Category Archives: Group Chat

The 11 Most Secure Chat Apps

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Finding a reliable, secure messaging live chat app has never been more critical. Whether for personal use or business communication, ensuring conversations are private and protected from malicious actors, who regularly attack internet services to obtain confidential information. Security features like self-destructing messages and various encryption methods have become more popular.

The Importance of Secure Live Chat for Building Community

Having a secure live chat on your website is essential for building an online community because it fosters trust and safety among users. Secure live chat ensures that all communications are protected from unauthorized access, maintaining the privacy and integrity of user interactions. This is crucial for creating an environment where users feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and engaging with others.

A secure platform not only protects sensitive information but also enhances the overall user experience by preventing spam, harassment, and other malicious activities. By prioritizing security, you demonstrate a commitment to user safety, encouraging more active participation and fostering a strong, loyal online community.

What Makes a Live Chat App Secure?

Security in chat apps is determined by various factors, including end-to-end encryption, data storage policies, and additional privacy features. Here’s what to look for:

End-to-End Encryption

End-to-end encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient can read the messages, with no possibility of interception by third parties.

Data Storage Policies

Secure chat apps should store minimal data on their servers, and any stored data should be encrypted.

Privacy Features

Look for features like self-destructing messages, password protection, and two-factor authentication.

Moderation Features

Make sure your chat app comes with moderation features. Ideally, you will be able to select users to act like moderators, block any misbehaving users and insert a profanity filter, that will allow you to block certain words from appearing in the chat. Learn more about moderation here. 

To understand which live chat platform works best for your needs, continue reading our analysis of the most secure chat protocols available.

Most Secure Chat Apps

1) Arena

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  • Platform: Web.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, SSO, moderation features, spam and profanity filters.
  • Cost: Start with the free plan to see if Arena is suitable for you.

Do you need a secure live chat platform for a group of users? Whether is to enhance engagement during live events, transform e-learning classes or offer second screen experiences to viewers, Arena Live Chat is a great solution to bring live chat to your audience. Among other personalization features, you can restrict access to a chat event through registration so only approved participants can enter.

Arena is trusted by brands of all sizes, like Mary Fulton Fit, a small yoga studio in California, and Fox Sports Australia, part of a giant global-scale media company.

2) Signal

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  • Platforms: Mobile App and Desktop App (Windows, iOS, and Linux).
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, self-destructing messages, and screen security features.
  • Cost: free

Signal is often considered the top secure chat platform in the secure chat app category. For an extra layer of security, Signal minimizes the amount of data it collects from its users. This means less information is at risk in the event of a hack or other data disclosure. Other companies may have taken inspiration from the Signal messaging platform source code to improve their products.

There are some downsides to the product. Since the product is entirely free, the sustainability of this secure chat software is questionable. In addition, Signal makes it easy to send messages to people in your phone contact list. However, the full benefits of the Signal protocol are only available if both users use Signal. As a result, Signal is not a good fit if you need to accommodate non-mobile users.

3) WhatsApp

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  • Platforms: Desktop, web and mobile.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, two-step verification, encrypted backups, single view photo/video/audio.
  • Cost: free.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular chat apps, with approximately 2.4 billion users as of mid-2023. The secure chat platform supports text, audio calls, and video calls. In addition, the app offers end-to-end encryption features, a key feature for privacy advocates. Also, WhatsApp supports group messaging for up to 1,024 participants.

There are some drawbacks to WhatsApp, including the fact it has been blocked in some countries like China, North Korea, and Syria. In addition, the app does not support self-destructing messages, so users will need to keep that limit in mind. Finally, the app requires a user to know another user’s phone number. As a result, it is more challenging to use WhatsApp for online events, especially for users who prefer to join via desktop.

Since WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, a social media giant with a poor online privacy record, there might be better choices for confidential chats.

4) Telegram

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  • Platforms: Desktop and mobile apps.
  • Security features: optional end-to-end encryption, self-destructing messages, two-factor authentication.
  • Cost: a free version and Telegram Premium (offers faster speeds, increased storage, and removes ads)

Telegram is an open-source, free-to-use mobile app with hundreds of millions of users. The app has received positive reviews as a secure chat app. In addition, Telegram supports larger groups and channels with up to 100,000 members. The messaging app also lets you share your live location, making it easier to meet up with friends in person.

That said, Telegram has some limitations. From a security standpoint, the chat app lacks end-to-end encryption in all of its messaging. End-to-end encryption is available for special secret chats on the secure chat software.

Unlike Signal, Telegram collects contact information from users. The chat app’s free tier includes ads. Consider carefully whether the app’s ads align with the chat experience you want to offer your audience.

5) Voxer

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  • Platforms: Web, iPhone, and Android.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, private chats, secure data storage.
  • Cost: there are three user plans: personal ($0), Pro ($3.99 per user per month), and Business ($6 per user per month)

Voxer is a chat app that became popular for sending voice messages. In addition to recorded audio messages, Voxer also supports group chat functionality. Unlike most secure apps, Voxer provides additional functionality for paid accounts., such as Dropbox integration for pro accounts. The business plan suits teams of over 20+ users and organizations that need additional administrative controls.

There are some downsides to the app. Some user reviews have encountered privacy problems. Other users have commented on the significant amount of notifications generated by the app. The app also appears to request access to all contacts on a user’s device, a request that may cause security concerns.

6) Facebook Messenger

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  • Platforms: Desktop and Mobile.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, single view messages, secure data storage, multi-factor authentication.
  • Cost: the app is supported by advertising.

Owned by Meta, Facebook Messenger supports text chat, calls, and file sharing. In addition, the secure chat app offers support for group chats, which has become popular over the past few years. By default, all Facebook users have access to Facebook Messenger, making it one of the most popular chat apps globally.

There are significant downsides to using Facebook Messenger. The app asks for access to personal information and is supported by advertising. For privacy-conscious users, there are better choices than Facebook Messenger. Business users, in particular, should look for other options that emphasize security and privacy to a more significant extent.

7) Pryvate Now

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  • Platforms: mobile app.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, anonymous messaging, secure data storage, no data logging.
  • Cost: Pryvate Now is available in free and business versions.

Like Signal, Pryvate Now is a secure messaging chat focused on encryption. The app’s encryption features combine high-end AES 256-bit encryption and RSA 4096-bit protection. Also, secure chat software can protect the user’s IP address through masking. Like WhatsApp, Pryvate Now also offers voice calls and video calls. For security-conscious users, Pryvate Now offers compelling choices.

Compared to some of its more popular secure chat apps, Pryvate Now has a less polished user interface. That’s a major downside if you want to use the app to grow your audience. Pryvate calling is limited to other Pryvate users. In addition, the support options available to Pryvate users are relatively limited, even for the business plan. Pryvate is a good choice for individuals and companies that want to maximize privacy over everything else.

8) iMessage

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  • Platforms: Apple products like the iPhone, Mac, and iPad.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, secure data storage, authentication, automatic encryption.
  • Cost: none – it is a built into multiple Apple products.

Apple’s iMessage service is sometimes viewed as Apple’s answer to SMS messages. In comparison to text messaging, iMessage has several notable advantages. Apple Messages gives users significant control over settings, including read receipts and message retention. Carefully configuring these settings can help to reduce your security risk. Further, it is easy to back up iMessage messages to iCloud. That’s a significant feature if you rely on iMessage to conduct business interactions.

There is an important security limitation to keep with Apple’s encryption. iMessage supports end-to-end encryption when messages are sent between iMessage users. However, the message is not encrypted if an iMessage user sends a message to a non-iMessage user, like a person with an Android phone. Less than half (48%) of Americans use an iPhone, so relying on Apple-exclusive security protections is a major limitation.

Curious to see how Apple handles requests from law enforcement? The Apple US law enforcement guidelines have some answers.

According to this document, “iMessage communications are end-to-end encrypted, and Apple cannot decrypt iMessage data when in transit between devices. Apple cannot intercept iMessage communications and does not have iMessage communication logs.” It is unclear if intelligence agencies have found encryption weaknesses or other methods to access the messages.

It’s unclear if Apple has the most secure messaging app, but the company is progressing in security. In June 2023, the company announced additional measures to improve Apple messaging security.

9) Threema

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  • Platforms: Web and mobile.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, no personal data required, anonymous messaging.
  • Cost: prices depend on the current version.

Threema is part of a newer generation of secure chat apps. Launched in 2012, the secure chat platform provides end-to-end encryption to users.

The app’s focus on privacy includes minimizing the amount of user data it collects. Threema does not collect the user’s phone number. The app also has a reasonably robust web interface, making it a good alternative to mobile-only secure chat apps.

The chat app also supports chatbots that have marketing and customer service applications. These specialized versions are possible because the app charges user fees.

As of mid-2022, Threema has a relatively small user base (about 11 million users) compared to other services like Facebook and iMessage. Therefore, you can’t assume your friends, colleagues, and family have the app. The relatively low adoption rate means this secure chat software may be challenging for audience engagement.

10) Line

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  • Platforms: Mobile app
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, secure data storage, two-step verification.
  • Cost: the app is free.

Line has an unusual origin story. It was created in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami that caused havoc in Japan. The app has three capabilities: Life on LINE (a medical assistance service), a Messenger App, and Services. We’ll focus on the Messenger App here.

The messenger app supports chatting, voice calls, and video calls. The app also provides social functionality like stickers, emoji, and group chat (i.e. OpenChat).

There are some downsides to relying on Line. In contrast to most secure live chat apps, Line offers various non-chat services such as shopping, job postings, and payments. From one point of view, Line’s diversity of services makes it more appealing to users. The downside is that the company may not be as focused on developing its chat functionality as other chat-focused platforms.

11) Wire

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  • Platforms: Desktop, mobile apps, and browsers.
  • Security features: end-to-end encryption, secure file sharing, privacy-focused design.
  • Cost: free personal version and paid business plans.

Switzerland-based Wire is a secure chat app with end-to-end encryption enabled by default. The app supports written messages, images, and file transfers. Wire’s security technology is based on Signal’s messaging protocol. The app registers users by email address instead of phone number, which has some privacy advantages. By avoiding phone numbers, Wire is more accessible to desktop users.

There are some weaknesses in using Wire as your primary messaging service. Archiving chat content from Wire is relatively tricky. The service also limits the number of users who can participate in a meeting. This limitation makes Wire less suitable for engaging audiences in events. Wire may not be the right service if you want to run a chat experience for a significant online event.

Choosing The Right Live Chat For You

Are you wondering whether to use a popular messaging app or a private messaging app? With privacy in mind, use this guide to essential features to find the right app for you.

Do you want to know whether to use a popular or private messaging app? With privacy in mind, use this guide to essential features to find the right app.

1. How does the app support AI technology?

Generative AI technology and large language models like ChatGPT are here to stay. These tools have the power to make your staff more productive! Before adding a secure chat platform to your organization, check how it leverages AI.

Generative AI in a chat tool is quickly becoming a must-have capability. Without it, your staff must work much harder to engage their audiences.

2. What IT security safeguards are offered?

Whether you call it secure encryption, an encryption feature, encryption protection, or IT security, safeguards are critical to keeping messages safe.

Specifically, check if the app uses both transit encryption and rest encryption. In addition, look for user-facing features like two-factor authentication to protect your data.

Tip: Business users should check if the app has received positive reviews from cybersecurity experts before using the app.

3. What information is gathered from app users?

To maximize security protection, your preferred messaging app should minimize the information gathered from users. Some mobile platform apps collect a user’s phone number and other data from mobile devices.

If the secure chat app you choose collects significant information, give your users something substantial. Offering an engaging live experience is a must. Use these tips to increase livestream engagement.

4. What platforms does the app support?

Some secure chat apps work in popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Other apps are designed to work with mobile devices only. If multi-platform support is important for your needs, ask questions before using the app!

To maximize event usage, it is best to use a chat app that works with popular browsers like Arena Live Chat.

5. Is the secure chat app backed by a sustainable business?

Some chat apps emphasize that they are free to users for marketing purposes. It is wise to ask questions about these apps. If they are genuinely free to users, then the app maker will have to generate revenue in other ways, such as advertising. Unfortunately, relying on online advertising to generate revenue for a secure chat app may negatively affect privacy.

6. Is the chat app suitable for large events?

This feature is most important for business users and publishers. If you want to use large numbers of people in a chat room to engage your audience, only some of the chat apps covered above will be a good fit. The reason is simple: most secure chat apps are focused on direct messages, messages to distribution lists, and other forms of closed communication.

Arena Live Chat is designed to bring large groups together to share their passion for the news, community, and other events.

Start Your First Live Chat For Free

Starting your first live chat session for your audience is straightforward. You can then add Arena to your website quickly (it usually takes minutes) and launch your first live chat session. Learn everything Group Chat can do for you.

Ultimate Guide To Grow An Engaged Audience

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Live content is booming in popularity. Video-sharing services, generative AI, and high-speed networks make it easier than ever to share live content.

Also known as live streaming, live content is a powerful way to increase engagement and achieve your revenue goals. 

This guide covers everything you need about live content, including best practices to get up and running fast.

Live Content By The Numbers

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The following stats should exactly how popular live content and online video are booming in popularity.

  • Nearly half (44%) of live-streaming video viewers watch less live TV as a result (source)
  • The top 3 most popular types of live content are: live news, live content on social media, and live awards shows (source)
  • More than 75% of US households subscribe to a streaming service (source)
  • There are over 25,000 full-time YouTube content creators active today (source)
  • Twitch, a streaming content platform focused on gaming, has more than two million regular viewers (source)

Live content is much more than entertainment, by the way. A growing number of companies are leveraging live streaming to sell products. Known as live commerce or live shopping, this type of business video is a powerful way to present products and generate leads at scale.

What is Live Content?

Live content means sharing a live video broadcast to your followers online. Content creators and companies often share videos on social platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. After the video broadcast, the video content may be available online in some cases. 

Three Reasons Audiences Love Live Content

Participating in a live content experience appeals to people for a few reasons. 

Live content is a powerful way to deepen your brand’s connection with your audience. For example, a publisher can offer participants to interact with their best-known personalities and columnists. 

Interacting with a celebrity is fun, but that’s just part of the value of live content. Your audience also has the chance to meet other people who share their interests.

A live content experience is a one-time experience. You can leverage FOMO (“fear of missing out”) when promoting your live content. For example, you might feature a special VIP guest to make your event stand out.

Attending a live content event from your mobile device or computer is easy. There’s no travel time to worry about. Even if you charge admission, the ability to participate in a live content experience from anywhere makes it easier to maximize 

Interacting directly with your favorite influencers and companies isn’t the only reason people love live content. Joining a live content experience also means connecting with people who share your interests. Sending chat messages to new friends is one of the biggest attractions to live content.

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Live Content Process With AI

Live content marketing is easier to create with generative AI tools like chatGPT. The Arena approach to AI and live content is based on three principles: human collaboration, brand alignment, and speed. Let’s unpack each of those principles so that you can create a modern live content process.

Human Collaboration

When you first saw the potential of generative AI technology, you might have wondered what this technology meant for journalists, marketers, and other content creators. Fundamentally, generative AI enables and accelerates human creativity. This generation of AI tools will make staff more productive.

Brand Alignment

Left unguided, generative AI is unlikely to create relevant, engaging live content for your goals. That’s why it is vital to align your use of your AI to your brand’s style and voice. Implementing this principle requires both technical and management direction. 

Speed

In live content, it’s crucial to keep providing new insights and perspectives to keep your audience engaged. Fortunately, AI is one of the best ways to improve the speed of your live content marketing campaigns and editorial content. You can use generative AI to generate outlines, draft simpler coverage, and more. 

To use generative AI best, include all these principles in your live content. For more ideas on implementing AI in your business, see our post: 5 Use Cases for Generative AI in Publishing Right Now.

Live Content Success Story: Critical Role

Another approach to live content is to stream a performance. This approach is trendy in online communities dedicated to gaming. For example, the Dungeons & Dragons online show “Critical Role” was performed live for several hours. 

Critical Rolel is notable because each live stream episode typically lasts several hours. Critical Role has developed a passionate fanbase that regularly submits its fan art. In addition, and provided over $11 million to support the team’s TV show launch via Kickstarter. The group’s success – including product sales – can be traced back to live content.

Live Content Success Story: Author Brandon Sanderson

There are multiple ways to create a live content experience for your audience. Some content creators use a simple question-and-answer format to engage with their audience. For example, best-selling author Brandon Sanderson has run multiple popular Q&A sessions with his fans.  Sanderson’s commitment to live content is one reason his company launched the most successful publishing Kickstarter ever, generating $41 million in revenue.

The Evolution of Live Content

The current boom in live content builds on past technologies and experiences. Understanding the history of live content is helpful because it illustrates what audiences value. Before the digital era, broadcasters on TV and radio brought together audiences to share important news. In 1969, it was estimated that more than 600 million people watched the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. That shared experience helped to set the stage for today’s live content experiences.

Fast forward to the digital era. Almost anybody can create a live content experience and find a new audience online with a mobile app and a good idea. High-speed Internet connections and content distribution platforms like YouTube make sharing live stream video content easier. The boom in streaming services like YouTube, Ustream, and other platforms makes it even easier to distribute your content to your audience.

Streaming video services achieved a significant milestone in the summer of 2022. Nielsen reported that streaming services are now more popular than cable TV in the US for the first time. By May 2023, streaming accounted for 36% of all TV viewing compared to 31% for cable, according to Nielsen. While major platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have the greatest market share, the ongoing growth of accessible services like YouTube shows that other brands can still grow.

As traditional TV declines in popularity, why should brands invest more time and resources into producing live content? There are several reasons why live content deserves a prominent place in your content strategy.

The Top Benefits of Live Content For Brands and Publishers

Investing resources into live content is worthwhile because it can give an exceptional return.

  • 69% of viewers are likely to buy a ticket even after watching a live event.
  • 54% of people want to see more videos from their favorite brands.
  • Consumers view live video 10 times longer than non-live video.
  • 63% of Millennials watch live streaming content regularly.

Appealing to Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) is a critically important demographic for many brands. Millennials comprise 21.75% of the US population (roughly on par with Baby Boomers) and have an average household income of $71,000. For organizations keen to appeal to Millennials and Gen-Z audiences, live streaming and video needs to become a key priority.

Video on its own is not enough, however. It’s also vital to offer dynamic content, including audience chats where people can easily ask real-time questions. Keep reading to discover your options to bring live content to life and grow your audience faster.

What Type of Live Content Is Right For You?

Instead of starting with specific consumer platforms for streaming, it’s better to look at the landscape from a strategic standpoint. This section introduces the different categories, including each option’s pros and cons, so you can decide which option is best suited for your needs.

1. Self-Streaming

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Some entrepreneurs, gamers, and celebrities love turning on their cameras and streaming their thoughts. Whether you use a smartphone or a laptop webcam, consumer hardware is all you need to get started with streaming. 

Earlier, we shared a few examples of live streaming, like author Brandon Sanderson and the Critical Roll web series. Entertainment in various formats continues to be the most popular type of self-streaming. The popularity of services like YouTube, Facebook Live, and Twitch makes this streaming approach easier.

Pros and Cons of Self-Streaming

Pros

Standard webcams and microphones available on most computers and smartphones are all you need to start. Spending more on lights, audio equipment, or a green screen can help you stand out. Aside from a laptop, you can start this live content process for less than $100.  

  • Low-Cost Content Distribution

Consumer platforms like YouTube are low-cost and have a large user base. Some of these platforms also include support for online chats. 

Cons

Traditionally, self-streaming live content focuses on one or a few performers. You must find someone in your company capable of performing this role to use this option.

  • Pulls Users From Your Website

Self-streaming video content relies on third-party platforms, especially if seeking to minimize costs. If your live streaming goal is to generate leads, sell products, or grow your audience, having viewers on your website is preferable. 

Unfortunately, self-streaming viewers do not always convert to website visitors. The most popular self-streaming platforms, like YouTube, are focused on keeping users on their websites rather than sending them to your website.

  • High Competition For Attention

Online distractions are omnipresent with the traditional approach to self-streaming. Video sharing platforms will constantly suggest other videos, channels, and notifications for your audience to pay attention to. As a result, it may take more work to reach your goals.

Who Should Consider Self-Streaming?

Using self-streaming video is valuable in a few circumstances. First, the low cost of this option makes it attractive when you are first getting started in video streaming. Second, your brand may already have many followers on Facebook or YouTube. In that case, it makes sense to stream directly to those followers.

2. Social Media Live Stream

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Leveraging a social media platform to grow your business is an established strategy. In the past few years, these platforms have introduced more video options and engagement options, such as a chat window, the ability to accept donations, and more. In particular, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter have made live video content more popular.

Pros and Cons of Social Media Live Stream 

Pros
  • Large Audiences Available

The leading social media platforms have hundreds of millions of users. According to eMarketer, the top three most popular social platforms in the US in 2023 are Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Participating on these platforms means you have access to a ready-made audience.

The main social media platforms have strong advertising capabilities, making getting more viewers easier. AdRoll says the average cost per click on Facebook is approximately $0.44 (or $14.40 per thousand views). 

  • Viral Organic Growth Potential

While organic reach has been declining for years on social media, it is still possible for your content to go viral. The most reliable way to attain organic growth is to produce exceptional content. In addition, encouraging your audience to actively engage with your content (e.g., “like this video” or “comment below with your thoughts about what our next video should be about”) can help as well.

Cons
  • Platform Specific Requirements

Live content performance varies depending on the platform. What works on Facebook Live will sometimes work on YouTube and vice versa. Therefore, there is a learning curve associated with each platform you use.

  • Pulls Users From Your Website

If your goal is to grow traffic on your website, giving users a clear reason to regularly visit your website (e.g., time-limited sales or special content) is critical, rather than simply sitting back and watching the live content.  

  • Your Content Is Competing With Friends and Family 

Reflect on how you use social media for a moment. You have connections with plenty of friends and family. Seeing updates from someone you know will be more interesting than a live stream. This is the competitive reality of growing a following in social media. Your live stream content is competing against not only other companies but against updates from the end user’s family and friends!

Who Should Consider Social Media Streaming?

Given the scale of social media platforms, including these platforms in your strategy makes sense. For companies with a significant social media presence, using these platforms for live streaming makes a lot of sense. 

Remember that social media companies are focused on maximizing user engagement on their platform. At the same time, your goals may differ (e.g., growing the audience on your website)—experiment with streaming video through social media and other platforms to see which approach yields the best results.

3. Direct Live Content Experience

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The direct live content experience is the high effort, high reward approach to live content. Instead of relying on third-party platforms filled with distractions, the live content is on your website. To maximize your live content experience, include online chats in your strategy so your audience can easily interact with you.

Pros and Cons of Direct Live Content Experience 

Pros
  • Significantly Reduce Digital Distractions

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor found that 19% of class time was spent using a digital device for non-class purposes in 2019. It’s not just students either – one recent estimate found that adults pick up their phones over 50 times per day! In this context, it is important to help your audience to stay focused on your content.

There are no distracting notifications or messages when your live content is only offered through your website. Fewer distractions mean a greater chance of staying engaged with your content, connecting, and experiencing enjoyable moments with your brand.

  • Increased Conversion Opportunities

Running a live content experience directly on your website means you control the environment. You can decide to offer time-limited promotions, incentives to contact sales, and more.

  • Increased Audience Loyalty

Achieving success online isn’t just about the number of followers you have. Engagement and loyalty are also critically important. When your audience starts viewing your website as an interesting destination online, they are more likely to return.

Cons

Adding live video experiences to your website will take some work. Yet, many companies and organizations have made it happen using technology like Vimeo. Recently, we highlighted 10 Vimeo-powered live streaming websites. In the guide, you’ll see fitness companies, museums, classic TV, and religious organizations use live videos directly on their websites.

  • Creating Compelling Content Takes Work

Coming up with content streaming ideas takes some work. You need to come up with the idea, and you may also want to script and rehearse the event. 

The work effort needed to create engaging content is also an advantage. Companies need to be more motivated to create virtual events and content experiences. Therefore, you will have an advantage over other companies if you invest in growing your audience more quickly.

To save time developing content ideas and planning live content, see the following resource: Highly Engaging Scripts for Live Coverage and Virtual Events.

Who Should Consider Direct Live Content Experiences?

While running a direct live content experience from your website is open to many organizations, it is a great fit for a few organizations. 

Media companies like broadcasters and news sites are an obvious fit – their goal is to keep their audience engaged directly on their website. In addition, educational institutions are in the business of transferring knowledge to students, and live content can support that goal. Finally, entertainment and eCommerce companies benefit from live content experiences.

Six Best Practices To Improve Your Live Content Results

Achieving excellence with live content takes time and practice. That said, there are some best practices you can use to speed up your results.

1. Start With Your Live Content Strategy 

Choosing the right concept for your live event makes a big difference. Your greatest asset is your knowledge of what your audience has responded to in the past. 

Review your analytics data, webinars, and social media accounts to determine the type of content your audience engages with the most. For additional insight, consider surveying your audience to ask them more about their interests.

2. Promote Your Live Content Experience Like A Product

You might want to run a live content experience to pursue your marketing goals. To achieve your end goal – more leads, more sales, or a larger audience – allocate the necessary to dedicate resources to promote the live content experience. 

For example, you might offer exclusive benefits (e.g., discount codes or the opportunity to ask questions to a VIP in your industry) to people who join your event.

3. Run Your Live Content On Your Website 

While running a live stream experience on a social media platform may appear easier, disadvantages exist. You need more of your ideal audience to visit your website to achieve your goals. Therefore, it is best to stream your live content directly on your website and make it interactive by including Arena Live Chat.

4. Prepare Your Team For Live Content

A successful live content experience is similar to putting on a conference event. You need talented people on stage and support staff working behind the scenes. At a minimum, a live stream event should only be run with two people: an “on-air” event host who will appear on camera and a support person keeping an eye on the live chat and other logistical details.

What if your team is brand new to running a live stream? In that case, running a practice event and only events with other employees is helpful. A practice event is a great opportunity to identify technical problems, get used to reading and responding to user content (e.g., likes and comments about your remarks), and overall improve your confidence.

5. Measure Your Live Content Results

Producing a compelling live content experience takes significant time and resources. It is a best practice to review the live stream metrics each time. Start with simple metrics like the number of attendees. Next, measure the effectiveness of your calls to action – this is where using special discount codes created for the live stream makes a big difference. 

Try to improve your attendance and engagement metrics each time you run a live stream event. Use the next best practice to ensure your live stream performance keeps improving.

6. Test And Learn From Each Event Experience

It’s essential to go into running live content experiences with reasonable expectations. Your first event may have low attendance, low engagement, or both. Don’t let those results discourage you from offering live content, though! Instead, meet with your event team after the event and think through specific ways you can make your next event more successful.

For example, poor audio quality turns off many people. If this problem impacts your live content, buying a better-quality headset or microphone could immediately improve your events.

The One App Every Live Content Experience Needs

The whole point of running a live content experience is to engage your audience. That means you need to give your audience a way to interact with you. That’s where a live chat solution comes in. Learn more about Arena Live Chat.

Live Chat Metrics And KPIs to Improve Customer Service

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Want better customer satisfaction and loyalty? Use these ten metrics to optimize your live chat support experience.

Monitoring and optimizing the following ten live chat metrics is an important step to improve your live chat performance. Use these customer support metrics to identify opportunities to improve the quantity and quality of your customer service.

How Live Chat Increases Opportunities

When customers land on your website, they probably have questions and concerns about doing business with you. When a question or worry pops into potential customers’ minds, you can connect with the potential buyer. While static website content like product descriptions and other pages lay a great foundation, there’s no replacement for having a conversation.

Once those conversations start flowing, measuring live chat performance is crucial. Also known as live chat performance metrics, metrics are essential for management. Regularly reviewing metrics will tell you where additional training or resources are needed to reach your goals.

With Live Chat, your employees can easily interact with your customers at scale while providing a personalized experience. That means you get greater customer loyalty. A high customer satisfaction rate means more return buyers and a positive impact on sales.

Two Ways To Use Generative AI To Improve Live Chat Effectiveness

Traditional methods to improve live chat KPIs or metrics are the foundation of your success. Agents need the right tools and training to carry out their work. Management needs good data to support their teams. After you have that foundation, generative AI tools (think chatGPT but business focused) can help.

1. Answer routine questions based on a knowledge base.

Do you have a knowledge base or a section of your website with frequently asked questions (FAQ)?

If so, generative AI tech can use that resource to provide company-specific responses to customers. This type of focused generative AI is developing, so now is a great time to investigate it for your business.

2. Provide product recommendations

Your live chat KPIs might emphasize customer support metrics. What if you could use live chat to improve revenue directly? That’s an exciting possibility with generative AI.

For example, add a live chat window to a product page and use it to provide specific product recommendations. This capability works well with products with straightforward, easy-to-describe differences (e.g., different types of TV have different sizes, resolution, and other features).

Arena AI Concierge for Publishers, Content & Affiliate Commerce is here. Request early access.

Ten Live Chat Metrics To Watch & How To Improve Each One!

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Live chat metrics are only meaningful if they support your business goals. For example, you may aim to improve the effectiveness of your customer service agents by decreasing the average wait time by equipping your team with canned responses to common questions.

When you first start offering live chat, pick a few metrics to measure your performance. After those initial metrics are well integrated into your team, you can continue developing your systems by adding additional metrics to realize your chat strategy.

1. First Response Time (FRT) Live Chat Metric

The first live chat metric focuses on measuring the response speed. In brief, you measure how long your chat agents take to respond to a customer’s first message.

The FRP metric is critically important to impact your customers positively. A fast response tells your customers that you value their time. On the other hand, keeping a customer waiting for a long time is likely to hurt customer loyalty and word of mouth.

The first response time metric is also helpful for management. If FRT responsiveness decreases over time, it may signal that you need more chat agents. It may also indicate that your chat support teams need more support in the form of playbooks, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and other resources.

The average First Time Response is 15 minutes so you can use this timing as a starting point for your organization. In general, the lower this number, the better the customers’ satisfaction with the service. If the response takes more than the average, it will likely cause frustration and negative referrals.

Ways To Improve The FRP Metric

Tracking live chat key metrics becomes truly valuable when you use this data to improve performance. Use these tips to improve your live chat performance over time.

  • Share FRP Metric Widely

Empower your employees by sharing FRP metrics widely and discussing them at each chat team meeting. Sharing live chat performance metrics with your team will help them become more innovative in improving the customer experience.

  • Investigate FRP Metric Changes With An Open Mind

The FRP metric is helpful, but it has limitations. Like other chat customer service metrics, this measure doesn’t show the root cause of problems. Start by investigating technology problems that are interfering with service standards. In addition, chat responsiveness may suffer during periods of high volumes.

2. Total Number Of Chat Sessions Live Chat Metric

This live chat performance indicator is a volume measurement. It shows the number of live chat sessions that have been launched. Compared to other metrics for live chat, it is also relatively easy to track automatically. Tracking this metric is helpful over time; it shows the popularity of live chat for service vs. other customer service options like phone and email.

Ways To Improve The Total Volume of Chat Sessions Metric

Use the following metrics to get business value from this live chat metric.

  • Look For Sharp, Sudden Drops In This Metric

A significant drop in the live metric is a warning sign that something is going wrong with your systems. That’s why we suggest monitoring this metric daily in normal conditions. You may want to track it hourly during times of peak usage.

  • Ask For Feedback From Your Chat Agents. 

The raw volume of chat conversations only tells you part of the picture. It is crucial to touch base with your live chat staff regularly. Ask them about the most common questions they face. Look for patterns in the questions you face so that you can create better answers and solutions for your chat agents to use.

3. Average Resolution Time (ART) Live Chat Metric

This live chat metric is adapted from the world of customer service call centers, unlike the first few live chat metrics. It is focused on the quality of your staff’s customer service.

It is not enough to provide a quick answer: ideally, the goal is to fully resolve a customer’s concern as efficiently as possible.

You generally want your average resolution time metric to be as low as possible. There is a risk of pressuring customer service staff to work too quickly. It is vital to ensure all of a customer’s concerns and questions are fully resolved and avoid cutting off the session simply to boost your chat performance metrics.

The ART metric is typically measured in minutes for most situations. Your ART metric might be days in some highly complex customer service cases.

Tips To Use The ART Metric Effectively

Use the following tips to interpret the ART metric effectively.

  • Examine ART Metric Outliers

You can expect outliers to the ART metric. Consider cases where agents take much longer than average to resolve the question. For example, new customer support employees might take longer to resolve issues. In that case, the higher ART time is understandable and will likely decline.

On the other hand, keep an eye on the chat load that your experienced chat operators have. If your experienced staff have an excessive workload, customers are more likely to have a bad experience.

  • Validate ART With Other Customer Service Channels

Your company probably has multiple customer service channels like phone calls, email, and in-person locations. If live chat ART data looks great, comparing it to your other support options, like the phone center, is helpful. Ideally, you want to see consistent levels of customer service resolution across your critical channels.

4. Chat to Conversion Rate Live Chat Metric

To become a chat leader, it’s essential to convert chat participants into buyers. According to our research, 38% of customers who participate in a live chat session ultimately decide to purchase after receiving excellent support front the customer service team.

This chat experience metric may be the most valuable metric we have covered. It tells you how effectively the chat channel produces revenue or leads. Now, let’s look at ways you can help the customer service team convert more chat participants into leads and customers.

Tips To Raise Your Chat To Conversation Rate Live Chat Metric

  • Use Analytics To Find What’s Working

Not all chat requests are created equal. For example, compare a chat that starts on your home page with a chat on the checkout page. Generally, converting a website visitor to a buyer on certain pages (e.g., a product page) is easier.

When you connect your chat platform to a customer data platform, for example, your chat team leaders may find out that one individual agent has an above-average score when it comes to converting visitors to buyers. In that case, reach out to that person and find out what they are doing. Based on what you learn, develop additional training for your staff.

  • Improve The Customer Experience With Technology

Additional training is not the only way to enhance the chat experience. For example, take a critical look at your chat software. Your current software may not be able to handle the number of inbound chats you are receiving. Or your software may not load in an acceptable time. Switching to a faster chat tool like Arena Live Chat can improve your customer experience almost overnight.

5. First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR) Live Chat Metric

The FCR rate is a critical quality metric. Your customer’s concerns in a single chat session in ideal conditions. It is unrealistic to expect that you will be able to solve 100% of customer complaints or questions on the first attempt. Setting a high bar for this metric is wise to maintain customer happiness.

To calculate the First Contact Response rate, you must track the number of interactions in a case and the proportion of one-touch resolutions. Track this data for at least one month before attempting to improve.

Traditionally, contact centers aim for a 70% FCR rate. Reaching this level of success is easier when your chat team has access to extensive resources like proper answers to commonly asked customer questions. If your first contact resolution rate is lower right now, use the following tips to work with chat team staff to improve.

Tips To Improve Your First Contact Resolution Rate

  • Send A Customer Survey After The Chat Session

Sending a short customer survey with a few simple questions is a great way to gather feedback from your customer base. For example, ask your customers to rate their satisfaction level on a scale of 0 to 10. If the score is below 5, ask a follow-up question about it.

  • Assess Your Chat Queue Data

When customers have to wait a long time, they may be more upset when the chat session starts. As a result, a long chat queue can make it more challenging to solve customer questions quickly. Better training and a high-performance chat system can help here.

6. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) Live Chat Metric

The CSAT is one of the most popular ways to develop a customer satisfaction rating for customer support. A customer satisfaction score (CSAT) measures how much your product or service meets or surpasses your customer’s expectations. A short customer satisfaction survey at the end of the live chat session is all you need to achieve this metric.

How To Improve The CSAT Score

There are a few popular ways to improve. Use these tips to boost your chat quality assurance efforts.

  • Find High Chat Satisfaction Cases

Studying chat transcripts from successful interactions is an excellent way to improve your performance. Look at how your high-performing employees are addressing common customer pain points. Once you identify these best practices, share them with the rest of your team.

  • Identify Patterns In Low CSAT Scores

Persistent low CSAT scores warn that something is wrong in your business. Before creating an action plan, take the time to understand the problem entirely. Look at contact volumes, peak traffic hours, and recent business growth. Your chat staff may be doing their best to help customers but simply lack the resources to serve customers effectively.

7. Net Promoter Score (NPS) Live Chat Metric

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NPS might be one of the best pieces of information to evaluate customer satisfaction metrics. This metric measures overall customer loyalty, not just the chat experience.

The NPS process is simple. You gather consistent customer feedback by asking them a single question: On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company to other people you know?

The NPS methodology breaks down scores into three categories:

  • The Detractors (0 – 6)
  • The Passives (7 and 8)
  • The Promoters (9 and 10)

Ideally, you want to maximize promoters and minimize the other two categories as much as possible. Use the tips covered elsewhere in this guide to improve your customer experience. Remember that customers can respond negatively to an NPS question for several reasons (e.g., upset with product delivery, pricing, etc.) that have nothing to do with the quality of their chat interaction.

8. Average Wait Time Live Chat Metric

Think about the last time you contacted a company with a question. Did you enjoy waiting for an answer? Even loyal customers hate waiting. That’s why monitoring your average wait time is a crucial metric.

The average chat wait time is usually less than a few minutes. Of course, this metric may look different during your busiest hours when you have a high volume of incoming chats.

There are a few options to improve the average time it takes to respond to customers. Start with examining the resources your chat agents have. Equipping your staff with canned answers, detailed product information, shipping details, and related resources can make a big difference.

While prewritten responses are helpful, they have limitations. You don’t want your customers to feel ignored simply because your chat staff feels pressured to achieve better chat performance benchmarks. This chat metric must be interpreted alongside other metrics, such as the NPS and FCR rate.

9. Website Visitors To Chats Metric

Increasing the number of chats per month generated from your website is a worthwhile goal to pursue. Most of the time, more chat sessions lead to more sales and more satisfied customers.

Keeping track of this metric is easy because you can easily track the data required. As a starting point, aim for a 1% conversion rate. If your website has 100,000 visitors per month, you should expect to have 1,000 chat sessions per month.

This metric is more valuable when read in the context of other metrics. For example, it is crucial to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction (e.g., high NPS rates, high first contact resolution rates, etc.) even as you lift.

Ways To Improve This Metric

There are a few techniques you can use to improve this metric.

  • Use A Better Chat Tool

The right chat technology has an important role in lifting this metric. For example, Arena Live Chat is built for speed and usability. Arena can also support a large volume of chat sessions simultaneously.

  • Optimize Your Chat Session Prompt

Chat windows usually start with a message or a question. Experimenting with different questions (e.g., “Do you have any questions?” vs. “Do you have a question about our Black Friday sale?”) can increase the number of website visitors who start a chat session.

10. Missed Chats Live Chat Metric

The missed live chat metric gives insight into whether your chat team can keep up with incoming chat requests.

A single experienced live chat agent can handle approximately 6 to 7 simultaneous conversations if they are relatively simple. Once your chat team hits capacity, missed chats will become a problem.

It’s not just a question of workload influencing this metric. You may also face a mismatch between working hours and staff availability. Your website is open 24/7 for business, but your chat support team is only available between 9 am to 5 pm.

Therefore, the raw volume of missed chats is only part of the story. It is also essential to track when missed chat requests occur. If missed chat sessions occur during regular working hours, use the other techniques mentioned in other parts of this situation.

Ways To Improve The Missed Chats Live Metric

Improving your performance on this live chat metric can be relatively challenging.

  • Manage Expectations For Non-Business Hours Service

When you have a significant chat volume outside your usual work hours, give your customers other options. For example, show your customer service email address and invite customers to message your team.

  • Extend Chat Service Hours At Peak Periods 

Chat handling time and chat volume will likely increase when you run sales. In those cases, average response time and missed chat measures may suffer. To avoid this problem, ask more employees to work as customer support agents to handle the demand. ‍

How To Go Beyond Standard Customer Service Chat

You may already have a chat app in place for day-to-day needs. But, what about events like live shopping, livestreams and other virtual events? These events are an exciting way to launch products and bring your community together. In these situations, a different chat solution is needed.

Arena Live Chat is the perfect solution for digital events because your customers can message each other, ask support questions and build trust with your brand. Learn more about Arena’s capabilities today.

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Is Social Media Dead In 2024? The Future of Social Media

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Is social media as we know it dead? The signs of trouble are certainly getting more and more common.

Since 2021, Twitter has seen an exodus of users, advertisers pulling back, and even the end of its famous bird logo.

Facebook’s strategic effort to diversify into the metaverse has failed. As a result, Facebook has reverted to launching Threads, a platform widely seen as a Twitter clone.

Even TikTok, Gen Z’s favorite social media platform, has faced challenges within the U.S.

Meanwhile, government bodies are getting increasingly aggressive in responding to online services, including social media platforms.

Each of these individual social media companies’ struggles prompts the question: is social media dead? Let’s explore the current scenario and understand the alternatives for the future of social media.

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The Decline And Fall Of Social Media

Social media platforms have been declining for years, depending on who you ask and which platform you prefer. It’s difficult to generalize about the fate of social media because there are so many different networks to choose from. One estimate shows that there are over 100 active social media services today. Even more significantly, Forbes reports that there are 4.9 billion social media users globally (i.e., about 62% of the population) as of 2023.

One way to answer “will social media marketing die” is to look at the numbers.

Yet only a handful of platforms have achieved significant success with over 500 million users. As of 2023, only 12 platforms have over 500 million monthly active users. The list includes well-known platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Instagram, as well as others like WeChat, Snapchat, and Qzone. These large platforms have achieved outsized success and influence in the social media industry.

AI: Threats And Opportunities To The Future of Social Media

The rise of generative AI tools, especially large language models like chatGPT, also poses questions for social media. Some commentators like Jonathan Haidt and Eric Schmidt see only a downside with articles like “AI is About to Make Social Media (Much) More Toxic.” Such fears are one reason why governments are increasingly pursuing AI safety rules.

Generative AI, like social media itself, is in the eye of the beholder. It can also be used as a practical tool to increase engagement responsibly. Smart brands and agencies are already using it to lift efficiency. For more ideas on how to add AI to your workflow, see our post: 5 Use Cases for Generative AI in Publishing.

Twitter and Meta: The Decline of Giants

The social media platforms founded in the 2000s are encountering multiple challenges with growth.

To illustrate the challenge, we looked at a few recent developments at some of the largest social media companies.

Twitter: Struggling With Turmoil, Brand Changes, And Revenue Challenges

In 2021, Twitter earned 88% of its revenue from advertising. Following Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, chaotic layoffs, rebranding to X, and booming hate speech have advertisers heading for the doors. In November 2022, Omnicom Media Group recommended that its clients pause advertising spending on the platform due to brand safety concerns. Large companies, including General Motors and Volkswagen, are also pulling back from the platform.

The answer to “is social media marketing dead?” depends partly on how you’ve used your resources. If you’ve put all your resources into Twitter, you’re probably very worried about the future of your social media marketing efforts.

Pre-Tax Income Falls During The Pandemic

While the chaos following Elon Musk’s takeover has grabbed the headlines, the business’s fundamentals have suffered for years. The company reported a negative $50 million pretax income in 2020 and a negative pretax income of $411 million in 2021, and that’s before all the Elon Musk drama and the departure of nearly half of their advertisers.

We don’t know if Twitter will recover after suffering many blows, including losing thousands of employees. According to a December 2022 survey, Twitter is forecast to lose millions of users in 2023 and 2024. With declining users and concerned advertisers, Twitter’s future is uncertain. It’s time to find alternative platforms and channels to meet our online growth goals.

Bans and Restrictions

More recently, in August 2024, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the suspension of X in the country after the platform missed a deadline to appoint a legal representative in Brazil.

The conflict originated in April when the court mandated the suspension of numerous accounts for spreading false information—an action that Musk criticized as censorship.

The ruling affects over 20,000 internet providers, requiring them to block the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X. Additionally, a daily fine of R$50,000 (£6,800) is imposed on individuals and companies attempting to bypass the block using VPNs. 

Meta’s User Growth Slows While Metaverse Spending Hurts The Bottom Line

With over one billion users, Facebook is still regarded as one of the most powerful social media platforms. However, The early years of dramatic growth in users and revenue are slowing due to a few developments.

Facebook’s growth, while still significant, is falling substantially. From 2020 to 2023, the platform grew monthly active users from 2.6 billion to 2.9 billion, according to Statista. Adding 300 million users over three years sounds impressive until you compare it to the platform’s past. From 2015 to 2017, the platform grew from 1.4 billion to 2.1 billion users (i.e., 700 million users).

Metaverse Spending Spiraling Out Of Control

The Information reports that Facebook has spent over $36 billion on the metaverse since 2019. That’s greater than the company’s entire operating expenses for 2019 – $33.9 billion! This level of spending is starting to approach “bet the company’s future” territory.  So far, this initiative has delivered little to the company’s bottom line.

If this spending continues, Google’s experience may be instructive. Like Facebook, Google has historically earned most of its revenue from advertising. Over the years, Google has spent heavily on high-risk “moonshot” projects that lost over $800 million by 2016. It’s true that these investments might pay off at some point. All we know for certain is most of these efforts have made minimal contributions to the company’s performance.

Competition Driven Innovation

Aside from its metaverse initiatives, Facebook’s innovation in its core social media platforms is limited. Recent changes seem to be driven by a desire to compete with TikTok. As Bloomberg reported, Facebook assumes its users want a “TikTok clone.” Changes to the Facebook experience and Instagram have been attributed to the company’s desire to compete with TikTok.

Developing new features solely to compete with rivals has merit. Yet, it may also suggest a lack of creativity in the platform’s ideas. These efforts to copy features haven’t been a success with the platform’s users. The “Make Instagram Instagram Again” petition on Change.org has attracted over 335,000 signatures. The petition demands the return of chronological timelines, an algorithm that favors photos, and greater responsiveness to Instagram users. This type of negative feedback signals significant discontent.

The End of Organic Reach

Brands, organizations, and creators using Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram face declining organic reach, with only 5.2% of followers typically seeing unpaid content on Facebook. On Instagram, posts without paid boosts are similarly overshadowed by ads. Nearly 83% of marketers plan to increase social media ad spending, further diminishing organic visibility.

The pay-per-engagement model also overwhelms users with excessive ads. Recently, the European Commission accused Meta of violating EU laws by charging users for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram, forcing them to either pay or consent to data collection, in breach of the Digital Markets Act.

The Main Drivers Of Social Media Decline

While Facebook and Twitter’s problems have dominated the headlines recently, the problems in social media go beyond these companies. Several significant trends negatively impact large, established social media platforms. Increased competition and regulatory environment changes are fundamentally altering social media conditions.

Factor 1: Losing Competition For Attention

 

Without highly engaged users, social media companies cannot thrive. Unfortunately, older established social media companies need help to innovate. The most significant competition has come from TikTok in the past years.

Founded in 2016, the social media app has experienced dramatic growth through the pandemic years. At the end of 2019, the video-sharing platform had an estimated 500 million users. By late 2022, the Business of Apps estimated the platform has over 1.5 billion users. The platform is currently dominated by users under 30, who represent 63% of users.

Mastodon, a social platform based in Germany, has also experienced significant growth in 2022, mainly at the expense of Twitter. By March 2023, the platform had 10 million users (up from 2.5 million in November 2022). Established in 2016, Mastodon’s relatively decentralized format and lack of advertising features distinguish it from other social platforms.

Discord is another platform that’s successfully creating engaging digital communities. The text and audio interaction app has become popular in the gamer community. The Business of Apps estimates Discord had 13.5 million active servers in 2021, up from 4.4 million in 2018. While small, Discord is an interesting example of a platform growing with niche audiences.

The growing popularity of alternative social websites and apps suggests new possibilities for brands and publishers. Running a Discord server may help you to appeal to more Gen Z users. These competing community experiences also demonstrate an appetite for more curated content and experiences.

Learning the ins and outs of new digital platforms can be worthwhile. Yet, don’t overlook how resource-intensive it can be to start a new community in ideal conditions. The social strategies that work on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram will not fully apply to Discord, TikTok, or Mastodon. However, your understanding of your audience’s interests and preferences is transferable, regardless of the platform you use.

Factor 2: Government Pressure Hurts Social Media’s Business Model

Government agencies and elected officials are scrutinizing social media apps more and more closely. Ten years ago, social media was typically viewed as a fun experience and a way to connect with friends and family. In recent years, governments have become seriously concerned about the ill effects of social media.

Government pressure and interest in social media platforms and other technologies has recently increased. In 2018, Facebook improperly shared the data of over 87 million users with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, leading to a major scandal that brought Mark Zuckerberg before the U.S. Congress. More recently, in July 2023, the U.S. government and several states filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of deliberately designing addictive platforms that prioritize profits while causing serious mental health issues.

Also in 2023, CNBC reported that Congress is investigating Threads, the new social media platform created by Meta, specifically looking at content moderation.

Concerns about the adverse effects of social media is an international phenomenon. The European Parliament published an in-depth analysis of the critical social media risks to democracy in 2021. As research continues, traditional social media companies may come under additional pressure. These concerns are not the only threat to traditional social media platforms.

The following regulatory changes have put pressure on the largest social media companies. In 2018, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect. While not targeted exclusively at social media, the regulations require greater protection of personal data, which is the stock in trade of social media. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has raised the bar further in the US. These new expectations impose costs for non-compliance as well. In 2022, the California Attorney General announced a $1.2 million settlement with a major retailer relating to the CCPA.

Most social media companies earn the lion’s share of their revenue from advertising. That advertising revenue largely depends on user data. As regulations tighten on privacy and consumer data, other companies are seeing opportunities. Apple’s increased emphasis on privacy measures may cost Facebook social media companies an estimated $10 billion in lost revenue.

Social Media Is Dead…What is the Future of Social Media?

The death or decline of a few of the largest social media companies is the most significant change to digital marketing in a decade. Many marketers have built their entire careers around social media expertise. As a result, it’s no surprise many marketers are anxiously asking is social media marketing dead?

The answer to that question depends on where you focus your efforts.

One option is building a presence on smaller or newer social media platforms like Discord, Mastodon, or Reddit. If there is a large potential audience for your brand on those sites, there is some value in building a presence there. However, moving from one social media platform to another has drawbacks. Fundamentally, brands do not set the rules on these platforms. It can be challenging to ensure brand safety in an environment where you have limited control, and minimal first-party data.

The Future Of Social Media Isn’t What You Would Expect

In today’s ever-changing digital landscape, depending solely on social media for audience engagement carries major risks. From algorithm changes to unexpected bans, brands are at the mercy of these platforms’ unpredictability. Building your own community platform gives you complete control, allowing for deeper, more sustainable audience connections.

Allow your audience to interact with you and meet people who have the same interests and values, while increasing retention and website monetization. With Arena Community, you can launch your online community inside your website in a few minutes, with several features that increase engagement, like group chat, live blog, polls, Q&As and much more. Learn more about Arena Community and how you can revolutionize audience engagement.  

Second Screen Tech: Should You Buy vs Build?

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Second-screen experiences – watching TV with your smartphone as a second screen – has fast become the new way to experience TV. Research shows that most Millennials and Gen Z audiences experience Gen Z this way. If you don’t offer a second-screen experience to your audience, your audience is at risk of disengaging.

The Second Screen Decision: Build or Buy?

Rolling out a second-screen experience to your audience is an important organizational decision. Like other transformational changes, there are a few ways to pursue this objective. Broadly speaking, you can build a solution using your technical talent or buy an existing solution and configure it for your needs.

There’s no single ideal choice in the buy vs. build debate. Instead, it’s important to think through the options to select the best choice for your circumstances.

Download our white paper “Generation Z and the Rise of the Second Screen” and transform your engagement strategy today.  

Building a Second-Screen Solution

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Creating your second-screen solution from scratch is a good idea in some situations. Discuss these issues with your team to see if this route fits.

1. Available development resources

Creating a new technology is resource-intensive. The first step is checking the availability of development or engineering resources. You may need multiple specialists to cover back-end development, front-end development, and the user experience (UI/UX). If you have staff available, creating a bespoke solution is powerful because you have a blank canvas to create your solution.

2. Priority on technological innovation 

Building a second-screen solution may also be a good option if your organization emphasizes technical innovation. Once upon a time, this consideration applied mainly to technology companies with deep pockets. However, some media companies are increasingly establishing significant apps and other technologies. Building from the ground up is a good pick if this is the case.

3. Maximizing broadcast rights 

Broadcast rights and similar arrangements give an organization a unique asset, mainly when these rights come with exclusivity. In this case, your organization has a substantial staff dedicated to video production, editing, and related disciplines. With that level of talent and unique content, creating your second-screen solution may be a good choice. 

4. High levels of fan engagement

For organizations with exceptionally high fan engagement levels, building a custom second-screen solution might be a good fit. If you already have millions of fans on your website and apps every month, developing a custom experience makes sense. You already have a significant amount of first-party data to draw upon to inform your solution.

Buying a second screen solution

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There are a few situations where buying a second-screen technology off the shelf and customizing it for your needs is wise.

1. Limited development resources

What can you do if your organization’s technical and engineering talent is fully booked? The answer lies in using a low-code or no-code solution. Arena Live Chat may be a good pick in this situation. You can install Arena in less than 10 minutes and launch your first session in less than an hour. 

Arena is designed with a non-technical end user in mind, so that marketers, content teams, and producers can quickly get up and running on their own.

2. Fan engagement challenges

Do you need help to hit your fan engagement goals? If so, you are far from alone. Earning and retaining Gen Z engagement can be difficult because of their digital preferences. 

Gen Z are social natives, so focusing solely on TV isn’t common for them. Many Gen Z (and Millenials, for that matter) frequently use their smartphone to check email, social media, chat with friends, and look up information while watching TV. To keep them engaged, offering a compelling second-screen experience on your website is vital.

Buying a second screen solution for your website is crucial when fan engagement levels are low or falling because of the speed it provides. For example, you can add Arena Live Chat to a website in less than an hour. Your audience already knows how to use online chat, so there’s a minimal learning curve for your audience.

3. Limited or no access to TV or equivalent streaming content

Creating a second-screen experience when you don’t have rights or access to TV or streaming content takes creativity. It may not be possible to create short video content like highlight clips or clips from TV shows. In this case, your brand has to offer something highly engaging and easy to access for your audience on their second screen.

Let’s give an example. Your online audience includes a large number of music fans. You’ve found out that many of them also enjoy the annual Grammy awards show. There’s just one problem – you don’t have the rights to broadcast the show. Don’t worry – you can still keep your audience engaged on their smartphones while watching TV. 

In this situation, a live blog on your website is a great option. Before the event airs, your team can post interviews and speculation about the upcoming awards. As the awards show airs, post reactions, context, and short interviews about the performances and surprises in the show. You can win your audience’s second-screen attention by regularly posting new updates as the Grammy Awards are given out. 

To increase audience engagement even further, offer a live chat experience on your website to discuss the broadcast live. Your live chat will compete against social media, email, and other digital activities for your audience’s attention. Make your live chat unique by inviting exciting guests and experts to share their thoughts and answer questions to stand out and win.

Two Second-Screen Solutions To Take For a Test Drive

Choosing the right second-screen technology for your needs takes time. Testing a tool with your audience is one of the best ways to find out if the solution is right for your needs. Arena’s leading second-screen solutions – Live Blog and Live Chat – offer a free trial to see how they work for your audience. 

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Both can be installed on your website in minutes without any engineering support. Learn more about how Arena helps you build online audiences on your website. You can grow audience engagement, earn more first-party data and win with Gen Z.

Get More Gen Z Sports Fans With Second Screen Strategies

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Keeping Gen Z and Millennials engaged with sports requires new strategies. Relying on a traditional TV broadcast to connect with fans is no longer enough. Find out new ways to reengage your younger audiences. The solution starts with understanding the rise of second-screen behaviors.

What Is The Second Screen Experience?

The data on TV and digital habits is clear. The majority of Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) and Millenial (born 1981 to 1996) viewers are switching back and forth between their TV and other devices while watching. The smartphone is the primary second-screen device for most Gen Z and Millennials. 

Switching back and forth between the TV and their phone is the new reality. You can either fight this tendency by insisting that audiences put down their phones, or you can adapt. There are only a few situations where asking people to switch off their phones is feasible, like live theater or movie theater. The best bet for sports is assuming your audience will check their phones during a game. The question is this: will they find your content or not?

Download our white paper “Generation Z and the Rise of the Second Screen” and transform your sports strategy today.  

Sports Team Strategies

For sports teams, increasing fan engagement is critically important for a few reasons. Sports teams earn billions of dollars from ticket sales: an estimated $20 billion in 2019. There are also merchandise and other product sales to consider. Unfortunately, many in Gen Z – 47% – have never attended a pro sports game. That low attendance figure puts the industry’s future in question.

Adapting to changing viewing patterns starts with giving fans more opportunities to engage with your brand.

Leverage your athletes are creators

Start by looking for ways to involve your athletes in the creative process. Sports fans love understanding their favorite athletes’ daily life, training, and lifestyle. Take a look at Neymar Jr, a well-known Brazilian football player. His social media accounts have over 200 million followers. Some of his most popular online content includes a training video (over 250,000 views) and a video about his family story (1 million views).

While individual star athletes likely have the greatest name recognition, you don’t have to restrict yourself to those parts of your team. Clips and interviews with your team’s coaches, trainers, mascots, and others can create content. For example, check out Gritty – the official mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers – who has 1 million TikTok followers. 

Host an ask me anything (AMA) for your fans

The chance to ask questions and connect with your athletes is another way to connect with your fans. Use live chat on your website to organize an ask-me-anything with fans – a great way to grow fan engagement right before your next game.

Second Screen Strategies for Publishers

Your approach to second-screen content and experiences depends on your assets. For publishers with broadcast rights or another onsite reporting presence, your second-screen experience should support the TV experience. For other publishers, you can create a few different kinds of coverage like reaction videos, or AMAs as described above.

1. Improve your short video experience

Short-form video content – think TikTok videos – are one of the most popular forms of media with Gen Z. According to a 2022 survey, Gen Z uses YouTube and TikTok more than any other social platform. Meet this preference by creating more short videos like short interviews, reactions, and highlights.

For inspiration, take a look at the NBA’s TikTok channel. The channel’s videos include classic content like highlights from games. Other videos include “Celeb Row In Miami,” – featuring the celebrity guests attending a Miami game. 

To grow engagement further, use a mix of scheduled posts (i.e., explainer videos explaining the free agent process) and live posts (e.g., comment on a record-breaking game). 

2. Explore the intersection of tech and sports 

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Innovations are coming to sports, and fans want to know more about it. For example, some sports coverage has recently looked at the impact of artificial intelligence (e.g., robot-umpires). There are other angles to explore, like advances in sports medicine to improve training and performance results. 

Offering coverage on brand-new technologies – or including new technology directly – is a powerful way to make your coverage fresh and engaging. For example, Stats Perform offers performance analysis of more than 500 sports teams worldwide. This kind of data-driven sports coverage offers a new perspective. 

3. Use a live blog to cover games

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Most Gen Z and millennials watch TV with smartphones in their hand or nearby. The most popular second-screen behaviors include checking email, browsing social media, online shopping, chatting, and searching for information. 

With these behaviors in mind, you can succeed online by giving your audience a timely mobile experience. A live blog is a great fit for a second-screen experience. Your audience can quickly look up the latest post, skim it for additional information, and then go back to watching TV. 

A live blog is a great venue to invite sports influencers to participate in your coverage. One approach is to ask outside contributors to create content on a specific theme.

Take inspiration from the NFL, which invited Lisa Nguyen and Katie Feeney to create content related to the NFL draft in 2023. Working with influencers with millions of followers may be outside your budget. Fortunately, tools like Upfluence and Storyclash make it easy to search for influencers by audience size and other filters. 

Inviting influencers to contribute to your coverage is a great way to augment your in-house talent. Even better, working with Gen Z influencers goes a long way to unlocking Gen Z audience engagement. 

How To Launch Your Second-Screen Experience Quickly

Designing a detailed strategy for second-screen engagement may be wise if you’re working on a high-profile event like the Super Bowl. In other situations, there’s significant value in just getting started, launching a second-screen experience fast, and seeing what kinds of experiences resonate with your audience. 

Launching a second-screen experience on your website is fast and easy with Arena. You can install Arena in minutes without any development resources. Find out more about how Arena helps publishers and brands build online communities. 

5 Second Screen Habits To Connect With Gen Z

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The growing popularity of second-screen behavior while watching TV is here to stay. It’s vital to understand these new habits to win in keeping your audience engaged, especially if Millenials and Gen Z matter to you. Together, they make up 41% of the US population and are the future.

Second Screen Habits: What The Data Tells Us

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Once upon a time, second-screen behavior was described negatively as multitasking. The world has changed – these habits are how today’s audiences engage with TV programming and online information. 

Let’s examine how common second-screen behaviors have become with Millenials and Gen Z audiences. The following data is based on a 2021 survey of 1000 adults. 

1. Three Quarters of Millenials and Gen Z Are Heavy Second-Screen Users

A recent survey found that the overwhelming majority of Gen Z (76.5%) and Millennials (76.4%) state that they “often” or “always” browse the internet on a separate device while watching TV. In contrast, the same measure for overall US adults is 62%. 

2. The Smartphone Is The Default Second-Screen

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Not surprisingly, smartphones are the second-screen device of choice for Millennials and Gen Z. Surveys estimate that 96-98% of Gen Z own smartphones, while about 95% of Millennials own a smart phone. In comparison, 85% of the US population as a whole owns a smartphone. 

3. These 5 Types of TV Shows Have The Highest Second Screen Usage

The story starts to get more nuanced when discussing the specific TV shows associated with second-screen behaviors. The top five TV genres with high second-screen usage include reality shows, talk shows, game shows, live sports, and children’s shows. 

While second-screen usage is widespread in these genres, it is still common elsewhere. For example, the sitcom genre has 50% second screen usage. 

If you’re unclear where to focus your second-screen resources, start with the top 5 genres first. You’re likely to get the greatest payoff for your efforts there. 

Download our white paper “Generation Z and the Rise of the Second Screen” and transform your engagement strategy today.  

4. What Second-Screen Activities Are Most Popular?

The most popular second-screen activities include the following:

  • Check email
  • Social media
  • Texting/message
  • Playing games
  • Shopping
  • Looking up information

Only a tiny fraction (10% of the population is engaged in professional work while watching TV. For the most part, second-screen behaviors are leisure-oriented.

5. What About Second Screen Social Media Usage?

Social media platforms are not equal regarding the second-screen context. For Gen Z, Instagram is the most popular second-screen platform. Millennials prefer Facebook while watching TV. 

What The Rise of Second Screen Behavior Means For You

There are a few significant implications for second-screen behaviors. Your audience’s attention will drift away toward their smartphone regularly while watching TV. Given that tendency, the next question is: how can you offer a compelling digital experience that keeps your audience engaged?

Start by checking that you have the right building blocks for second-screen success. The following checklist will ensure you have everything you need to start.

1. Have You Participated In A Second-Screen Experience Recently?

There’s nothing like direct experience to understand the second-screen experience. This is one of those rare times when you can watch TV and call it work! 

Pick a show and pull out your smartphone while you watch. Go through the most common second-screen activities like checking email, social media, and texting with friends.

Reflect on your second-screen experience. What did you like most? Did you find your attention wandering from the TV? Did you connect online with other people watching the same show?

2. Are Digital and TV Teams Aligned?

For broadcasters, aligning your TV and digital teams is a powerful way to deliver a second-screen experience. For instance, if your new season launches on Thursday night, then your online team should have content prepared to build anticipation in advance. 

3. Is Your Social Media Prepared For Engagement?

Social media is one of the most popular second-screen activities. Given that reality, getting your social media staff ready for engagement is vital. You can start by creating and scheduling content to align with the TV show. Aligning is easiest with traditional TV broadcast schedules. With streaming, there is usually some online buzz when a popular series is about to become available. 

There’s an even better way to engage your audience socially: set up a live blog right on your website. All the social features your audience expects – liking, commenting and sharing – will be there. Even better, you can curate a brandsafe experience, so that your audience doesn’t get turned off by inappropriate or off topic content. 

4. Have You Tested Your Website For Mobile Lately?

Searching for information about what they’re viewing is one of the most common second-screen experiences. With that behavior in mind, taking a few minutes to test your website on an actual smartphone is smart. Smartphone simulators are helpful for testing but don’t capture the experiential side.

While viewing your website on your smartphone, take note of the following:

Speed

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In a second screen context, the speed of your mobile website is critically important. Your audience might check their phone for a few seconds, and if your website is too slow, you’ll lose engagement.

Navigation

Is your website navigation easy to use on a mobile device? Plenty of websites streamline navigation for mobile, but it is easy to go too far with this.

Sharing Features

The most common second-screen activities are using social media and looking up information. To grow your audience, your website needs to make it easy to share pages, articles, videos, and more on social media. Check if your sharing functionality runs smoothly on a smartphone. 

5. Offer A Chat Experience

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Chatting and texting are one of the most common second-screen experiences. That’s an opportunity to increase audience engagement on your website! With Arena Live Chat, you can plan and launch a live chat experience in minutes. 

Arena Live Chat includes both manual and automation moderation features which means you can offer a brand-safe experience to your audience, on your own properties, while collecting first party data.

Our research has shown that Gen Z prefers curated social experiences – think Discord – versus older feed based platforms with less relevant content. Arena makes it easy to meet these expectations right on your website.

For more guidance on getting started fast, check out our guide: How To Setup A Second Screen Experience In Less Than An Hour.

The Next Step To Launch Your Second-Screen Experience

Second-screen behavior is very popular with Gen Z and Millennial TV audiences. Your audience is going to pick up their smartphone while watching TV. The only question is whether or not they will pay attention to your brand at those moments. Offering an online community experience on your website is one of the best ways to grow audience engagement. Find out more about Arena’s community experiences.

6 Second Screen Habits To Know

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Second-screen experiences are the default way that Gen Z experiences television. Keeping Gen Z engaged means adopting second-screen thinking. The first step to meeting Gen Z’s expectations is understanding their current habits.

What The Gen Z Second-Screen Experience Looks Like

Surveys find that the majority of Gen Z Internet users – between 85% to 89% – use a mobile device while watching TV. That raises the question: what are Gen Z TV viewers using the second screen for?

1. Social Media

Gen Z audiences are often described as social natives. They’ve never known a time without social media. Their favorite social platforms include YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook.  

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Keeping Gen Z engaged with TV starts with aligning your TV and social media presence. Start by aligning your TV schedule with social media. As Gen Z watches your TV show, your social media accounts should release new information, quotes, images, clips, and more to keep Gen Z engaged.

2. Chat and Messaging

Gen Z also loves chatting and messaging with their friends and family. Texting and chatting with companies for support is a popular way for Gen Z to engage. Almost half (44%) of Gen Z check text messages within a minute of receiving them. 

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Gen Z’s passion for chat is starting to carry over to the workplace. Wipro, an IT company, recently revealed that 10% of its 260,000-person workforce doesn’t check email “even once a month.” The Gen Z preference for chat over email isn’t absolute, so email still has a place. However, shifting more resources to chat and messaging experiences is a vital part of connecting with Gen Z.

Adding live chat to your website is a great option to meet Gen Z’s chat preferences. Arena Live Chat is fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to set up. Choose a live chat solution that lets you quickly set up and launch a chat session to capture Gen Z viewers. 

Want to go even deeper with your fans? Host a special event with celebrity guests! Actors, athletes, and other notable people are showing up for online interviews, Reddit sessions, and more. Offering a moderated chat session with a special guest right the same day as a TV event is a powerful way to keep Gen Z focused on your brand. 

Download our white paper “Generation Z and the Rise of the Second Screen” and transform your engagement strategy today.  

3. Playing Games

While watching TV, many Gen Z audiences love to pick up a mobile game. 

Like TV, gaming comes in multiple genres which appeal to different people. Gen Z’s top 10 most popular games include several action titles like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead, and Halo). However, Minecraft is the number one most popular title for Gen Z. 

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From a second-screen perspective, it’s essential to know that most (86%) of Gen Z use their mobile devices to play games. The most popular mobile game genres include action-adventure, puzzles, and role-playing. 

Your approach to adapting to Gen Z’s passion for gaming will depend on your goals and capabilities. One option is exploring partnerships with successful games – like Gucci in Roblox and Balenciaga in Fortnite. 

If direct involvement in gaming isn’t a good option, there are other options. Get educated about the most popular games, the trending memes and look for ways to include those themes in your online experiences. 

You also can create gaming experiences through chat. For example, host a trivia contest in the lead-up to a finale of a buzzy series like “Last of Us.” That kind of experience combines two digital activities that Gen Z loves – gaming and chatting!

4. Online Shopping

The pandemic was a formative experience for Gen Z, accelerating the generation’s passion for online purchases. Newer technologies like flexible payments (e.g., Buy Now Pay Later) and mobile wallets are also popular with Gen Z. 

An easy online purchase experience is essential to connecting with Gen Z buyers. A smooth online purchase experience is required to have a chance. To be truly competitive with Gen Z, more is required. Sustainability resonates: the majority (73%) will pay a premium of 10% for sustainable products (source). Influencer product recommendations on social media are also an essential driver of purchases.

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In a second-screen context, the online shopping experience needs to be fast and tailored to Gen Z. Plan ahead to spotlight products related to the TV experience, like the technology used by actors, apparel, and more. 

Anticipating all of Gen Z’s potential shopping interests is difficult. That’s why a new generation of chat tools is coming. Arena is creating a solution that makes offering an AI-powered “Chat Concierge” that will recommend your brand’s products (and content) easier. 

5. Search For Information Related To What’s On TV

Another popular Gen Z activity is seeking out information directly related to what they see on TV. This type of second screen behavior takes multiple forms, including:

Viewing influencer or reviewer feedback

Passionate Gen Z viewers enjoy following influencer commentary, analysis and reviews online. For example, online influencers published episode-by-episode commentary for HBO’s “House of the Dragon” series. Sponsorships and partnerships with these relationships with these influencers are a proven strategy. 

Finding additional information on people shown on screen

Does a show have a surprise cameo appearance? Or perhaps a lesser-known actor breaking out for the first time? Gen Z audiences will likely search for those details online on their second screen.

These searches can lead your audience to social media or entertainment websites like IMDB. Or you can leverage this opportunity with a live chat or live blog. Pay attention to trending comments on social media and use those comments to inspire your content.

6. Consuming the News

A 2022 survey of Gen Z audiences found that the top three sources of daily news information were social media, streaming services, and online-only news sites. Podcasts, cable news, and newspapers are still drawing engagement but less often. Providing an engaging second-screen experience is vital to keeping your Gen Z engaged and returning for more coverage.

There are a few ways to offer a second-screen experience for Gen Z interested in news coverage. Start by looking for a breaking news event, such as elections or a high-profile court decision. 

Once you have your theme, use the right tools to keep your audience engaged on your website. 

Live Blog

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A live blog to share updates every hour (or more frequently). A live blog is an excellent choice for publishers, sports teams & media companies, mainly because your staff can quickly rewrite some content, like explainers, context, and background posts, to keep audiences engaged.

Live Chat

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Organizing a live chat experience on your website is another powerful way to keep your audience engaged. Take an election, for example. They may see the updated voting totals on their TV. But what does the election mean for Gen Z voters? That’s a rich question to explore with a few panelists in a live chat session.

The Simple Way To Create A Second Screen Experience For Gen Z

Speed matters when attracting and engaging Gen Z audiences. Waiting weeks or months to get your mobile experience ready means losing engagement to the competition. Arena has engagement tools that can be installed on your website in less than an hour. Find out more about Arena’s solutions.

What The Last 30 Years of Digital Ads Tell Us

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Digital advertising changes every month, right?

The story looks different when you take a long-term perspective. We looked at digital advertising trends from the 1990s to the 2020s. This highlights several significant trends for publishers, and other companies focused on making the most of advertising.

The Big Picture of Advertising Revenue Is Bright

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Hope is the first message we have taken from online advertising trends over the past 20 years.

Lesson 1: Digital advertising spending keeps growing despite short-term disruptions

Looking at digital advertising spending in the short run, spending patterns are highly volatile. As pandemic uncertainty hit the market, many companies temporarily pulled back on some forms of advertising in 2020. Similar short-term fluctuations happened in the 2008-2009 financial crisis. 

Despite these short-term disruptions, the total amount of online advertising spending is increasing steadily. From 2010 to 2015, online advertising spending roughly doubled from $26 billion to $59 billion. Over and over again, the digital advertising market continues to grow significantly. 

Committing substantial resources to digital advertising over other opportunities remains a wise long-term bet. That leaves an important question: Where should companies invest to keep growing their online audiences?

Lesson 2: Major shifts in online marketing tend to happen every ten years

Looking at the total dollar amount of digital advertising obscures several critical aspects of the story. The pattern is clear: there are significant changes in the digital advertising industry every decade or so. 

For instance, the launch of the iPhone in 2007 changed the market dramatically as it became the first widely used smartphone for consumers. Brands and publishers that jumped on mobile advertising opportunities early enjoyed significant advantages.

The same early adopter advantage is apparent in other areas of the digital marketing landscape. The early years of social media platforms offered tremendous organic reach and low-cost ads. 

As more and more brands flocked to the opportunity, competition made success more challenging. The increasing sophistication of MarTech apps and specialized digital marketing expertise partially offset these challenges. 

If you’re looking for an alternative to social media platforms to fuel your digital growth, first-party data is the answer.

The Next Shift In Digital Advertising: The Rise of First-Party Data 

The next major shift in digital advertising is just starting to dawn: first-party data. Third-party data will be dead for all practical purposes by 2023 as Apple and Google change their platforms. For a deep dive into first-party data and why it matters, see our post: What Is First-Party Data?

Without the right data, it’s all but impossible to run target advertising campaigns. That’s why you need a transition to first-party data. 

That’s where first-party data comes in. Instead of relying on third parties like scandal-prone social media companies, first-party data is all about developing a direct connection with your audience. 

Reinventing your marketing systems to thrive in the new era of first-party data will take effort. The best way to thrive in this era is to get the right technology and strategy in place. Adding Arena Live Chat and Live Blog to your website is a powerful way to gather more first-party data. Creating engaging online events is easy to attract your audience.

Adding Arena to your website usually takes less than an hour and doesn’t require any development resources. Find out more about Arena today.

History of Online Chat: 1973-2023

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Online chat and chat rooms have come a long way in recent decades. In this quick guide to the history of online chat, you’ll find out where online chat started and how that history informed Arena Live Chat, AI and today’s chat experiences.

The Origins of Online Chat, 1970-1990

The first email was sent in 1971, and chat followed soon after. It was limited to universities, researchers, and governments. We see the first online chat emerge. 

1973: Talkomatic for PLATO system

Developed at the University of Illinois in 1960, this early computer network included chat rooms, email, screen sharing, and other networked features. The key development form PLATO was the launch of Talkomatic in 1973. Talkomatic supported multi-user chat interactions. The technology was limited compared to today’s tools – the application had a maximum of six rooms and a limit of five participants per chat room.

1978: Bulletin Board System (BBS)

Bulletin board systems (BBS) can be seen as social media before the Internet. The first BBS was invented in 1978 in Chicago. BBS users mainly used dial-up modems to connect to a BBS, post messages, and download files. By one estimate, there were thousands of active BBS systems active in the 1980s and 1990s before the Internet, as we know it, took over in popularity.

1980: CompuServe CB Simulator

The 1980s saw a significant leap forward, with online chat becoming more widespread. Compuserve, a critical early Internet service provider, launched CB simulator in 1980. This online chat service made history as the first chat service available to the public. 

1988: Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

The launch of IRC pushed the adoption of online chat much further. Internet Relay Chat – along with email – is one of the few Internet communication apps from before 1990 that remain in use today. IRC made history when it was used to report Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991. While IRC is still online, it has declined in popularity due to the launch of social media platforms.

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The popularity of online chat exploded in the 1990s as more user-friendly technology, marketing, and innovation made the Internet available to millions of people.

Online Chat In The 1990s

In the 1990s, web browsers became popular, bringing millions of people online. However, many people still had slower connection speeds, so text chat was the perfect solution. Chat messages are easy to transmit, which allows near real-time conversations. 

In the 1990s, chat rooms boomed, so it’s difficult to discuss them in depth. Instead, let’s look at some of the most influential services.

AOL Chat Rooms and AOL Messenger

In the 1990s, America Online (AOL) was a prominent Internet service provider. The company also became known for its popular chat rooms. The company offered unlimited access to its chat rooms to its subscribers. In 1998, the company made its instant messenger service – AIM – available to non-AOL subscribers.

MSN Messenger (1999-2014)

Released in 1999, MSN Messenger was another popular chat service. The chat app was widely perceived as a competitor to AOL’ AIM app. The app blended 1 on 1 messaging with some social networking functionality.   

ICQ

Launched in 1996, ICQ quickly acquired millions of chat users. The chat service was notable because it was available on multiple operating systems – Windows, Apple, and Unix. Text messaging between individual users formed the core of the app. At its peak in 2001, the app had an estimated 100 million users.

Customer Service Chat, Chatbots, and Arena: Today’s Online Chat 

As social media platforms grew in popularity in the 2000s, instant messaging apps lost some of their users. Despite that loss, chat and messaging remained popular features. One-on-one messaging (also known as private messaging) remained a key feature on Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites.

Three trends emerged over the past decade that shaped online chat as we know it today.

Customer Service Chat 

Online chat services started to move away from purely social and recreational uses with the rise of customer service chat. This chat service took off by promising greater speed than phone or email customer service. Chat service is also cheaper to provide – about 15-33% cheaper than phone support, according to one estimate. The cost savings is driven by the fact that it is possible for one rep to participate in multiple chat sessions in succession.

Streaming Chat Experiences

Chat and online experiences came together with streaming chat experiences in the 2010s. Across multiple platforms like Discord, Twitch, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live, users could come together and share their thoughts in text chat. These experiences often involved a shared video experience, such as watching a live stream. 

With tools like Chat Analyzer, brands can see how their organization and products are being discussed by users in Twitch chats.

Chatbots

The success of delivering customer service through online chat prompted a question: could computers do more of the work? The rise of chatbots – a kind of automation that relied on scripts and simple automation – provided the answer. These automated chat experiences show that many repetitive questions (e.g., what’s the status of my order?) could be handled through automation.

Using scripts to handle routine questions, chatbots helped companies redirect customer service staff to address complex issues. 

Arena Live Chat

The launch of Arena in 2017 took the history of chat in a new direction. Arena’s live chat brought the social experience of chat rooms back in a new way. 

Brands and publishers can now engage their customers directly on their websites. Social media platforms increasingly struggle with disinformation and toxic content, so people are hungry for alternative ways to connect online. Arena also made live chat more accessible since it is a lightweight application that can run on almost any website.

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What Is The Future of Online Chat?

Artificial intelligence and the need to connect with others beyond social media are two significant trends for the future. Large language models like chatGPT show that chat-style interactions with AI have exciting potential. In some ways, chatGPT brings together a search engine experience with chat.

AI chat experiences are powerful. These technologies are in their early days, so it’s difficult to know how they will used. For example, AI chat tools may be useful in facilitating brandsafe discussions and moderating conversations. AI chat may also play a role in growing online communities and easing the burden of community management. 

Connecting with other people is the core of online chat. The first chat platforms succeeded because they offered group and 1-on-1 messaging. The social need to connect through chat isn’t going anywhere. Instead, we will see the growth of online chat experiences on many different websites.  We look forward to sharing more insights exploring how AI and people can come together to offer exciting digital experiences.

Harnessing The Power of Chat For Your Website

The history of chat has seen many technologies come and go. What hasn’t changed is the desire to connect with other people. Brands seeking higher customer engagement are vital to give your audience a place to connect. Find out how to grow a digital community on your website with Arena.