Mobile messaging service Line has launched a new app to allow business and personal brands to connect with fans, clients and customers. It’s kind of like a branded Facebook page in an instant messaging format.
Dubbed Line@, the app is available for free on iOS and Android and allows account holders to send batch messages to followers who are on Line’s messaging app, chat one-on-one with friended users, and share posts on their timeline and home pages. They’ll also get access to stats like daily added friends, block rates, and responses to Timeline posts.
Brands on Line@ can also access the service in their browsers to manage their relationships with followers. In addition to the features available in the app, the desktop version includes the ability to create pages with rich content, coupons, contests, polls and more.
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Line@ offers both a free and a paid plan. The free plan allows up to 1,000 messages to be sent out per month, while the paid plan at $50 per month allows for 50,000 messages, including image-based messages with links. That also enables the option to send additional messages at $0.01 per message.
Brands can also pay $24 for a personalized premium ID for a year, which then costs $12 for every subsequent year.
With more brands hopping on to messaging apps like Snapchat and Path Talk to connect directly with their audience, Line@ certainly seems like it could be huge for businesses where Line is already popular.
Line also has mobile money transfer and payment services as well as mileage programs that brands will likely be able to link up with their Line@ activity. This might well be the edge the company needs to succeed in the B2C messaging space in its major markets.
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