Artificial Intelligence
‘LINE’ Slated to Become a Worldclass Mar-Tech Platform, Driven by its Social Private Platform Strategy
Today, there is a large selection of digital platforms and tools available for marketers. According to a recent marketing seminar in Bangkok, LINE is one of the most popular platforms in Asia, possess Number One chat platform in Thailand with over 45 million users. Its steadfast commitment to the privacy and security of users, together with its value as a powerful marketing weapon that effectively reaches customers, serve as LINE’s core and unique strengths.
Since its debut in Thailand in 2011 as the chat application, LINE has always been committed to improving the digital living infrastructure of Thais – providing convenience, efficiency, and connectivity with its modern platform and technologies. Based on its “Life on LINE” vision, LINE offers a diverse range of user-friendly services that enhance the daily lives of Thais, so that it becomes Thailand’s Number One chat platform for both individuals and businesses – including leading brands and 3 million SMEs nationwide. Currently, LINE encompasses up to 20 services – including LINE Chat, LINE Timeline, LINE Official Account, LINE TV, LINE Today, LINE Shopping, LINE Melody, LINE Webtoon; plus a diverse range of service offerings under the LINE MAN portfolio, such as Food Delivery, Taxi, Parcel, Messenger, to name but a few.
Among these services, LINE Timeline stands out as a key service in enabling LINE to become more social media oriented, yet still be based on “Privacy” and “Close Relationship.” Previously, LINE Timeline has allowed its users to create their own posts or share interesting content, whereby only friends can see such posts. Thus, it has for many years been recognized as the “Privacy First” platform. However, with the aim of building a wider user base for LINE Timeline in 2020, LINE Thailand decided to revamp LINE Timeline into a “Social Private Platform” that still maintains its strength on privacy, but transforms into a more socialized space that gains insights into the behavior of its users. The move is intended to make LINE Timeline the perfect platform for both general users and Thai entrepreneurs in the future.
According to Pruthisith Prateepavanich, Head of Product and Platform Management at LINE Thailand, a new challenge for marketing tech providers is to make privacy and social media go together in the same cycle. The transformation of LINE Timeline serves as a clear example, attesting that everyone can reach the true identity of their friends, as well as of products and services in an appropriate manner, based on the level of privacy and security that users can set up by themselves.
The newly transformed LINE Timeline will prove the realization of a “Social Privacy” platform, whereby social interaction and privacy coexist – to top it all, it also fosters a perfect ecosystem, providing relationship-building opportunities.
A new feature of LINE Timeline to be launched this year is Explore – a built-in AI (Artificial Intelligence) feature that allows users to access to a variety of personalized content on LINE Timeline or Timeline posts, without having to be LINE friends. At the same time, it provides a function for users to set privacy-related preferences for a friend or group of friends. This feature, therefore, fulfills the privacy needs of all user groups – be it those who value their privacy, as well as content creators and influencers who need to measure the engagement and effectiveness of their posts.
Norasit Sitivechvichit, Chief Commercial Officer at LINE Thailand, revealed that LINE intends to focus more on privacy issues this year, realizing that the wider LINE’s user base is, the more focus would be needed on privacy issues. Thus, new features designed to serve the market demands, will be based on the protection of data security for both partners and customers throughout the entire operational process – starting from the selection of reliable partners or businesses, to the use of a highly secure payment system, and the execution of roadmap towards achieving customer satisfaction. Recently, LINE has also developed a new tool, called “MyShop,” to assist Thai entrepreneurs in taking their businesses via LINE Official Account to the next level – maximizing efficient communications between merchants and customers under the ‘Circle of Trust’ concept, creating exceptional customer experience, and generating more sales through better inventory management tools. “MyShop” also provides assistance in logistics management, and analyzes consumer behaviors – without violating privacy or jeopardizing data security.
It is a significant milestone for LINE in leveraging itself from being the Number One chat platform across many countries – including Thailand; into a more sociable platform that still maintains its focus on security and privacy, while providing fun and extraordinary experience for users. The move of LINE, one of Thailand’s most powerful platforms, is something marketers, advertisers, brands, and digital content creators should keep an eye upon – in order to utilize this platform for their own benefit to fuel growth in 2020!
