Messenger platforms have seen a giant boost in 2017 and 2018, but it seems that the next big leap in social communication is video. 
Video is quickly eclipsing most forms of communication across all social platforms. In December of 2017, Facebook broke ground with a fresh video group chat feature on Messenger, allowing up to six users to video chat each other simultaneously.
Just this month, Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, announced its intention to launch its own group video chat feature in-app. The company has always famously had a content-first focus, so it’s an interesting shift in attention as they respond to the growing video chat trend.
But just why are popular content-driven platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat making the switch not just to Messenger, but also toward video chat?
One word: Engagement.
With the near dominance of smartphones as users’ main form of communication, it has become progressively easier for people to engage in video chats using various filters and lenses to help make the experience more enticing. By growing the number of users utilizing the video chat feature, social platforms retain higher numbers of user engagement time.
Snapchat is upping the game, however, by allowing a staggering 16 users to enter a video chat at a time, as opposed to Facebook Messenger’s six. Meanwhile, Instagram is trailing behind at a limited two users per time.
With Snapchat’s bold move forward, it will be interesting to see Instagram and Facebook’s response as they both begin to prioritize their Messenger and video chat features.
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