Are you still sending messages to your friends, your family, and your colleagues by texting or email? Well, Line's debut shocked the world. It changed the way we communicated with each other.
“Hello World, We Are LINE!” This was the first greeting that Line said to its worldwide customers. Shortly after it came out, the number of users increased greatly from 47 million native Japanese users to over 230 millions worldwide users. So what is Line? Here is a short video to give you a brief concept of Line.
"We are LINE USA!"
Isn't it fun, my friend? As shown in the video above, we know that Line uses a lot of stickers to attract people from all over the world. Line believes that "expressive stickers convey more than words." "We hope Line can become the common language in the world," says the Chief Executive Officer of Line.
Stickers are very popular on Line
Tens of thousands of stickers can be chosen to use
Using free apps such as Line is a trend. Users do not need to worry about which network carrier they are using because they can use Line freely even without a Sim-card. Moreover, Line is very easy to use, even grandpa and grandma can learn how to use it in 10 minutes. If you are too lazy to type, that's fine; just press a button, hold it, and talk; when finish, remove your finger, then a voice message is sent. Want to share your favorite photos to your friends? Sure! There is a "Timeline" function on Line. You can post everything you like on Timeline just like using Facebook -- but Line is more private and safer. Being a social media application, Line can let you add whoever you like, and block whoever you hate. An interesting function of Line is "Shake it!" This function allows you to add friends by accident. By accident I mean the system will help you find another person who is shaking his/her phone somewhere in Africa when you are shaking your phone at your home, then Line will "line you up" with that person, and you can make a decision that whether to be friend with that person or not. It is fun, isn't it?
LINE: Use It Anytime, Anyplace!
There are still a lot can be talked about Line. Line is not only an app simply for chatting, but also for entertaining and social. It is growing fast, and become more and more popular. Meanwhile, more and more functions are added on Line, such as searching, billing, shopping, and playing games. Last year, Line finally entered North America market, which is very different from any other markets in the world. Let's see how far Line can be in the coming future.
Business models and strategies
Reference:
http://www.inside.com.tw/2013/08/21/line-event-2013
8 comments:
Thanks for your post, Yolanda. I had never heard of LINE before reading this. Based on the features that you described, it seems like LINE has a lot to offer. I've used international calling and texting apps like "viber" and "what'sapp", but LINE has everything that these apps offer, and more! The variety and creativity of their sticker options seems like it really helps in their marketing strategy and adds appeal to their service. I'm actually surprised that this app is free given that you can search and shop using LINE. I'm definitely going to look into it more. Similar to how you feel about Facebook, LINE is so popular in various countries worldwide, yet I would say that a large percentage of social media and smartphone users in the U.S. have never heard of it. This shows that social media services we use are based on what is popular within our nation's culture. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, I would definitely agree with Madeleine that LINE is not something that people in the U.S. are familiar with. It's really interesting that despite the fact that we have access to abundant SMS technology, no one site has "solved" the problem of global communications. I wonder what an SMS that's created for a truly global market would look like!
So neat! I had never heard of LINE, but you did a really great job of explaining it and pointing out some of its very unique features. Your post made me wonder if LINE has a specific marketing strategy for their product in the North American market.
Great job! LINE reminds me of another app, called Viber which enables smartphones to call and text for free anywhere in the world. What is unique about LINE is the sticker ability. I do have to say thought that I think I disagree with the "tagline" of the product. I do not think that stickers are more expressive than words. (sorry:)
I totally agree with what you say, Madeleine. Most social media services are only "social" in certain culture. The world is too big, so there are too many cultures for a social media to adapt to; the world is too small, even a social media can help build communication of people from all over the world.
Thank you Alison! I also curious about what a "truly global market would look like!"
Thank you Kayla. LINE is new to North America. Whether it can be popular in U.S. is still unknown. However, what we can be sure is that if LINE keeps using the same marketing strategy in U.S., it won't succeed because North American people do not use stickers as usually as people from other countries. It is a challenge for LINE to open U.S.'s market.
: ) Thank you for sharing your opinion, Arielle! Your disagreement is interesting because I think it stands for many Americans' thought. However, this is not an easy topic due to "culture differences." Compared to people from other countries, Americans are more likely to express their thoughts freely, and directly. However, people in Asia, or Europe, are not as expressive as Americans. They tend to be shy, like me, (: P) so stickers is kind of a way to release their feelings. I think this is one of the main reasons that LINE can be so popular in these conserved areas.
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