video disappears 24 hours after the recipient opens it.
Why is Facebook Doing This?
Facebook has been trying to get more teenagers integrated into their services, which is why they tried to acquire Snapchat not that long ago. And, in the past, they built stand-alone apps such as Poke and Slingshot to try and acquire part of this growing market. But now they’re looking to integrate this service into their main flagship app, which not only would attempt to bring teens into their network but also give the service to their existing 1.7 billion users. It remains to be seen how this new service could be utilized for social media marketing purposes, or even if Facebook decides to fully implement this new service. However, it should be noted that Facebook tested a similar feature during the Rio Olympic Games in a few countries and it must have been successful enough to warrant further testing.
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