Social communication tool line nearly two years after the release of the global user volume officially exceeded the 100 million mark

Abstract: According to foreign media reports, social communication tools line in the release nearly two years after the global user volume officially exceeded the 100 million mark. The mobile-phone app, originally born for earthquake relief in Japan, is now rapidly growing into one of the most popular mobile apps and

According to foreign media reports, social communication tool line in the release nearly two years after the global user volume officially exceeded the 100 million mark. The mobile-phone app, originally born for earthquake relief in Japan, is rapidly growing into one of the most popular mobile apps of all time, competing with rivals such as WhatsApp, micro-credit and Kakao Talk.

In this respect, the United States well-known technology media TechCrunch contributor Natasha Romas (Natasha Lomas) in the line parent NHN Naver U.S. CEO Jennien-Han (Jeanie Han), after an interview, wrote that Line does not just position itself in mobile applications, it expands its ambitions into social platforms. But in this area, Facebook will be a big mountain that line has to face. In addition, she confirms the message that line may be independent from Naver.

The following are the main contents of the article:

Line is a fast-growing communications application developed by the Japanese branch of Korea's Naver company, which has amassed more than 100 million users since its launch in the summer of 2011. In general, the line is viewed as a communications application, similar to WhatsApp, Viber and Skype, which provide free calls and text messages. However, line's product positioning is to bring itself closer to the social network, which means that line pursues users who have abandoned Facebook and are keen to use Skype to make calls.

Users will find that there are many other features and services in the application, including the ability to play games with friends, the Instagram image and photo filtering utility "line Camera", similar to Twitter's "Celebrity account" feature ( Users can focus on certified celebrity accounts and focus on their dynamics in real time. The Café Forum, built in line, allows users to discuss similar topics with others, and by using features like Facebook's information flow, users can also publish topics, photos, and other content for their own friends to browse.

It should be noted that line had accumulated a certain number of user bases in Asia earlier this year when it entered the US market. This service is particularly popular in the Japanese region, with the number of users approaching 50 million. Line parent company NHN Naver U.S. CEO Jennien-Han said line believes that there is a huge development opportunity between basic Mobile information services and traditional social networks.

Information

Jennien-Han said: "I feel some people are tired of being too open to social media." In the United States, while we face some strong competitors, we believe that line services can capture the part of the space that users ' needs are not yet satisfied. Line is not only an information program, but also the essence of some social media, but not as open as the latter.

You can choose to communicate with friends and family, you can control it completely, and do not have to worry about the photos taken last night leaked to the network. Therefore, line is not only text information, but also allows users to do not have to worry about privacy disclosure in the context of the use of interesting forms of communication, which is the selling point of line. Line currently has an excellent opportunity in the US market because the vacancy in the market is not yet filled by other services. ”

Although Jennien-Han did not explicitly mention Facebook's name, the latter is clearly on her "competitor" list because Facebook has its own communications program, Facebook Messenger, which includes the ability to send text, instant messaging, and even free VoIP calls. In social platforms, Facebook is no doubt the predecessor of Line. However, line puts its focus more on the Mobile information platform and hopes to push the company's social aggression in a way that is quite the opposite of Facebook's strategy. Jennien-Han said he was optimistic about Line's performance in the US market.

"Although our number of users in the United States is not large enough, the name of line is beginning to be known," he said. The outside world is starting to think that line is a platform to make life more interesting, not just a simple application. "Jennien-Han said.

To continue to maintain its platform strategy, line has now launched different versions of apps, even web apps, for multiple mobile platforms, PCs, Macs and tablets.

Cartoon symbols

Line did not use standardized emoji emoticons, but produced a set of its own cartoon symbols. These cartoon symbols are very popular and can be used in games and programs on the line platform. In a sense, these symbols have become even a line mascot or brand symbol. Moreover, line does not limit its own symbols in the Far east of the popular cartoon form, but for different markets, and even the user race for customized design. In addition, line also authorizes other companies to design and make cartoon symbols, which makes it possible to change the appearance of a Hello kitty sticker.

Jennien-Han says employees at line regional markets are very concerned about local trends and help localize the sticker content. "We tailor our stickers to each country and culture." In Spain, for example, we will produce specific theme stickers that are linked only to Spaniards, social trends, and popular themes. The same is true in the United States, we now have Snoopy's image of free and paid stickers, and the market response is quite good. "she said.

It should be noted that line is not the only information application that provides stickers. Mobile news start-up company Viber also has its own "Violet" purple paper characters. Although Viber has 175 million users, there is no indication that Viber plans to commercialize the "Violet" Doll and game merchandise. By contrast, line has expended more effort to enrich the cartoon character, develop more forms of role image, and try to protect its intellectual property.

Logic behind

Before Jennien-Han joined line, she worked in the Hollywood film industry for decades. Even after joining line, Jennien-Han still thinks he's joining an entertainment company, not a tech company.

"I did not enter the technology industry, but from one entertainment to another entertainment." I know how to bring happiness to people and how to promote happiness to people, that's what I'm doing. "Jennien-Han said.

Indeed, stickers and cute cartoon images are popular among young people, and young people are precisely the early target of line. Jennien-Han says the 18-19-Year-old young man is the main target user of line. Because in the Asian region, once girls start using line, boys will scramble to emulate them. And these people are going to lead older people in, like a domino effect.

"People, especially young people, particularly like the stickers we make. In fact, the percentage of people in the US who buy our online stickers is fairly high, and the proportion of people who use our games outside the platform is high, so we're pretty optimistic about the U.S. market. "Jennien-Han said.

Market segments

Spain is now the second largest market in line after Asia. Line did not advertise in Spain, only to have recently put on television a Michelle of Spanish stars Michelle Jenifer (Jenner) and Hugo-Sivia. Jennien-Han said: "Line in Spain's rapid growth can not be separated from the enthusiasm of the Spanish nature, they like to express their feelings, like forwarding stickers to each other, so the service has been able to develop rapidly in the region." ”

At the same time, Jennien-Han wants line in Latin America to have a strong user appeal for the same reason, so Latin America is another key market to focus on this year. It is reported that line plan in the United States will be targeted at the subdivision of ethnic groups to carry out different marketing activities.

"Line's user attraction is very dependent on the local culture and the communication habits of the people. The American market is well suited to line because the region is a blend of cultures. The United States has a large enough population base, so we will be more focused on different ethnic groups. ”

One of the most important tasks in the line content localization strategy is to obtain the authorization of American pop cartoon characters to help Line bridge the cultural differences with this market. Jennien-Han said: "Both the Disney cartoon character and the" Angry Birds "in the role for us to represent development opportunities, we can combine them with other different roles to create a game. At present, the characters we create are very popular, and companies will consider putting them in new games if the cartoon characters of other countries or companies are also liked.

Line employees communicate with all of these cartoon characters every day and try to convince their cartoon characters to integrate with other characters. Now, we have more than 100 million users, many companies want to work with us, but also willing to answer our phone. But at the beginning, the job was not so easy. ”

On the surface, line's main focus is on building its own social entertainment network, but the technology is provided by its parent company NHN Naver, and NHN Naver is a search and online gaming company. As a result, Jennien-Han believes that when competing with similar applications, Naver can quickly lead by virtue of his good experience in developing digital products.

"Naver is a real technology company that specializes in product development and has a keen sense of smell and quick response." When we are going to launch a localization strategy for a huge market, I think we will be the fastest company. We have sufficient staff, resources to understand the specific market needs, thus helping us achieve differentiated competition. ”

Jennien-Han was interviewed by TechCrunch in Spain, but soon she will be back in the United States to launch a full marketing effort and help line user base to move ahead after the 100 million mark. Jennien-South Korea revealed that line in the United States to launch a relatively small marketing activities, only through the opening of such as "Snoopy" these celebrity account features to attract users, and did not carry out all-round marketing. But Jennien-Han said it was about to change.

"With a large population in the United States, we will choose some major cities such as New York and Los Angeles to focus on marketing and strive for as many young users as possible," he said. As soon as I get back to the United States, I will hire a large agent to help us launch marketing campaigns that include broadcasting, online, and mobile platforms. We have seen the evolution of the market because of the fierce competition in the US market. But now it is time for us to enter the market. In the future, you will not only see more information on line in the media, because we will invite celebrities to promote line in the coming months. ”

Stay free

There have been rumours that line's rival WhatsApp is about to increase subscribers ' subscription fees. In this respect, Jennien-Han said line did not charge for the application of the plan, and this rumor helped line in Spain and other markets get more attention.

"Line in the application of the sale of stickers, for celebrities and brand users to give the official account of the practice is very effective." Data on sticker revenue growth is good, but we don't disclose revenue data for the time being. What I can tell you, however, is that line revenue and monthly performance are pretty good. Jennien-Han Ru said.

In addition, line's consumer joint marketing platform is also an important part of its revenue strategy by giving brands and celebrities an official marketing channel to communicate directly with users and even sell products to them. This channel allows the brand to have direct contact with fans and can offer promotions, group deals or press releases.

Jennien-Han said: "We are creating a completely different business marketing platform, I do not think there has been a similar platform before." Unlike traditional TV and online marketing, our customer marketing platform starts with a brand that can get consumers and is therefore highly efficient. There are a lot of Spanish companies that are asking for official accounts and I don't even have time to sit down and talk to them. ”

Finally, Jennien-Han also commented on outside speculation that "line may be independent from Naver". Jennien-Han said the opening of offices in some successful markets was consistent with line's future plans, and that it was "entirely possible" to separate from Naver.

"That's really what we're thinking about," he said. There is no official news yet, but like many companies with good business conditions, there seems to be no reason not to split. So we are really seriously considering this. Jennien-Han said finally.