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In Asia, LINE is one of the most popular social media apps, mainly for messaging. Similarly, the WhatsApp, LINE offers both personal and business accounts. LINE Official is the application for all companies after LINE@, designed for SMEs, was migrated to LINE Official. The accounts are free to set up, but if you plan to use this medium frequently to promote your business, you may wish to consider upgrading to a Premium ID.
LINE Ads and Line Official Accounts are a superb way of communicating with your customers and allow you to promote your products and services to other users. Indeed, using LINE to promote your business has proven highly effective and represents an excellent ROI. However, like with all other forms of social media, it is vital that you have a strategy to achieve success and that you use analytics to monitor your campaign’s effectiveness.
How do I create a LINE Official Account?
Creating a LINE Official Account is remarkably straightforward, and it can be linked to an existing personal LINE account or an email address. A business email address is more professional in many ways, but if you want to retain a more personal touch, using an existing account is fine. Here are the steps to follow:
- Go to the LINE Official Account page and sign up
- Start by entering some basic information about your business
- This creates a Basic LINE Business ID that allows you to respond to messages, although it is advisable to switch to “Chat Mode” so you can respond via the LINE Official Console
- For most businesses, the Basic account is insufficient as it only allows 500 messages per year, so it is worth upgrading to a Premium Account immediately
How do I upgrade to a Premium Account?
Firstly, we should point out that there is an annual subscription to obtain a Premium ID that is currently $500 per year, which allows 45,000 messages. It is straightforward to upgrade your account: Settings > Activity & Billing > Premium ID. Please choose a suitable ID (it can’t be changed during the subscription period), select a payment method and confirm your purchase!
Building trust with LINE Official Account Verification Badges
When your account is first set up, you will receive a grey “Unverified” badge, which does little to inspire confidence in your business. These accounts are also not easily searchable, which again creates more inconvenience and reduces their effectiveness.
Accounts can be verified by signing up for a LINE Official Account, meaning that the account will then have a blue badge and will be searchable by User ID or Display Name. Premium accounts are given a green badge designed to show that the account is trustworthy.
Rules for LINE Official Accounts
LINE is aware that it could easily be used by disreputable organisations to “Spam” customers and has introduced some rules and best practices to try and stop this from occurring. Here are some of the key features:
- You must use LINE Official to find other LINE users
You cannot directly import contacts from your phone, email or other platforms, so you must connect with other users via the LINE platform.
- QR Codes, Chat Links and Website Buttons
QR codes are a fantastic way of getting customers you meet face to face to message you. However, as many businesses never meet their customers in person, you can encourage them to message you first by including “Chat Links” and “Website Buttons”.
- LINE Ads
LINE Ads are an excellent way to direct potential customers to your LINE Official Account. They are superb for reaching out to a broader target group and allow you to interact with customers.
- Messaging Customers
It is possible to message customers via the LINE Official Account Manager chat console or by using an API connected to your LINE account and a business messaging platform. The latter does have some limitations, so it is advisable to look at all the available options and selecting the one that will work best for you.
- Broadcasting comes at a cost!
As with WhatsApp Broadcasting, it is possible to broadcast to your target audience to promote your products or services. However, we should stress that your monthly (or annual) fees will increase with the number of messages you send!
Contact Us
Please get in touch if you would like more information about LINE Official Accounts or any of our other services.
