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The Do's and Don'ts of Mass Messenger Marketing

In today's digital age, mobile devices are increasingly becoming the hub of people's lives, where we access the internet, shop, and consume media. The world is no longer sitting in front of their computers to search for information. Instead, we are accessing websites, opening apps and posting to social media using our mobile phones. As a result, it's important for businesses to be present on multiple platforms, including mobile devices.&nbsp;With the rise of smartphones, tablets, and wearable technology, businesses are able to offer a more personalized experience to their customers. Companies can have a more authentic, one-on-one &nbsp;conversation with customers, create loyalty and boost brand recognition. Mobile messaging is an excellent way to reach your customers and prospects with relevant and timely information. &nbsp;Developing a strategy to reach your audience is key for any marketer. &nbsp;Viber has been a leader in mobile messaging for over 10 years with users in 190 countries. Over 5,000 businesses trust Viber to communicate with their customers, including <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/success-stories/story/coca-cola/">Coca-Cola</a>, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/success-stories/story/raiffeisen-bank/">Raiffeisen Bank</a>, and <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/success-stories/story/fc-barcelona/">FC Barcelona</a>. Viber offers a variety of business messaging tools and solutions for personalized, one-to-one customer engagement at scale. We know a &nbsp;thing or two about what works and what doesn’t in messaging, and are happy to share some recommendations with you.&nbsp;<h2 style="text-align:justify;">Viber's top 10 tips for mobile messaging</h2>Mobile messaging can be an easy, personalized, and fun way to communicate, but it can also be misused. Discover how to make mass messaging work better for your clients and business.&nbsp;<h3 style="text-align:justify;">DO</h3><ul><li style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;Start a conversation, simply sending a message isn’t enough&nbsp;</li></ul>Conversational language is key to getting your voice heard in the messaging space. Use a conversational tone that is natural and engaging. Be personal, be thoughtful. You’re competing for customer’s attention against all the other messages they’re getting. <a href="https://messagedesk.com/blog/text-messaging-statistics-facts-stats-insights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Studies</a> show that people engage more with brands when they feel that brands understand them after a conversation.&nbsp;For instance, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/how-to-create-effective-customer-conversations-with-viber-business-messages/">Viber’s Business Messages two-way conversation</a> feature lets real assistants guide shoppers’ gift choices, consult on size or product characteristics, provide support and help in product assembly or installation.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/01_Examples_of_conversations_with_real_agents_on_Viber_Business_Messages_a46d6bb96f.png"><figcaption>Examples of conversations with real agents on Viber Business Messages</figcaption></figure><ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Segment your audience and send targeted messages&nbsp;</li></ul>Understanding the context of your customers’ journey, their current state of mind and emotions, and matching it to the right message and tone for the time and place can be a powerful tool. Choose the most relevant and personalized messages for your audience, or else you'll overwhelm them. Know your audience and what they want.&nbsp;You can integrate <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">Viber Business Messages</a> with your CRM or CDP to save and analyse your customer’s history and their behavior to send highly targeted, personalized and useful offerings, at scale.&nbsp;<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;Keep it simple&nbsp;</li></ul>Consider the context of the mobile platform. Short and to-the-point works best.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Ask for feedback&nbsp;</li></ul>Let your customers know you value their opinion. Respond to their questions and comments and show that you care. Additionally, you can collect reviews and use it on your website or to promote your brand in social media.&nbsp;<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;Use the power of creativity&nbsp;</li></ul>Use visuals to illustrate your message. Use emoticons to express yourself. Don’t be afraid to be creative. Most people enjoy humor, and it can increase click-through rates. Thanks to Viber Business Messages rich capabilities (visuals, videos, CTAs, links, etc.),&nbsp; you can even include gamification elements in your messaging –&nbsp;create a fun and interactive quiz and offer customers to solve it in order to receive a discount.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Different_types_of_Viber_Business_Messages_01_a9069998a5.png"><figcaption>The different types of Viber Business Messages</figcaption></figure><h3 style="text-align:justify;">DON’T</h3><ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Don't use bulk messaging to send your customers annoying, non-personal messages&nbsp;</li></ul>You'll just irritate them. This will lead to people unsubscribing. Your customers are people, not ad impressions – they are eager to buy your product after they have had a positive experience with it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Don’t send messages that don’t interest your customers&nbsp;</li></ul>Keep your marketing in context with your audience. Create a unique, personalized experience for your customers. When audience is engaged, not only are they loyal, but they will also share your business’ content with their friends. It’s <a href="https://www.invespcro.com/blog/customer-acquisition-retention/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">five times more expensive to attract a new customer</a> than it is to retain an existing one, so it is important to create a great customer experience for your loyal customer base.&nbsp;<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Don’t use all caps in your message&nbsp;</li></ul>All caps is considered shouting and can be distracting for your audience.&nbsp;<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Don’t send mobile messages to people who have not opted-in to receive your messages</li></ul>It is an invasion of their privacy. They may not want to communicate with you. On Viber, a brand can get a verified <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/how-to-open-a-viber-business-account/">Viber business account </a>and send official business messages to its existing opted-in client base only if it accepts user privacy rules. This way we make sure that brands send – and users receive – relevant messages.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Don't misrepresent your product&nbsp;</li></ul>When customers learn the truth, they will be disappointed, and you will lose their trust.&nbsp;<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Conversational messaging&nbsp;</h3><a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/how-to-create-effective-customer-conversations-with-viber-business-messages/">Conversational messaging</a> is the latest trend in the mobile marketing world. Marketers are beginning to realize the potential of connecting with their consumers through one-to-one conversations. Not only is it an informal way to engage, it conveys personality and "realness" of business. The benefits? You strengthen customer relationships, provide consumers with the opportunity to communicate with the company in a personal way, and also increase customer satisfaction.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conversational messages are usually short, not intrusive, and are not bothersome to the person being messaged. Make your messaging consistent, relevant, personal, and engaging – it’s a big change from the traditional “one-way” method of communication. Conversational messaging is more engaging than typical industry-standard bulk messaging.&nbsp;<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Latest trends in mobile marketing&nbsp;</h3>In a mobile-dominated world, it’s essential to think about how to communicate with your audience and to stay up to date with the latest technology trends. Business messaging is one of the latest and most effective ways to connect with customers and promote your brand. It allows businesses to send personalized, highly targeted messages directly to customers’ mobile devices. This type of marketing is growing in popularity because it is so effective in reaching customers. Brands should no longer ask “How to send bulk messages?” – they have to think of making their messages relevant and valuable for customers.Another <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-vs-sms/">advantage of business messaging solutions</a> is that it is very cost effective. You can reach a large number of people for a fraction of the cost comparing to other forms of marketing. In addition, you don’t need a large budget to get started. You can start with a small budget and grow your campaign as you see fit. If you’re looking for an effective and affordable way to connect with customers, mobile messaging is a great option.&nbsp;We hope this article has helped you understand the do's and don'ts of mass mobile messaging. There are many options and features to explore and we encourage you to spend some time exploring <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/business-messages/">Viber Business Messages </a>and other <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/viber-for-business/">Viber for Business solutions</a> on our official website. Questions? <a href="mailto:messaging@forbusiness.viber.com">Reach out to us </a>and we will guide you through our products.

Learn how to send Viber Business Messages that truly engage your audience

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New Viber business features to help brands succeed in 2022

<h2>Viber for Business presents new features and key updates for better brand and user conversations in 2022</h2>Viber continues to improve Business Messaging solutions, enabling brands to send video to users and users to easily copy codes, emails and links within Viber Business Messages.Rakuten Viber, a global leader in messaging communication, continues creating opportunities to enhance the level of communication between brands and users with an option for brands to send video to users and possibility for users to copy codes, links and contact information with one tap within Business Messages.&nbsp;Following this release, brands will be able to send video to users from their <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/how-to-open-a-viber-business-account/">Viber business account</a>. The feature will work for videos in 3gp, m4v, mov and mp4 formats with a maximum size of 200MB. Users will be able to reply to and pin a video message just like any regular Business Message. Messages from brands to users can be of different types:&nbsp;<ul><li>video only</li><li>video and text</li><li>video, text and CTA button</li></ul>The new feature will allow brands to send even more engaging, creative and useful content, utilising video to showcase new products, explain product characteristics, provide instructions and more. For example, a cosmetic brand can share a video with detailed review of new products recently bought by a user and explain how to combine it with other products purchased. The feature will be progressively released in the second half of December.Additionally, to further simplify users' interactions with brands, Viber now allows them to copy codes, phone numbers, emails and links within Business Messages. The feature works for numbers of 4 digits and longer. A long tap on the number will copy it and display a toast message with "Number copied". This is especially convenient for one-time passwords, promo codes, delivery tracking IDs, etc.&nbsp;With a short tap on a link, an email or a long number that can be dialed or messaged (usually above 7 digits) users will see a menu with different options: call, message, add to contact, etc. or are redirected to a website or email box. The feature is already available on Android, iOS and Desktop.These updates enrich the Viber business features suite that is designed to improve brand communication with customers, something which may be particularly useful on the eve of the holiday season when sales are skyrocketing and services are reaching the peak of demand.&nbsp;The desire to make the process of brand to user interaction convenient and create conditions similar to communications with a friend or loved one drives the constant development of Viber’s suite of features.&nbsp;Here are the key Viber business features for 2022, created to enhance communication between brands and their customers via better customer support, after sales care, convenient management of important information and more:<ul><li>A two-way <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-may2021/">file-sharing option that allows brands</a> to send important information and different types of files (warranties, invoices, catalogs, booking confirmations, certificates). Users can exchange files with brands (ID copies, different documents, etc.) .</li><li><a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-may2021/">Users can easily send photos and videos </a>to brands. For example, a customer buying a new table in a shop and having an issue with assembly can receive aftersales support directly via Viber by sending video to a chat with a brand.</li><li>Viber <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-july2021/">lets users pin important Business Messages</a> within a thread or to pin the full conversation on top of the main chat screen, for example, booking confirmations or PCR test results from a lab to quickly find and show while traveling.</li><li><a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-july2021/">Users can reply to specific messages</a> within Viber Business Messages, making it easier for conversations to cover specific topics in a clear way.</li><li>If a brand cannot provide responses straight away, the new <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/">auto-reply feature</a> works like an out-of-office, which very soon will be also customizable by brands according to their preferences.</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Key_Viber_for_Business_Features_Infrographic_2021_ac363d9613.png"></figure>Do not hesitate to <a href="mailto:messaging@forbusiness.viber.com">contact us</a> if you want to learn more about messaging solutions that Viber for Business has to offer.

Brands can send videos and users can copy code, emails and links within Viber Business Messages


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How to create effective customer conversations with Viber Business Messages

<h2>Messenger marketing: turning conversations into conversions</h2>When it comes to gauging a business’ success, sales is no longer the key metric. Now <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/insights/articles/key-findings-from-the-gartner-customer-experience-survey" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">more than two-thirds of companies</a> compete primarily based on customer experience. Why is that such an important measure? Because good customer experiences mean repeat business, which is the lifeblood of any brand.One key way to improve your company’s customer experience is through the use of messaging apps. These are convenient (customers already have them installed on their devices) and conversational (some of them - also for brands), and provide a direct, personal engagement between you and your customers. And it works. <a href="https://info.sopranodesign.com/the-power-of-mobile-communications" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">65% of customers</a> feel more positive towards brands that allow two-way messaging, while <a href="https://messagedesk.com/blog/text-messaging-statistics-facts-stats-insights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">three out of four consumers</a> get frustrated when they can’t respond after receiving an automated text message from a brand.So how do you use messenger marketing to create more engaging, rewarding conversations with your customers?<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Integrate Viber Business Messages with your CRM for personalized connection with your customers</h3>Technology has greatly streamlined the user experience, but often you wouldn’t know it. Too many times, customers are asked to re-introduce themselves to a brand again and again at multiple touchpoints, having to enter the same basic information (name, address, payment details) more times than is necessary. Customers hate it. Far better to enter it once and once only.&nbsp;The good news is this is possible, and desirable for customers. According to <a href="https://www.liveperson.com/blog/conversational-commerce-for-holidays-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">LivePerson’s survey</a>, 64% of people approve of businesses using information they shared directly in messaging conversations to improve their customer experience.<a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">Integrating Viber Business Messages </a>with your CRM or CDP will let you access your customer’s history, including name, interests, previous orders and delivery details. Which simplifies things immensely. For example, when a loyal customer buys again from the brand, they can just confirm their delivery details are the same as last time, rather than entering all that information again. Or when a client that has recently bought a household appliance at your store sends you an after sales query, you can not only address them by name but also immediately understand which appliance model they are referring to. In addition, if they then contact you a few days later with another question, they won't have to reintroduce themselves and the situation to another person. It rewards loyalty, rather than punishes it. And it creates a natural end-to-end user experience that’s more likely to generate repeat business.<h3>Respond to customers in real time</h3>Customers are done being kept on hold for hours. They want help. <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/au/blog/2019/06/state-of-the-connected-customer--engagement-trends-you-need-to-k" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Now</a>. As such, they’re taking to social media and messaging apps for an instant response. And they expect their favorite brands to be there too, ready to help.Chatting to customers through a messenger means you can respond instantly to requests and increase your customer lifetime value (how much a customer is worth to a company over the term of their relationship). It also means a much better quality of service for the customer.For example, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/6-tips-for-holiday-season-mobile-marketing/">Viber Business Messages</a> lets brands provide a store-style concierge service through digital channels. You can help customers choose the right gifts, discuss booking details, help assemble furniture post-purchase and more. It’s the in-store experience brought straight to the home.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/01_Examples_of_conversations_with_real_agents_on_Viber_Business_Messages_f50344a986.png"><figcaption>Examples of conversations with real agents on Viber Business Messages</figcaption></figure><h4 style="text-align:justify;">Conversational Viber Business Messages – one tool for different use cases</h4>Real conversations between live agents and customers can cover many subjects, from managing order and delivery details, providing help choosing a product or making a booking, or managing loyalty programs. They can also promote products via personalised offerings, support the post-purchase experience, and more...<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Help choose the right product</li></ul>Even frequent customers might need help choosing a product – maybe they want help picking a size without being able to try the garment on, or just want to know more about what a product’s features will mean for them. Viber Business Messages’ two-way conversations put shoppers in touch with real assistants to provide instant answers, whatever their query.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Manage order and delivery</li></ul>Customers don’t only want to know where their orders are, but also to be able to specify the delivery time and location, especially for time-sensitive orders like Christmas gifts. Business messages within messaging apps let you notify customers of their order status and adjust the delivery details (including booking a re-delivery), all from their phone. It makes a real difference to customer satisfaction levels. Want proof? Just ask Serbian company <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/ru/success-stories/story/dexpress/">D Express, which used Viber for Business</a> messaging solutions to deliver more messages first time and greatly boost its customer satisfaction levels.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Provide post-sales support</li></ul>The customer journey doesn’t end once they have made a purchase. In some ways, your job is just beginning, as you set about upgrading a one-time buyer into a loyal customer. How? By staying in touch using conversational messages and helping where needed.Say a customer has just bought a new juicer, and wants to know more about some of its features. Instead of calling customer services, they can just message the company through a messaging app to receive support, tips, tutorial videos and more. All at the touch of a button.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Collect customer feedback</li></ul>Real-time customer support through business messages provides instant (and valuable) feedback on how your company is performing and makes customers feel that their opinions are valued. Following up with customers will let you provide timely assistance if needed, and collect positive reviews for your brand’s website or social media channels. It’s win-win.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/02_Conversations_with_clients_via_Viber_Business_Messages_be368caa72.png"><figcaption>Conversations with clients via Viber Business Messages</figcaption></figure><h3 style="text-align:justify;">Viber Business Messages features to support smooth conversational flow</h3>To best support users and brand conversations Viber is constantly developing and rolling out new features.For example, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-may2021/">users can easily send photos, videos and different files</a> to brands. This can help with post-sales support like furniture assembly, doing away with the need for an in-person visit – especially valuable during these pandemic times.It works the other way too, enabling <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-may2021/">file-sharing for brands</a> to send information like receipts, invoices, and booking confirmations. For example, a person making a hotel reservation can get their booking confirmation directly through a messaging app.<a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-july2021/">Users can pin important business messages</a> within a thread, or pin the whole conversation to the top of the main chat screen. That way they can get to what matters, fast. For instance, pinning your hotel booking will speed up the check-in process, while pinning a negative PCR test result will mean it’s always at hand to show at the airport.<a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/viber-business-messages-feature-updates-july2021/">Users can reply to specific messages</a> inside conversations with brands, so it’s clear which product the customer is referring to.&nbsp;There’s also an auto-reply feature that works like an out of office. That way, customers can seek support from another channel, and not feel like they’ve been ghosted.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/03_Different_Viber_for_Business_features_to_support_smooth_conversational_flow_4e8f559809.png"><figcaption>Different Viber for Business features to support smooth conversational flow</figcaption></figure><h3 style="text-align:justify;">Why customers love conversational Viber Business Messages</h3><ul><li>They’re already on messaging apps, chatting with friends and colleagues. There are no new apps to install, no new programs to learn, and no more sign-up details to submit.</li><li>It’s one-on-one, conversational, and always customer-centric (like phone or email, but without the hold music or spam).</li><li>It’s convenient, letting customers start and pick up conversations when it suits them. And there’s no need to repeat information just because a new agent has taken over the chat.</li><li>It builds customer confidence that the brand cares about them and wants to improve their customer experience.</li></ul><a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">Viber Business Messages</a> is your ticket to an upgraded customer care experience. Not only does it let businesses help customers through a convenient communication channel, it creates real conversations and meaningful relationships that strengthen the bond between customer and brand. This is bolstered by <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">Viber Chatbots</a>, which offer 24/7 customer support, and provide an affordable and efficient way to answer frequently asked questions, regardless of the volume, time of day or language. And if the query is more complex, it can be escalated to agents through the Business Messages channel, ensuring the customer is always cared for. Look after them, and they will look after your business.Do not hesitate to <a href="mailto:messaging@forbusiness.viber.com">contact us</a> if you want to learn more about messaging solutions that Viber for Business has to offer.&nbsp;

Discover how to engage customers in conversations using Viber Business Messages

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Viber for Business - How to set up and supercharge your mobile marketing strategy 

Last week the Viber team hosted a webinar “Viber for Business: How to set up and supercharge your mobile marketing strategy” with our partners <a href="http://mymegamobile.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Megamobile</a> and <a href="https://www.infobip.com/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=infobip&amp;utm_network=g&amp;utm_matchtype=e&amp;utm_campaign=act%20--%20gsn%20--%20lead%20generation-web%20--%20infobip%20--%20na%20--%20usa&amp;utm_adgroup=infobip%20--%20english%20--%20intent%20--%20infobip-brand-exact%20--%20na%20--%20usa&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAkZKNBhDiARIsAPsk0Wg7KW9UIwfWDGSE89vtKc7aWruON8no8k74PgZs8HJmtV_eNskDXBMaAkU1EALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Infobip</a>.Our Senior Partnerships Account Director Noa Bar Shay, APAC Sales Manager Karla Banua and Business Development Manager Veronica Feleo were joined by <a href="http://mymegamobile.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Megamobile’s</a> Operations Director Brigette Tan Villarin, <a href="https://www.infobip.com/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=infobip&amp;utm_network=g&amp;utm_matchtype=e&amp;utm_campaign=act%20--%20gsn%20--%20lead%20generation-web%20--%20infobip%20--%20na%20--%20usa&amp;utm_adgroup=infobip%20--%20english%20--%20intent%20--%20infobip-brand-exact%20--%20na%20--%20usa&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAkZKNBhDiARIsAPsk0Wg7KW9UIwfWDGSE89vtKc7aWruON8no8k74PgZs8HJmtV_eNskDXBMaAkU1EALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Infobip’s</a> Senior Sales Manager Romulo Fresto Jr and <a href="https://www.cebupacificair.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cebu Pacific Air’s</a> Optimization Manager Jose Edzel T. Del. Rosario V.&nbsp;Key topics covered included:<ul><li>Customer communication trends</li><li>How to achieve an outstanding customer experience with Viber for Business</li><li>Brand success stories</li><li>Creating connected customer experiences with Viber Business Messages</li><li>How Cebu Pacific are winning with Viber</li></ul>Watch the webinar recording below and be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in">sign up to our newsletter</a> to receive future event updates.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsxUt8X6ynQ"></oembed></figure>

Get the low down from our Viber for Business APAC webinar 

Event recap: Viber for Business APAC webinar

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6 tips for holiday season mobile marketing

<h2>Holiday season mobile marketing&nbsp;</h2>The holiday season presents an abundance of opportunity for mobile marketers. And that’s truer now than ever. The pandemic has greatly accelerated digital shopping: <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/#dossier-chapter1">Statista’s study</a> shows that in 2020, online shopping increased more than 25%, hitting 4,2 tn dollars worldwide. With the majority of cyber week sales made from a smartphone – <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/cyber-week-digital-sales-grow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">55% compared to 41% on desktop</a> – the lesson is clear: smart marketers should follow the money and connect with customers where they’re already present – on their smartphones.&nbsp;So how can you reach the full potential of the holiday season and enjoy all the benefits that mobile marketing has to offer?<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Holiday marketing ideas for a stellar mobile marketing campaign</h4>An effective messenger marketing strategy can improve the customer experience by offering a truly personalised, engaging and convenient customer service during the peak season.<ul><li>Create hyper personalized messages for your loyal customers</li></ul>It’s a fact: personalizing the customer experience to each specific customer makes them more likely to buy. In fact, it results in a higher likelihood of purchase in <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/EpsilonMktg/the-power-of-me-the-impact-of-personalization-on-marketing-performance/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">80%</a> of cases. It’s easy to see why, as it’s much more convenient for consumers, and data supports it – <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/holiday-shopper-preferences/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">4 in 10 holiday shoppers</a> are looking for retailers to remember personal details, like past sizes and items they’ve purchased. By integrating their CRM system with Viber Business Messages, brands can store customer interaction history and analyze their behavior in order to send useful and relevant personalized messages, at scale.&nbsp;Here are a few holiday marketing ideas for your inspiration:&nbsp;<ul><li>Offer gift messaging and alerts that let your audience know when specific gift items they have shown an interest in have gone on sale or have been restocked.</li><li>Create a digital gift guide with ideas for parents, significant others, friends, kids, and anyone else. Segment your audience and send the most relevant guides to your customers.</li><li>Reward your mobile customers with exclusive coupons for the products they were interested in.</li><li>Invite customers to take part in Sweepstakes, Instant Win Giveaways, and Challenges over the items they showed interest in.</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Holiday_season_marketing_on_Viber_2_7ac64bf6ab.png"><figcaption>Holiday season mobile marketing on Viber</figcaption></figure><ul><li>Automate your customer service</li></ul>In the always-on digital world, brands need to be available around the clock. Customers expect it: <a href="https://www.wolfgangdigital.com/kpi-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">71%</a> of consumers expect brands to communicate with them in real time, whether it’s day or night. But it’s costly – and wasteful – to man the phones 24/7. Instead chatbots can take on the bulk of the work and help to manage your holiday season mobile marketing.&nbsp;Not only is it more cost-effective for brands, shoppers are also <a href="https://www.liveperson.com/blog/conversational-commerce-for-holidays-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">more likely to trust</a> and to spend more money with retailers that support both digital and in-store experiences with messaging and virtual assistants.<a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Viber Chatbots </a>are available around the clock and answer customer questions instantly. They reduce personnel costs and automate routine processes, reduce user frustration with quick, timely replies, and generate analytical information about customers, which allows you to create an accurate portrait of the target audience and understand its needs (<a href="https://www.liveperson.com/blog/conversational-commerce-for-holidays-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">64% </a>of customers are in favour of this). Plus they let you send relevant messages based on the customer journey to the product, communicating with users in their language, using interactive elements and gamification to engage customers during the holiday season – it is a direct path to "love for years."<ul><li>Use live agents to assist your customers&nbsp;</li></ul>While chatbots can help respond to many questions,&nbsp; you still need real agents to take on more taxing customer queries. <a href="https://www.aspect.com/globalassets/2016-aspect-consumer-experience-index-survey_index-results-final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">86%</a> of users expect chatbots to always be able to transfer to a live agent – this is even more important during the holiday season, when customers <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/4737_2018-holiday-survey/2018DeloitteHolidayReportResults.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">need gift-finding assistance</a> from retail consultants online. Viber Business Messages’ two-way conversation feature lets real assistants guide shoppers’ gift choices, consult on size or product characteristics, and help in gift assemblance or installation.Live agents can also take on board customer feedback to provide better customer service, and turn new leads from the holiday season into loyal clients.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Visual_1_efd6376a12.png"><figcaption>Conversations with live agents on the Viber Business Messages platform</figcaption></figure><ul><li>Use complex mobile marketing campaigns&nbsp;</li></ul>Advanced strategy of holiday season mobile marketing can help you stand out among the array of businesses running online.For example, Coca-Cola devised an animated game to engage users in a fun way around Easter time. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9MOlK-NQZE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Easter Egg Fighter within Viber messenger</a> plays on the time-honored Eastern Europe tradition of a coloured Easter Egg fight. The aim? To destroy your opponent’s egg, but playing online through a mobile game instead of in the real world. That way, users can play against anyone, regardless of where they are in the world.Coca-Cola’s mobile marketing campaign included creative Viber Sticker pack with free downloads that let new users subscribe to the chatbot, a promotion within the Coca-Cola Community on Viber, and personalised messages to bring chatbot subscribers into the game.The results were staggering: in Bulgaria alone, it achieved 350,000 user interactions, an average user play time of over five-and-a-half minutes, and a total played minutes of over 188,000. The number of chatbot subscribers increased by 30%, and sticker pack downloads totalled over 63,000.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/f9MOlK-NQZE"></oembed></figure>Coca-Cola Easter campaign in Bulgaria on Viber<ul><li>Reduce cart abandonment</li></ul>Consumers abandon their carts in anywhere between <a href="https://sleeknote.com/blog/cart-abandonment-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">70% and 90% of cases and reducing these numbers </a>might become a real struggle for business during the peak season of holiday shopping.&nbsp;Messaging apps can help businesses reduce cart abandonment during the holiday season by sending personalized, proactive reminders, greetings and discounts. In the case of Viber for Business solutions this can be done via <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Viber Business Messages or Viber Chatbots.</a>For example Comfy, a leading Ukrainian retailer, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/ru/success-stories/story/comfy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">used Viber Business Messages to enhance its communication channels</a>, reducing the number of customers abandoning shopping carts. By combining an immediate reach, rich media and compelling CTAs – all linking to their website or targeted actions – they achieved a 10% higher turnover and 30% higher conversion rate than SMS.<ul><li>Update customers on their shipping details</li></ul>Customers want to know where their orders are and to have an opportunity to control delivery time, especially when waiting for the presents to arrive on time for the holidays. In one study, <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/consumer-markets/consumer-insights-survey.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">41%</a> of consumers ranked fast and reliable delivery as one of their top considerations when shopping online. With business messages on messaging apps, you can alert customers when their order is ready and set a suitable time for the parcel to arrive, reducing customer frustration. A priceless holiday marketing idea for a busy shopping time. Just ask D Express, a technically forward-thinking express courier service based in Serbia. It <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/ru/success-stories/story/dexpress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">enlisted Viber to improve its mobile marketing strategy</a> and enhance its communication with its customers by letting them track their deliveries. Customers receive an automated and personalized message updating them on their delivery. They can then reply whenever it's convenient to a Viber business account directly for more information or redirect the shipment. Because there is no waiting for a call operator to answer, customer response times are vastly improved. Customers enter a PIN code for delivery validation, and in case of an unsuccessful delivery attempt they will receive a notification summarising their options. The results speak for themselves: 85% of D Express’ 300,000 monthly Business Messages were delivered first time – that’s 15% more compared to before they started using Viber. This helped D Express improve its service, boosting the customer experience and engendering trust and loyalty within its customer base.With the holiday season approaching, businesses should include mobile digital platforms in their marketing strategies to reach the peak of holiday revenue. By leveraging mobile marketing businesses can become closer to their customers through a more intimate communication channel and put customers only one click away from the purchase. <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/viber-for-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Viber for Business solutions</a> can help businesses simplify customer support and interactions, benefit customer experience and allow businesses to provide better services during the most intense shopping season.&nbsp;If you would like to learn more about Viber marketing throughout the year, do not hesitate to <a href="mailto:messaging@forbusiness.viber.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">contact us</a>.

Reach the full potential of the holiday season through mobile marketing 

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World Health Organization webinar

The World Health Organization recently hosted their second webinar in the series “Building best in class chatbots during COVID-19” and our Senior Global Business Development Manager Petya Kamburova spoke about chatbot optimization based on user data, analytics and the importance of human-centered design.Chatbots are software programmes that interact with people over voice or text. Before COVID-19, they played an important role in healthcare and the use of AI-enabled solutions is expected to increase even more in the coming years. During the pandemic, with even some of the most resilient health systems overwhelmed, people have turned towards alternatives when it comes to information and advice for their health. For many, their mobile phone is the primary source of information and chatbots are in the spotlight now more than ever.&nbsp;Petya shared that in order to understand how successful a bot is, it needs to be measured through user data, which is essentially the feedback received from the users. When it comes to the WHO Viber bots, although all focused on different topics, from COVID-19 and tobacco cessation to women’s health, they all have one goal - offering users health information one click away, in an easy to access and understandable manner.&nbsp;The top 3 metrics include:&nbsp;<ul><li>Scale - number of subscribers/ number of users. The WHO COVID-19 chatbot has a total audience of 1.7 million users currently.</li><li>Engagement - messages sent &amp; received to and from the bot. Since it’s launch in April 2020, the WHO COVID-19 bot has generated over 150 million messages.</li><li>Bot MAU(monthly active users). Over 70% of the bot’s audience interacts with it monthly.</li></ul>Watch back the webinar <a href="https://events.streamgo.live/WHOchatbots/live">here </a>and be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in">sign up to our newsletter </a>to receive future event updates.

Get the low down from our recent webinar with the World Health Organization

Event recap: World Health Organization webinar

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Rakuten Viber / BUMP webinar

Our Senior Director of Business Messaging Solutions Etienne Dupont recently featured on Mobilesquared's BUMP Webinar "The future of business messaging for brands" alongside their Chief Insight Analyst &amp; Founder Nick Lane. Etienne shared exclusive insight on brand strategy and user preferences and Nick revealed key data from their recently published global messaging market forecasts to 2025. With over 20% more brands pivoting to business messaging to reach customers during the pandemic, we looked at what works and what doesn't in terms of messaging engagement strategies for brands, plus key market data and trends.&nbsp; Key topics covered included: - How brand communications and messaging have shifted post-Covid - Global and local market trends - What user preferences tell us about how businesses should engage with their customers - The role of Viber and other market players in developing the messaging ecosystemWatch back the webinar below and be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sign up to our newsletter</a> to receive future event updates.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/yLPqLrSSAUY"></oembed></figure>

Get the low down from our recent webinar with Mobilesquared

Event recap: Rakuten Viber / BUMP webinar

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Rakuten Viber / 8x8 webinar

(Original version published on the <a href="https://www.8x8.com/blog/speak-the-language-of-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">8x8 blog</a>, October 2021)<a href="https://www.8x8.com/events/fy22q2-hook-customers-with-human-experience-in-a-digital-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">8x8's webinar</a> "How to Hook Customers with a More Human Experience in a Digital World" took place on September 30 and among the speakers who discussed business growth in the era of mass digitalization was our Senior Director of Business Messaging Solutions Etienne Dupont who shared Viber's experience as one of the world’s most popular messaging apps.While acknowledging that it is indeed difficult, the webinar panel mused over how businesses can use chat apps to maintain quality service at any time of day. Chat apps like Viber not only allow free-flowing human conversation, but they also provide rich content that people can relate to in the form of videos and emojis. With consumers spending more and more time on their devices, it absolutely makes sense for businesses to get in on the action.The panel agreed that to keep customers coming back, frictionless customer care is a must-have and chat apps make this possible.The icing on the cake is that chat apps are also a cost-effective option. With apps like Viber, companies can reach out to new audiences, and communicate better with their existing customers, in a native environment. It’s possible to send targeted offers and promotions that turn prospects into paying customers, and then gain their loyalty over time by building deeper relationships. While the future ahead is indeed uncertain, all signs indicate that chat apps will only get bigger and better in the business world.Of course, live service staff will always be required to do the heavy lifting—especially for high priority tasks and emergencies. In that sense, chat apps have been proven to be useful during interim periods, working symbiotically with service agents to keep customers informed.Watch back the webinar <a href="https://8x8.hubs.vidyard.com/watch/nnUxxTLSzJAAPgsJC33UpG?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here</a> and be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sign up to our newsletter</a> to receive future event updates.

Get the low down from our recent webinar with 8x8 

Event recap: Rakuten Viber / 8x8 webinar

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Event recap: RESHAPE

<a href="https://reshapesummit.com/">RESHAPE</a>, the world's largest leadership and experience virtual summit took place on September 15 - 16 2021 and Rakuten Viber's Chief Growth Officer Anna Znamenskaya held a panel delving into customer experience and brand engagement in the time of information overload of the post-COVID world. In her Impact session, she shared what matters most to the audiences in order to stay loyal to brands.&nbsp;The second edition of the event brought together a community of 10K+ attendees and over 100 top names from world-famous companies such as IKEA, Unilever, Google, Rakuten Viber, Booking.com, Pepsico, HSBC, and many more, along with the star speaker, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.Together with her guest speakers ​​Enric Llopart, Digital Director at FC Barcelona, and Edward Partridge, Senior Corporate Partnership Manager at WWF they agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the transition to digital channels and increased users’ demand for personalized content with interactive opportunities. Both FC Barcelona and WWF are long-standing champions of digital communications, and Viber long-term partners. They have fully utilized the power of social engagement on the platform by launching their branded stickers to either convert users to engage with chatbots or join communities, where both the products offer various engaging features. Chatbots, for example, could be utilized for personalized quizzes, games, and donations, while communities are a fruitful channel for getting a message out loud and promoting the user to join a cause, get the latest news or learn more about a topic, such as wild tigers preservation.&nbsp;Get your doing-digital in a post-covid world black belt and learn how to break through information clutter by watching Anna's panel below.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGS_ORBCgbw"></oembed></figure>Be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in">sign up to the Viber for Business newsletter </a>to receive future event updates and visit our <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/">blog</a> for knowledge, news, and more.

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Viber Business Messages vs. SMS: Which is better for you?

According to <a href="https://www.outerboxdesign.com/web-design-articles/mobile-ecommerce-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Mobile eCommerce statistics</a>, more than three quarters of mobile phone users have bought products through their phones in 2021. The numbers clearly show that businesses need to upscale their mobile marketing strategies and communicate with customers through their mobile devices.&nbsp;<h2 style="text-align:justify;">Trends in messenger and SMS marketing&nbsp;</h2>Every business has to send information to their clients from time to time. From notifying them about deliveries, changes in the status of an order, providing special offers or informing about upcoming appointments. Simultaneously, businesses face the challenge of building a mutually beneficial communication with their clients - informative for the customer and effective for the business. Traditional formats, including emails and SMS, may simply go unnoticed. In order to elevate communication with a client base, businesses can turn to a channel that their clients use most often – messaging apps.One of the main tendencies of recent years is being closer to your customers and communicating with them at their convenience. Users prefer to keep all the correspondence in a single app where they spend most of their time. <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170214005027/en/Organizations-Wasting-Billions-Customer-Loyalty-Programs-Don%E2%80%99t" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">According a study by Accenture</a>, 81% of people are more loyal to brands that communicate with them through their preferred communication channels.The demand for personalised, non-intrusive communication is something that companies should keep in mind. Users want to have control over their interactions with businesses: to have an opportunity to start and end the conversation, solve their issues in a chat with a brand and receive relevant information that targets their specific interests.Business messaging is a relatively new solution for brands to share important information with their customers - a natural evolution of SMS with an extended set of features. At the outset of SMS marketing, bulk messaging was a more appealing solution for user engagement, however with changes of consumption of technology and information they have become&nbsp; more selective. From all the brands they interact with, customers tend to choose the ones that can build mutual communication with them and accept their feedback. Gradually, messenger marketing has developed from a one-way communication channel (where only brands can send information to clients without an option for clients to send a response), to two-way conversations (dialogues) with clients - an even more beneficial solution for businesses.<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Why you need an official Viber business account&nbsp;</h3>Brands around the world see the advantages of personalised messaging and prefer to communicate with their clients through messaging apps. Banks, retailers, delivery services and many businesses of different industries, regions and sizes can use business messages in their mobile marketing strategies.It is important to show your customers that they can trust your business messages. For this reason, Viber Business Messages are sent only to those people who are part of the company's client base and have given their consent to receive notifications from the brand, for example, when filling out a loyalty program form or when making an online order. At the same time, users can easily check whether the brand is verified – official business accounts have a "blue tick" near their name.The "Blue tick" shows that the account has been verified by the Viber team and guarantees authenticity. In addition, an <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/how-to-open-a-viber-business-account/">official Viber business account</a> may include information about the brand, logo, address and phone number. In the first message from the brand, customers can see the reason why they were sent a message, the sender's name and the message context even before they open it, thanks to the Overlay feature - a pop-up window on top of the business message. This means users can decide whether they want to interact or refuse receive notifications from the brand. There is the option to adjust these settings at any point during the conversation.Apart from convenient brand verification, Viber also provides businesses and users secure communication enabled by end-to-end encryption of private chats and calls, as well as encryption in transit for Business Messages. Viber does not store messages on servers and uses only a secure HTTPS connection - all designed for safe and secure communication between brands and users.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Why_Viber_Business_Messages_are_better_than_SMS_Linkedin_4fddd9cebd.png"></figure><h3 style="text-align:justify;">Benefits of Viber Business Messages</h3>Business Messages are not only a native, secure and bilateral way of brand communication, but unlike regular SMS, they are also an efficient and cost-effective channel with a wide set of analytical tools.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Interactive Viber marketing</h4>While an SMS is a short text of up to 160 characters and, sometimes, a link, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">Viber Business Messages</a> are a format that significantly expands the possibilities of interaction with customers. They can contain text of up to 1000 characters, images, a link, and various types of files including instructions, warranty cards, etc. For example, brands can send invoices to customers, discuss the terms of the order, and solve customer queries, including receiving photos or videos from them, all in one chat.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Fair Viber business pricing</h4>Apart from being convenient for customers, Business Messages are also cost-effective for businesses: brands only pay for Business Messages that have been delivered rather than just sent ones. In addition, brands can save their budget and deliver time-sensitive messages by setting TTL (Time To Live) – the maximum period of time to deliver a message before it is canceled or redirected to another channel. For example, if a sender sets TTL for 1 hour, the messages that are not consumed within this time frame will expire. With TTL on Viber, a company won’t pay for a message that doesn’t reach a user in a limited time frame and ultimately save money.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">SMS fallback for important messages</h4>If a brand’s customers don't have internet access or the Viber app installed, they can still receive important and urgent messages with SMS fallback (using SMS as a backup option - delivering a message via SMS if delivery on Viber has failed). Brands can be confident that, if needed, all of their customers will get key notifications, for example, a one-time password or about financial transaction information via SMS.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Real-time analytics for your messenger marketing strategy</h4>Companies can access a report on customer interaction with Business Messages in real time. They can see the status of the message: whether it was delivered, received, or failed. They also have access to detailed statistics, including open and click rates, which can be taken into account while adjusting mobile marketing strategy, segmenting the audience and personalizing communication with customers.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Integration with CRM</h4>Brands can easily integrate their CRM system with Viber Business Messages to save customer interaction history, analyze behavior and send useful and relevant personalized messages.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Different_types_of_Viber_Business_Messages_85a26f3dfe.png"><figcaption>The different types of Viber Business Messages</figcaption></figure><h3 style="text-align:justify;">How to maximize effectiveness of your business messages&nbsp;</h3>Of course, not every business message sent through a messaging app will have the same impact. Here are some tips that will help you to effectively interact with your users, achieve your business goals and retain customers:<ul><li>Personalize your messages. According to <a href="https://smarterhq.com/privacy-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">SmarterHQ's "Privacy &amp; Personalization"</a> study, 72% of users want to receive individual offers from businesses, and messenger marketing allows that. You can do bulk messaging hoping it will resonate with your audience (aka "Spray and Pray" marketing), or you can use a messaging app connected to your CRM system to target specific audiences. The second approach will help you to communicate with your audience in a more meaningful way, as well as to achieve higher conversion rates and excellent marketing results.</li><li>Speak your customers’ language - adopt a communication style that matches your customers’ needs. Messaging apps are a space for personal communication, therefore you can afford to be more informal in your conversations with customers. You can not only adjust your tone of voice depending on your customer’s age or interests, but also change it based on their mood during the real-time communication. This approach will make your conversations with customers more engaging and elevate your messenger marketing.</li><li>Endorse conversations and stay in touch after the purchase. According to <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/au/blog/2019/03/-real-time-engagement--marketers---1-priority-and-challenge.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Salesforce</a>, 71% of users want to communicate with companies in real time. Chatting with the customers in a messaging app allows businesses to instantly respond to requests and increase so-called CLV (“customer lifetime value”). Furthermore, such communication makes it easier for companies to provide services and helps consumers to receive a better service. With real-time customer support you can get instant feedback and show your customers that they are valued. Just because people aren't in a physical store, it doesn't mean they should miss out on the experience that only a sales assistant can offer.</li><li>Integrate with your CRM and keep your customer database updated. You can access your customer’s history by integrating Viber Business Messages with your CRM. This way you will have the opportunity to follow your customer’s journey, see what parts of your business they are most interested in and modify your marketing efforts accordingly. With the ability to track real interests of your customers, you can send truly personalised messages and create a natural end-to-end user experience.</li></ul>Business messaging allows you to start communication with users on a platform where they spend most of their time, maintain an informal tone of conversation and solve all important issues in a single conversation. Detailed analytics, interactivity of business messages and easy integration with CRM help brands to segment their audiences and personalize their messages. Companies around the world are already benefiting from the rich set of features, security and cost efficiency of business messages. If you want to keep your brand relevant and interesting to your clients, you can integrate Viber for Business solutions into your marketing strategy and enjoy advantages you can get from two-way conversation with customers.Do not hesitate to <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?fs=1&amp;tf=cm&amp;source=mailto&amp;to=messaging@forbusiness.viber.com">contact us </a>to learn how to use Viber for Business services to benefit your business.

How to improve your mobile marketing strategy with Viber Business Messages

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How to manage and benefit from your Viber Community

<h2>Managing a Viber Community for global audiences</h2>In August 2019, Viber partnered with Australian tennis influencer Samuel Begg (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelbegg/?hl=en">@samuelbegg</a>) to launch the Global Tennis Community on Viber. While covering tennis news across the world and allowing users to go behind the scenes of their favorite sport, an exclusive Viber Community has grown to over 685,000 tennis fan followers over the past two years. Success that came from a well thought-through content strategy, engaging campaigns and effective moderation which shows the benefits that can be achieved with a messaging app community. We caught up with Samuel below to discuss the journey of the GTC, what he has learned about Viber Communities and what tips he has for online community managers.<h3>What are the advantages of communities in messaging apps?</h3>Viber Communities are convenient both for users and creators. On a messaging app, you can send messages to all community members at once and gather fans together. It gives you an unmatched opportunity to establish one-to-many communication. At the same time, people can access information anytime and anywhere on a mobile device. My ability to also utilize the desktop version of the app has been a huge bonus in terms of time management - allowing me to easily add exclusive content or videos directly from my laptop to the Viber GTC.Another benefit is a wide variety of available content. You can animate your community with news, updates, polls, and quizzes. Fans love new info about their passion subject and appreciate creative posts. What is more, they enjoy sharing ideas. Considering this, having different tools to entertain fans allows for a more engaging tennis fan experience.In communities, fans can react to messages with likes, emoticons, and shares. It's an excellent feature, as you can see and respond to their thoughts, expectations, and feelings. It makes communication with your audience easier and more valuable, allowing me to adjust my content strategy to be more in line with what GTC tennis fans enjoy most.Throughout my time working on the GTC, I also learned the importance of utilising relevant emojis (eg. tennis ball or country flags) to enhance the “eye catching” aspect of text copy. This strategy contributes to achieving higher engagement and keeping the feed aesthetically pleasing to followers.<h3>What is the value of the Global Tennis Community on Viber for its subscribers? Did GTC geography expand on the messaging app?</h3>The Global Tennis Community and I partnered with Viber in 2019, with the aim to deliver tennis news, videos, and discussion to fans around the world. The purpose of the community was to bring people who love tennis together, no matter who or where they are. Viber, with a diverse user base all over the world, was the perfect platform to embody this idea. Now, the Global Tennis Community has over 685k subscribers on a messaging app, with people worldwide gaining equal access to their favorite players’ routines and updates. We have engaged members from different countries and continents. Fans from Russia, Greece, Serbia, France, the Philippines, and many other countries now get together. As an already established social media tennis influencer with over 200k combined followers on other platforms, it was a hugely exciting opportunity to partner with Viber and assist them in launching, promoting and managing a new tennis focussed community on their platform. As a tennis influencer, I also was able to extend the “reach” of the GTC to countries such as Australia and the USA which assisted making our Viber Community truly global.In a community like the GTC, every follower counts. Imagine, people can talk to their friends, and check the news about their favorite sport all in one place. This way of communication is deeply personal and puts the audience at the center – Community members can enjoy natural conversations and share information with people they love.<h3>How do you manage such a huge fanbase? What are the tips for Viber Сommunity management and keeping the Community feed interesting and entertaining? &nbsp;</h3>Viber Communities have clear and powerful managing features. There are two moderation types to allow different access levels: superadmins and admins. For example, I am the superadmin and have ultimate control over the chat. It means I can post and pin messages, add, ban or block other members, decide if they can take part in conversations, or invite new members. I use these tools to moderate the chat and keep the feed relevant to the participants.You can also grow your Viber Community by enabling a share link or revoking the link at any time, as well as assigning admins among Community members, which I do during the live chats. In these live chats, 10-15 lucky GTC followers become admins on a random basis and take part in a live conversation. Admins can boost engagement in the Community this way, creating loyalty to your niche and also keeping users returning to the Viber app in the process.Additionally, you should take advantage of the diverse content formats offered in Viber Communities. I make sure to post at least twice a day and update fans with news, polls, player practice videos, memes, and jokes. During the Adelaide Davis Cup Qualifier, GTC crafted an immersive experience for fans. I made video tours of the grounds, daily live previews of actions and matches to plunge fans into the event. Also, I covered players' press conferences and practice footage to advance the experience. You can create a content plan and stick to it to keep your feed structured and consistent. Remember to alternate between static visuals, videos, news, learning modules, and entertaining content.In my experience, another important strategy I’ve learned in Viber communities, is the value of allowing “high traction” or “important” posts to stay at the top of feed for a minimum of 12 hours - this technique allows for a higher number of followers to see the key post, instead of it being overlooked amongst our other engaging GTC content. A prime example of this would be the Tennis Tip Tuesday segment or one of our Wilson giveaway posts which we wanted to achieve maximum traction.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GTC_Viber_Community_content_exampes_b5493b294d.png"><figcaption>Different content formats in Global Tennis Community on Viber</figcaption></figure><h3>What can admins do to better engage the audience of the communities?</h3>You can capture audiences with competitions and giveaways. People love participating in competitions, and the opportunity of winning a quality prize will inspire them to engage. In fact, giveaways are among the top-performing content in our Viber community. We arrange 1 valuable giveaway each month and see an increasing engagement of fans. You can gift not only products but also experiences to people. I welcomed 12 GTC prize winners to the Davis Cup Qualifier by Rakuten in Adelaide. What better reward for a sports fan than going to the grounds of a prestigious tennis event? User contests such as these can drive activity in communities and also attract new audiences to the platform.<h3>How do you raise awareness about the Viber Community and attract new members?</h3>There are a lot of <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/marketing-solutions/">Viber Advertising features</a> for community promotion. These tools attract new members within the messaging app in a non-intrusive way and you can choose how to advertise on Viber. You can place your advertisement in a native environment of a user, such as Viber Chats or Viber Calls lists or many other options. We promoted GTC with such Viber Advertising solutions as Explore Screen banners and Sticker packs.Explore Screen is a perfect place to draw a new audience because people visit Viber Explore to find new brands and content. It means users are already open to new experiences.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/unnamed_89d3d8d78b.png"><figcaption>Global Tennis Community advertising through Viber Explore Screen and Viber Stickers</figcaption></figure>Fans also love Sticker packs! Viber Stickers are fun, interactive, and help people express feelings. We've had over 1.5M messages sent with branded Viber Stickers which raised awareness about the chat. The stickers we planned out together intermixed tennis themes, with “relatable” messages which can be used in everyday conversation on the Viber platform. A classic example of this would be the “Hey Mate” and “Thank you” GTC stickers which are universally applicable for everyone, not just tennis fans!Additionally, a powerful tool has been to promote the Global Tennis Community on Viber through my own Samuel Begg (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelbegg/?hl=en">@samuelbegg</a>) and Hit With Me (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hitwithme/?hl=en">@hitwithme</a>) social media channels to elevate the game of the GTC. Influencing through external channels adds to the recognition of the brand and in the case of the GTC, allowed for us to establish instant credibility and trust from users to join this new communities’ journey. You can advance your promotion this way. For example, I shared glimpses of our community content to spread the word about GTC on Viber. An example of this would be the “Swipe Up” feature on Instagram which allows me to create a call-to-action and directly lead my followers to the Viber app content.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Samuel_Begg_s_Social_Media_Promotion_fd8967d0b0.png"><figcaption>External promotion of Viber Community through Samuel Begg’s Instagram stories</figcaption></figure><h3>You’ve mentioned Viber Sticker packs, what do you think about this promotional tool? How effective are branded stickers in attracting audiences?</h3>Sticker packs are an attractive and fun way to increase Community awareness. It is true that fans enjoy showing emotions with branded images. On average, one user shares each sticker 11 times. Besides, you can use Stickers to target the audience and grow your following. People can download branded stickers for free and automatically subscribe to your community - this is a really cool Viber Advertising tool to attract an engaged audience.GTC launched two branded Viber Sticker packs with over 1.9M downloads. Fans from all over the world downloaded and shared with friends stickers that were sent over 5.5M times. It helped to strengthen and brand GTC on Viber. With stickers, you can animate your communication with the Viber Community and increase interactivity. Tennis fans have definitely appreciated the creativeness of curated Viber Sticker packs which are tailored to their passion!<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Samuel_Begg_GTC_6ea87bca7b.png"></figure><h3>You have a very engaged and specific audience – many brands are seeking to have direct access to such communities. Have you ever thought about brand collaborations? What are the potential formats for brand integration?</h3>Yes, indeed, we had successful partnerships with various brands. Our Viber Community is a natural platform for such promotions. Communities unite people around a certain topic, cause, or passion. Businesses can use it to discover a specific audience for their product placement. There is a higher chance of finding users interested in your services this way. It's a win-win game!For instance, we collaborated with Wilson for the majority of giveaway contests. Wilson is a famous sports equipment manufacturer, so our fans were excited for the opportunity to win world class prizes. For our partner, it was a chance to showcase their products to their target audience of over half a million people. GTC on Viber has a wide geography, so Wilson had the opportunity to enter foreign markets. It means the company had direct access to targeted consumers from all over the world. Sponsors can also promote their brand image by collaborating with devoted communities. We also had the pleasure to giveaway several Luxilon Tennis products, the tennis string brand used by legends of the sport such as Roger Federer and Serena Williams.Of course, there are a variety of other options that can be created for specific brand needs: events promotion, sponsorship of selected topics, branding of visuals, and many more.<h3>Name your top 3 recommendations for those who want to launch a community on a messaging app?</h3>First of all, define your content strategy and find admins that will share your passion for the topic of your community. You should aspire to captivate and entertain your followers with your posts. Then, <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/viber-for-business/">attract new audiences and keep people engaged</a> with promotional tools. Features like Sticker packs will strengthen your brand and draw members to your community. Finally, find the right partners to collaborate with and benefit from the win-win synergy. Desirable global brands in your community will make your followers happy to participate in your activities and giveaways.There are many ways to raise brand awareness and help you communicate with your audience in a better, more meaningful way. If you want to get the most out of your Viber experience, you can <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/viber-for-business/">learn more and contact us</a> for information on how Viber can help your brand grow, gain better visibility and attract new audiences with Viber Advertising and Stickers.&nbsp;

Tennis influencer Samuel Begg explains effective management of Global Tennis Community on Viber


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Event recap: International Telecoms Week 2021

Capacity Media's International Telecoms Week event took place 29 August – 1 September and Viber's Senior Director of Business Messaging Solutions Etienne Dupont was featured on the panel "Accelerating RCS &amp; adapting to omnichannel approaches".Rich messaging has had a challenging year and the industry is divided on OS lines. The panel discussed the hurdles still to be overcome, how to change mindsets to get off the ground as well as the trend for enterprises to adopt an omnichannel approach to maximise messaging reach according to recipient preferences and technical capabilities.You can watch back the panel below. Be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in">sign up to the Viber for Business newsletter </a>to receive future event updates and visit <a href="https://forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog">our blog </a>for knowledge, news and more.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/Qh8DU0o_Py0"></oembed></figure>

Get the low down from Capacity's International Telecoms Week

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MEF Changing Dynamics In Business Messaging

(Original version published on the <a href="https://mobileecosystemforum.com/2021/08/13/the-changing-dynamics-in-business-messaging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Mobile Ecosystem Forum</a> blog, August 2021)The <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/mobile-ecosystem-forum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Mobile Ecosystem Forum</a> webinar "The Changing Dynamics in Business Messaging" took place on the 22nd of July 2021 and our Senior Partnerships Account Director Noa Bar Shay was invited as a speaker to discuss how the business messaging landscape continues to evolve.From MEF Director of Programmes James Williams:Rakuten Viber was the first chat app out of the gate with a <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">business messaging proposition</a> and is also very busy in the areas of SMS and voice and here’s what Noa Bar-Shay had to say: “The Messaging Ecosystem has already made a huge step forward in its development. <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/product-evolution-business-messages/">Business messages have played an important role</a> in this evolution and continue developing the industry.Despite this, we are all still in a process of self-improvement, the big value being that all the industry players can learn from each other and therefore make the ecosystem bigger and stronger. External circumstances also play a significant role in <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/vibers-10th-anniversary/">the evolution of the Messaging Ecosystem.</a> E.g., the pandemic has accelerated the industry to a much higher degree than anyone would have expected – progress that would normally take five or six years was achieved in just five to six months.Since it works anywhere and everywhere without the need for internet access, SMS technology will keep its important position in the Messaging Ecosystem, however, messaging apps will continue taking over the market share. Especially with the constant growth of <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/4-ways-to-boost-customer-loyalty-through-conversational-ui/">conversational commerce</a> since chat apps provide a native environment for rich communication between users and brands. Together with other industry technologies, SMS has to move to transformation in order to be up to date and meet customers and business needs”.So, there we have it from a chat app company – SMS is a long way from being dead when it comes to Business Messaging!The variety of speakers gave some great perspective and coming from Nadir Patel who has a lot on his plate at Omantel was: “We all agree that the messaging ecosystem players have made efforts thus far, there is no doubt that there is a lot to work to be done on in order to for us to meet the enterprise customer requirements and expectations. Stakeholders need to collaborate and cooperate right from the MNOs, platform providers, aggregators, security experts, and last but not the least, the Regulatory bodies.”You can watch the Viber highlights here:<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/9IOHc2yQXzk"></oembed></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;

Get the low down from the MEF Changing Dynamics in Business Messaging event 


Event recap: MEF The Changing Dynamics In Business Messaging

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Mobile marketing strategy 101

The number of mobile users has skyrocketed in recent years: according to <a href="https://datareportal.com/global-digital-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">DataReportal</a>, there are more than 5.2 billion mobile internet users worldwide – that’s two thirds of the global population. Recent events have helped fuel the growth of mobile: during the pandemic, 70% of users said they used their devices more, while during the same period of 2020-2021, the number of unique mobile users grew by more than 90 million. The message to marketers is clear – if you want to reach consumers, do it through their phones.But how? In this article, we’ll take you through some mobile marketing strategy fundamentals to get you started, so you can reach your target audience and grow your business. Because a conversion is only ever a tap away.<h2>The importance of mobile marketing strategy</h2>We take our phones everywhere – to the shops, to bed, and yes, even to the bathroom. This is an amazing opportunity for a business – how else can you instantly reach a consumer during 99% of their waking hours?Add in all the tech tools that smartphones allow, and you’ve got the 21st century way to reach your customers.<h3>What is mobile marketing?</h3>Mobile marketing is promotional activity that leverages digital, social, and other channels to reach audiences on their smartphones or tablets. Mobile marketing not only helps businesses reach potential clients, it also provides a framework for valuable customer care interactions like chatbots, user feedback, after-sales care and user reviews.<h3>What is a mobile marketing strategy?</h3>A mobile marketing strategy is a cross-media, digital marketing strategy to reach users on their mobile phones or tablets. Which channels or types of content to use depends on the audiences you aim to target and your goal for targeting them.Let’s take a look at different mobile marketing strategies you can use.<h4>In-app advertising</h4>When you unlock your phone, what is the first thing you load? That’s right, an app. According to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/22/consumers-spend-85-of-time-on-smartphones-in-apps-but-only-5-apps-see-heavy-use/?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIm6vklDlhDOCh-vLTrL-7_ByJVuiqrdBEjJkY5p7_gpw3HkL9iEm5GP48TGB1mJvUTDI8SuH4mYEAcj3JKI598pk0C2yT67mn1oh-7rHTS5jybGAYAzHwYHobQ-8bmBNQeD9YiGZ-h3UyBmuYSSnlaj-yDgVjCPcHiyMLtIWnHK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">TechCrunch</a>, consumers spend 85% of their smartphone time in apps. And 77% spend most of their time in their top three apps (with messaging apps among them), which gives great insights as to where marketers should concentrate their marketing budget with in-app advertising.In-app advertising comes in a variety of formats:<ul><li>Display advertising: banners / MPUs</li><li>Native advertising: promotions customized to look like the app in which they appear</li><li>Video ads – instream/outstream video, or rewarded video (where watching the video ‘rewards’ the user, say with an extra life in an app game)</li></ul>In-app advertising is a great mobile marketing strategy to reach target audiences and capture their attention.<h4>Social media marketing</h4>Social media is one of the most popular uses of a smartphone – social network platforms <a href="https://backlinko.com/social-media-users" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">almost tripled</a> their total user base in the last decade, from 970 million in 2010 to over 3.81 billion users in 2020. Hence social media should be high on your priority list when devising a mobile marketing strategy.But it’s not just about sheer reach. The nature of social media – with comments and direct messages (DMs) – makes it easy to create an intimate, personal connection with your customers, and you can show your customer referrals and recommendations to advance your business image Whether someone has had a good or bad customer experience, they are sure to share it on social media!Though some companies choose to focus on organic social media posts, it’s increasingly common to use social media advertising to reach the right customers. Some options include:<ul><li>Facebook ads, or boosted (i.e. promoted) posts</li><li>Promoted tweets on Twitter</li><li>Shoppable or promoted pins on Pinterest</li><li>LinkedIn ads or promoted posts</li></ul>This mobile marketing strategy lets you build an audience using demographic information, and define your campaign’s goals, budget and how long it will last.<h4>SMS marketing</h4>SMS or text marketing sends customers business-related messages via the medium of text message. This messaging can include promotional information about products or services.Text messages don’t rely on mobile internet, so they can reach consumers in more far-flung locations. It also comes as default on all phones, so is easy to use with no software to install.But SMS have a character limit, and come with a high cost, to both send and sometimes to receive. They also lack more advanced features like multimedia and rich text. For those, you need SMS’s natural evolution, which is messaging apps…<h4>Messenger marketing</h4>Messenger marketing is similar to text marketing, but uses mobile chat apps instead of SMS to connect with customers. It leverages mobile messaging platforms such as Viber, Facebook, WhatsApp, or WeChat to create a seamless, native experience that is often no different to messaging a friend. Depending on the messaging app capabilities, this can be, for example, business messages with personalised offerings to your existing customers or chatbots that help you to attract and grow a new audience.&nbsp;&nbsp;Connecting with customers through a messaging app is cheaper, as it avoids the maintenance costs of using your own app. And it’s more effective, as you’re meeting customers on a platform where they are already active.<h4>Email marketing</h4>Half of all email opens happen on mobile devices, so if you’re pursuing an email marketing strategy, your emails need to be optimised for mobile. Emails not optimised for mobile (i.e. not incorporated into your mobile marketing strategy) will be harder to read on a mobile device, and can sacrifice functionality like gifs and web links.<h4>Mobile search</h4>Mobile search refers to searching for information using search engines accessed through a mobile device. As more people access Google on their phone than their desktop (61%, according to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/275814/mobile-share-of-organic-search-engine-visits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Statista</a>), you’ll need to optimize your Google Ads for mobile search. This will help you reach the majority of searchers who aren’t using a desktop computer.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Jean_Marc_Alomassor_Advertising_Director_at_Rakuten_Viberpng_cc374591b7.png"></figure>&nbsp;<h3>Benefits of Mobile Marketing</h3>Mobile marketing has many benefits, including its sheer scale and reach, and measurable results that tell you more about your audience.<h4>1. Takes your brand truly global</h4>Not only does mobile marketing let you reach customers all over the world, you can choose exactly who to reach based on demographic preferences for your ideal audience (think age, income, location, and so on).You can even target users based on more sophisticated metrics like interests, hobbies, purchasing behaviour, and more. That way, you can really laser in on your target audience.If you don’t know exactly who your customers are, mobile marketing will help you find out – just start with a broad brush mobile marketing strategy and refine it as you go. Once you have found your audience, focus on them to maximise your return on investment (ROI). But don’t stop testing and optimising your mobile marketing campaigns for better results – the job is never quite done!<h4>2. Mobile in-app advertising has better performance than other platforms</h4>Mobile click-through rates are usually higher compared to tablets and desktop computers. And the more clicks an ad gets, the greater the chance of making a sale.<h4>3. Easy to track results</h4>Mobile marketing lets you track a campaign’s performance to quantify how successful your mobile marketing strategy was and refine it to make it more accurate, relevant and adaptive. This lets your business react instantly to trends and events.<h4>4. More personalized communications</h4>People check their phones constantly, generating lots of user data which allows marketers to serve their customers with personalized content designed to appeal to their tastes. This feeds back into creating an even more intimate experience, as customers feel like the brands really understand what they want.<h4>5. Cost-effective</h4>A mobile marketing strategy is actually cheaper than most traditional marketing techniques. Optimizing your website for mobile use or sending marketing communications via messaging apps is a lot more affordable than you might think – good news for small businesses without big budgets.Campaign elements for mobile also have to contain less information, forcing you to distill the content to its essential components. That makes your marketing simpler, to-the-point, and hence more effective.<h4>6. Diversification of formats</h4>As well as the classic formats there are more advanced ad formats available in mobile marketing, such as rewarded video, playable ads, in-play ads, and AR advertising.&nbsp;<h4>7. Location-based mobile marketing</h4>Marketers can leverage the always-connected nature of smartphones to devise a mobile marketing strategy that targets customers based on their location, making the ads more relevant to the user.&nbsp;Imagine if you received a digital coupon for a clothes store that you had just walked past. Wouldn’t you be tempted to pop in?Geofencing sets a virtual fence around your business, and triggers coupons or other offers when a device enters your predesignated area (a shopping mall, say). This is known as hyperlocal targeting. You can even set your virtual fence around a rival business to steer customers away from it and towards yours (what’s known as geo-conquesting). Sneaky.<h4>8. Better tracking solutions available for marketers</h4>Mobile marketing throws up all kinds of metrics to show how your campaigns are performing. The main ones are:<ul><li>Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): How much it costs to acquire (or convert) a user into a paying customer</li><li>Lifetime Value (LTV): Sometimes called Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), this is the amount of revenue created by a user over their lifetime</li><li>Average Order Value (AOV): The amount a user spends per transaction</li><li>User engagement: How active users are with your brand once they have downloaded your app or otherwise engaged with your business somehow</li></ul>It is much cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones, so make sure your mobile marketing strategy looks after your customers and they will reward you by staying loyal.<h3>Mobile Marketing Examples</h3>You can learn from all sorts of brands how to create an effective mobile marketing campaign. Here are some examples.<h4>Coca-Cola Easter messenger marketing campaign</h4>On the eve of Easter in Eastern Europe, Coca-Cola decided to engage users in a fun and interactive way. It devised a lively animated game called<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9MOlK-NQZE"> Easter Egg Fighter within Viber messenger</a>. It follows the Eastern European tradition: a coloured Easter egg fight, in which only the toughest eggs survive. Users could play with their family and friends no matter where they were.To attract more people to the game launched within the Coca-Cola chatbot, they used a complex marketing campaign on Viber: creative Sticker pack with free downloading that led new users subscribe to the chatbot promotion among members of the Coca-Cola Community on Viber to increase involvement personalised outbound messages for existing chatbot subscribers to engage them in the gameThe campaign lasted three months. In only three weeks in Bulgaria, it saw impressive results: 350,000 user interactions, an average play time of over five-and-a-half minutes, and over 188,000 total played minutes. Chatbot subscribers also shot up by 30%, and there were over 63,000 sticker pack downloads.&nbsp;<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/f9MOlK-NQZE"></oembed></figure>Coca-Cola Easter campaign in Bulgaria on Viber<h4>Urban Outfitters party dresses location-based marketing campaign</h4>Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters used mobile location data to gain incredibly valuable granular insights into its customers.Their party dress campaign is a great <a href="https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-urban-outfitters-leveraged-location-marketing-for-a-75-conversion-gain/436943/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">example of successful location-based marketing</a>. By targeting women who had recently been to a nightclub or bar with in-app push notifications promoting party dresses, Urban Outfitters managed to increase conversions by 75%, and revenue by an astonishing 146%. Certainly worth getting dressed up for.<h4>Enabling online purchases with Viber Business Messages</h4>The Primer Group of Companies is a retailer in the Philippines that specializes in distributing consumer goods from different brands. With malls affected gravely due to pandemic quarantine restrictions, Primer turned to Viber Business Messages to establish their online footing.Primer enabled online purchases with digital vouchers using codes with discounts sent through Viber Business Messages with the help of their messaging partner Infobip. The brand achieved a 53% code redemption conversion rate, and a 401% uptick in total sales.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Viber_Business_Message_from_the_Primer_Group_edd066588f.png"><figcaption>Example of Viber Business Message from the Primer Group</figcaption></figure>Viber makes it simple to build personalised communication with your customers. We are ready to help you with your mobile marketing strategy: from an in-app advertisement to messenger marketing. <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/viber-for-business/">Reach out to us</a> and enjoy direct access to your preferred audience, better analytics and profitable campaigns.&nbsp;

Learn how a mobile marketing strategy can turbocharge your business

Mobile marketing strategy 101: mobile marketing and its benefits

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How to open a Viber business account

<h2>Launching a Viber business account</h2>Opening a Viber business account is a great way to elevate your mobile marketing strategy. Viber is one of the leading messaging apps today with users in 190 countries all over the world, with the average Viber user is active and engaged, sending over 30 messages and launching the app 12 times daily.&nbsp;Defining your business aims is key before launching your business profile on Viber. We&nbsp;offer <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-solutions/">two integration options </a>for different company goals. You can choose to create a Viber Chatbot if you want to get a new audience and stay in touch 24/7, or opt for Viber Business Messages to work with your existing client database. Both integration options allow brands to reach their customers at each step of the customer journey. You can get in touch with your customers with order confirmations, delivery notifications and other transactional messages or update them with the latest products and promotional information. You will both provide better customer support and strengthen your two-way conversations. Once you have clarified your audience and goals, you are set to go further - here is your guide on how to launch a Viber business account in three simple steps.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Viber_Business_Messages_and_Chatbot_examples_558022194e.jpg"><figcaption>Viber Business Messages and Chatbot</figcaption></figure><h3>1. Choose the right messaging partner</h3>If you want to use Viber Business Messages to your advantage, you need a verified profile. Our trusted messaging partners worldwide will assist you in launching your Viber business account and support you from the beginning till the end of your business journey with Viber to make sure you are getting the best experience. You can choose a partner from the <a href="https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/messaging-partners/">list </a>of official Viber partners to fit your country, industry, and aims and approach them directly, or you can also <a href="mailto:messaging@forbusiness.viber.com">contact </a>us and we will help to navigate you depending on your region and set goals.<h3>2. Register your business account</h3>Your chosen messaging partner will help you to set a Viber business account - they will provide you with all the necessary details to register you quickly and easily. During this process, you will decide on your account name and logo to establish your Viber business profile. You can share contact information, website URL, company profile and other relevant information in your official account, creating a mini-homepage for your customers. You tell your customers who you are and ways they can connect with you, then you can show you are a trusted brand and display information about your business. When Viber verifies your brand, you will receive a unique ID and move one step closer to enjoying our business solutions.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Official_Viber_Business_Account_39eb302eb9.jpg"><figcaption>Official Viber business account</figcaption></figure><h3>3. Receive a blue tick and official Viber business account</h3>In order to send official Business Messages, all companies are manually checked by Viber. An official verified “business account” and “blue tick” will be granted once the brand accepts user privacy rules to ensure you are recognizable among customers. Your profile will display the information you have provided: logo, company description, website and contact information that users will see after pressing your brand name.&nbsp;Your first message info will be shared at a glance with overlay. An overlay appears on Viber the first time you message customers - they see why they’ve received a message, who it is from and what it says. Companies utilising overlay on Viber saw their block rates drop.<figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/How_to_open_a_Viber_business_account_Noa_cff9447e4d.jpg"></figure><h2>Start benefiting from Viber Business Messages</h2>Once you have an authorised business account with a blue tick, you can start communicating with your customers and benefiting from Viber Business Messages:<ul><li>Get real-time data on your messaging activity on Viber - whether the messages were delivered, received, or failed, open and click rates. Discover how customers interact with your content, analyse their behaviour and adjust your mobile marketing strategy.</li><li>Send rich content messages with an image, CTA button, link or file. The message can contain up to 1000 characters.</li><li>Easily integrate Viber Business Messages with your CRM system and personalise your messages according to predefined variables.</li><li>In case your clients do not have Internet access or are not registered on Viber, with SMS fallback you can be sure that none of your customers will be left behind. SMS fallback ensures that your messages will be delivered via SMS if the delivery on Viber fails.</li><li>Pay only for the messages that were delivered to your customers. Viber doesn't charge you if the delivery failed and enables alternatives to reach your clients. You can also save money on undelivered messages by setting up TTL (Time To Live), a period of time when your message exists before being discarded. If the message was not delivered within your time limit, Viber will not charge you for it. As a brand, you have nothing to lose, because your every message is cost-effective with Viber business pricing.</li><li>Be confident in your security with Viber Business Messages: Viber is one of the most secure, if not the most secure, messaging app out there, providing all levels of security a user or a business needs to feel safe, whether it is personal chatting or interacting with businesses. It offers end-to-end encryption for private chats and calls, and encryption in transit for business messages. The messages are not stored on Viber’s servers, so no hacker can steal them. Connections with our servers are secure and HTTPS only, push notifications do not reveal the content of your message on your customer’s device lock-screen -&nbsp; measures we undertake so you can rely on your Viber experience.</li></ul>Creating a business account is an important step in your mobile marketing strategy and at Viber, we do our best to provide our customers with premiere business solutions. With Viber for Business, you can establish your brand on one of the most popular messaging apps in the world and will start benefiting immediately with our branding, security, analytics and variety of messaging options.&nbsp;Do not hesitate to <a href="mailto:messaging@forbusiness.viber.com">contact us </a>and start your journey on Viber.

Learn how to get started to benefit both your business and customers

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Viber Business Messages July 2021 feature updates

Viber provides brands with opportunity to serve customers better by presenting new features in business conversations &nbsp;Rakuten Viber continues to make users’ communication with brands even easier: users can now pin important information in business chats and reply to a specific message inside a business conversationViber, one of the most popular messaging platforms in the world, has announced the latest set of new features in Viber Business Messages that will seamlessly allow users to find important messages in a business chat and respond to specific messages in conversations with brands. Viber for Business has extended the “Pin-to-top” feature: in order not to miss key information included in a message, users can now pin a selected message inside a business conversation, or use the other recently &nbsp;announced option to pin the whole thread at the top of their chats list (similar to a regular conversation with friends). With the “Pin-to-top” feature any important message will be kept handy - for example, a customer signing up for a lab test or booking a hotel room can have quick access to the specific message with details of the appointment or booking confirmation.&nbsp;To pin a message inside a business conversation:<ul><li>Select a message</li><li>Long press, select “Pin”</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Pin_to_top_business_messages_and_chats_on_Viber_394d567334.jpg"></figure>In addition, users can now reply to a specific message inside a business conversation, allowing users and brands to better maintain and follow the conversation. For example, in an active conversation with a shop with multiple orders, the customer is able to reply to a specific message and be sure that nothing will be misplaced or misunderstood.Replying to a specific message in business chat is just the same as in a regular private or group chats with other users:<ul><li>Select a message</li><li>By long touch, select “Reply” or swipe right on the message you would like to reply to</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="https://env-stage-hosting.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Reply_to_a_business_message_on_Viber_d6d2d527c3.jpg"></figure>According to statistics, 56% of users prefer to text brands rather than calling them. Viber for Business continues to simplify customer communication with brands by adding new enhancements to the app. Previously, Viber announced other File, Photo &amp; Video sharing functions available in Viber Business Messages whereby users can send photos, videos and up to 200 MB files to businesses. This allows brands to build more meaningful and convenient communication with users and provide customer support they need. All files shared by businesses and users are protected by encryption in transit.

Viber for Business extends “Pin-to-top” and “Reply” features in business chats

Viber Business Messages feature updates: July 2021

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Rakuten Viber Partners with Snap

SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2021 - <a href="https://www.viber.com">Rakuten Viber</a>, a global leader in cross-platform messaging and voice-based communication, will bring the magic of augmented reality (AR) Lenses to its app through a partnership with Snap Inc. Using Snap’s developer tools including Camera Kit, Creative Kit and Bitmoji, the Viber app will integrate AR Lenses, enable sharing to Snapchat, and bring customizable Bitmoji avatars to Viber.Viber Lenses Powered by Snap will offer AR-enabled video messaging and photos to Viber users for the first time. The launch includes 30 new Viber Lenses, including animal masks and Viber Characters, an underwater Lens, silly cat interactions, and more. The company plans to add between 50-70 additional Lenses per month, amounting to at least 300 Lenses by the end of 2021. Businesses will also have the opportunity to create their own exclusive Lenses on Viber. The World Wildlife Fund, FC Barcelona, and the World Health Organization are among the first Viber partners to offer new Lenses on the messaging app.Viber is a calling and messaging app that connects people and allows them to express themselves creatively -- no matter who or where they are. Personal and group chats on Viber are end-to-end encrypted, so users can be sure that their communications are always private and secure.Viber Lenses are an uplifting addition to the app’s existing sticker collections, which allow users to express themselves visually while chatting away. And the adoption of Snap’s Camera Kit, Bitmoji, and Creative Kit by Viber are additional ways for Viber to bring people closer together and make those connections even more meaningful and enjoyable.New Viber features include:<ul><li>Instant Augmented Reality - Overlay images on top of surroundings and harness the power of AR at your fingertips</li><li>Attention-Grabbing Filters - Add a creative layer to your visuals and spark conversations with friends</li><li>Expressive Masks - Select from a variety of masks that accurately follow users’ facial movements</li><li>Beautification Features - Enhance your images with realistic touches like lipstick, blush, and a variety of hair colors</li><li>Customized Bitmoji - Integrate personalized Bitmoji characters into photos and videos</li></ul>The ability to offer sponsored and branded Lenses will provide an additional revenue stream to Viber, as business partners will be able to create custom Lenses for their communities on the platform.“Snap’s partnership with Rakuten Viber is a win-win situation for us both,” says Elliot Solomon, Director, Camera Platform Partnerships at Snap Inc. “It will help us expand our Augmented Reality technology into regions where Viber already has a solid footprint, and help Viber’s users express themselves through AR on the Viber platform.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“We’re excited to bring the Snap camera to Viber users,” says Djamel Agaoua, CEO of Rakuten Viber. “Through this partnership, we want to empower the creativity of our users with AR, and we’re looking forward to inspiring new fun-filled ways for people to keep in touch with their friends and family members. Viber is more than a messaging app. It not only connects people with each other, it is also a place where users can create entertaining, exciting, and rewarding content to share with their communities.”&nbsp;The iOS version of the app with these new features, as well as the Android beta version in English language, will be available starting June 30 in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. Viber will progressively roll out the features to all top-30 Viber regions and to all Android users by the end of August.

Rakuten Viber and Snap will bring AR Lenses to Viber video messaging and photos

Rakuten Viber Partners with Snap to Bring AR Lenses to its Messaging Platform 

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Capacity Messaging & SMS World

The <a href="https://events.capacitymedia.com/event/ce5fe6fc-7ebe-4ac0-a745-dd3993210393/summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Capacity Messaging &amp; SMS World</a> event took place June 8 - 10 and Viber's Senior Director of Business Messaging Solutions Etienne Dupont was featured on the panel "Conversational commerce – it’s a two-way street".The rise of e-commerce over the past decade and more has arguably been even more intensified as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As the world entered lockdown, end customers have used online retailing channels, but are somewhat missing the physical interactions and touchpoints seen in a brick and mortar store. &nbsp;The concept of conversational commerce intends to fill part of that void, creating a hub for direct conversations between a brand and end user that eventually result in transactions in commerce. So how can this vision be realised and how can CPaaS, AI and RCS players create that framework in areas such as payment solutions and providing an omnichannel experience, as well as the security implications?You can watch back the panel below. Be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sign up to the Viber for Business newsletter</a> to receive future event updates and visit <a href="https://forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">our blog</a> for knowledge, news and more.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/-cIqQ0WXpv0"></oembed></figure>

Get the low down from the Capacity Messaging & SMS World

Event recap: Capacity Messaging & SMS World

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Rakuten Viber / Route Mobile webinar

The Viber team hosted a webinar with our trusted partners Route Mobile on June 17 - Business messaging: Elevate your customer experience with Viber’s business communication channel.Our Senior Partnerships Account Director Noa Bar Shay and Route Mobile's Head of Product Marketing Vishal Modh covered:<ul><li>Viber’s leading SEA business footprint and how it enhances customer experience</li><li>Route Mobile's SEA presence and partnership with Viber</li><li>Introduction to Viber for Business Messaging Solutions</li><li>Viber Business Messages and Viber chatbot: advantages, difference, key features</li><li>How Chatbots and conversational AI enables automation and increases conversions for brand communications</li><li>What’s next for Viber messaging solutions- conversations (Business Messages, Chatbots), transactional messaging</li><li>Industry-specific use cases</li><li>How can your brand start using Viber Business Messages with Route Mobile</li></ul>You can watch back the webinar below and download the deck <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/17ZCfG6CmBGu1ggfR3Q9puNNRBWyigtCc/view?usp=sharing">here</a>. Be sure to <a href="https://b2b.viber.com/newsletter-opt-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sign up to our newsletter</a> to receive future event updates.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/gT-4IILVVoc"></oembed></figure>

Get the lowdown on our recent webinar with Route Mobile

Event recap: Rakuten Viber / Route Mobile webinar