by /
Some of you may have noticed something new in the smiley box in Facebook chat:
These stickers were first introduced on mobile back in April, but Facebook is testing on desktops with random users. Clicking on the shopping cart icon let’s you browse for more to suit your tastes:
If this is not a sign of the visual web, not sure what is! Looking forward to seeing how this impacts youth audiences, which some claim Facebook is losing a grip on. However, customization is currently slim- There’s a Despicable Me 2 pack, One for Zuckerberg’s dog Beast, with a few others among what’s currently offered.
Don’t be confused by the word “Store”, either. All of the offerings are currently free, but doesn’t mean that they won’t charge for premium packs in the future. This could be a good chance for aspiring web artists to get their work out there, making a few dollars on the side. Facebook will most likely keep the addition of new packs to big brands and developers, as to keep quality up and inappropriate content out.
Recent pressure from competitor offerings such as Google Hangouts has made Facebook focus more on building interest in their chat to engage their users, offering personality and depth to their online interactions. Let’s hope they’ll expand it with more features to offer even deeper customization for users and developers alike.
Readers, what do you think? Do you think they’ll kill it like they did with the $1 gifts product?
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.