LINE community: Bring more traffic to your cross-border business

LINE communities are like large public chat rooms where you can chat without having to add someone as a friend. They're primarily categorized by interests, so businesses can find plenty of potential customers within these communities. Especially for businesses targeting regions like Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand where LINE is widely used, operating in or joining LINE communities can be beneficial in uncovering more business opportunities.

How to Create a LINE Group

1. Find the 'Community' icon on the LINE homepage.
2. Click 'Create a Community' at the bottom.
3. Once created, you can set the group name, description, cover photo, and community category, and choose whether to make the group public or set a password for entry.

Differences Between LINE Communities and Groups

Pros and Cons of LINE Communities
√ Pros

• Protects user privacy: Set a different name and avatar in each community, no worries about exposing your real identity.
• Multiple thematic categories: LINE offers 20 categories, making it easy for users to quickly find target communities.
• Confidentiality: Joining a LINE community won't be displayed externally; friends won't know which communities you've entered.

× Cons

• Muting terms: LINE has muting terms for tobacco, alcohol, betel nuts, etc., so it might be inconvenient for businesses to promote these products. Refer to their community usage terms for specifics.
• Strict content moderation: AI is used to review chat messages, so it's best not to choose LINE communities if you want to discuss certain topics.

LINE Community Features Overview

LINE is quite similar to WeChat in China, with many community features alike. Therefore, this section will focus on features that differ from WeChat.

LINE Community Member Limits

According to LINE's latest policy, communities can have up to 5,000 people, with a minimum of 5.

To set a custom member limit:

• Go to '≡' in the upper right corner of the chat and select 'Other Settings'.
• Find 'Maximum Number of Participants' in community settings and change it to the desired number.

Custom LINE Spam Message Filtering

In addition to LINE's automatic spam filtering, community admins can also set custom spam messages. If a user sends related messages in the group, the system can automatically filter them out.

• Click '≡' in the upper right corner of the chat and select 'Automation'.
• Then turn on the 'Spam Message Filter'.

Spam message restrictions include:

• Each restricted phrase can be 2 to 20 characters long.
• Up to 200 'restricted phrases' can be set.
• You can choose to filter messages that contain or exactly match the 'restricted phrases'.

Extending: How to Set Up Automation in LINE

Automations can be created with SaleSmartly based on various factors, such as customer category, behavior patterns, response timeouts, and their sources. Once these conditions are met, the system activates pre-set response actions, including but not limited to sending private messages, emails, quick button navigation, request reviews, or distributing promotional information.

Moreover, SaleSmartly allows you to refine triggers based on details like customer language preferences, time zone differences, channel sources, and personal traits for a more personalized customer service experience.

Since you'll encounter many non-Chinese speaking customers in LINE, SaleSmartly also offers real-time translation with multiple translation software options like Google Translate, DeepL, Baidu Translate, and Volcano Translate to facilitate multilingual communication without barriers.

LINE Community Admin Permissions

There are two types of admins in LINE communities, identifiable by different badges:

• Admin: Blue background with white crown
• Co-admin: White background with blue crown (up to ten)

The admin is similar to the group owner in WeChat, while co-admins are like WeChat's admins, meaning co-admin rights in LINE need to be granted by the admin.

LINE Community Personal Profile Settings

LINE allows setting different nicknames and avatars for different groups, catering to users' needs for personal information protection.

• Click '≡' in the upper right corner of the chat and select 'Profile'.

Common Questions

How to increase user engagement in LINE communities?

Boosting user engagement can be achieved by regularly posting interesting content, hosting online events or challenges, and encouraging member interaction. Ensure content is relevant to the community's theme and respond promptly to members' questions and comments. You can also set up reward mechanisms, such as offering small gifts or discounts to the most active members to encourage more participation and interaction.

How to effectively promote brands or products in LINE communities?

When promoting brands or products in LINE communities, it's important to provide value and relevance. Share expertise, industry insights, or exclusive offers to capture members' interest. Also, ensure promotional content is not too frequent to avoid member backlash. You can use LINE's 'Ad Stickers' feature to attract attention and the 'Poll' feature to collect member feedback on products or services, allowing you to continuously improve your promotional strategies.