WhatsApp is that middle ground in some parts of the world.
Upon moving to Europe we discovered that WhatsApp is the preferred way to connect with friends, employees, social groups and schools. It was actually the driving factor in me conceding and setting up a FB account.
I like the monetization model and wish you the best of luck.
IIRC, the get paid to post model can make users feel like they are working which can have negative consequences. Deal with that later... hopefully you can get traction/network effect.