Beyond emojis: the evolution of stickers in KakaoTalk and Line ๐
How stickers are upgrading the concept of expression, drive user engagement and revenue in top asian messaging apps
Hereโs a quick rundown :
And as usual, your 1-minute digest of this post๐
Bonjour, Iโm Allison and welcome to bowl of tech ๐ ! Each month, I humbly break down the growth strategy and product experience of the top mobile apps in Asia.
In this March's post, the focus is on how messaging apps such as KakaoTalk and Line are leveraging stickers to drive user growth and engagement.
Itโs a fact that messaging apps are an essential part of our daily lives to stay connected with friends & family, no matter where they are in the world. But have you ever stopped to think about the role that stickers play in these apps? ๐ค
Iโm not talking about emojis or emoticons you can find on WhatsApp. Iโm talking about stickers - the next level emojis but larger, personalised and more expressive. In top asian messaging apps like KakaoTalk or Line, stickers have become the go-to way to express emotions, thoughts, and ideas.
Why it matters ?
Messaging apps have always been known for their use of emojis and emoticons to help users express themselves. Stickers are upgrading this concept. Itโs a unique and creative way to express yourself beyond the limitations of text. Stickers enable users to convey emotions, humour, and cultural nuances that may not be easily communicated through text alone.
But they are not just a passive form of expression, they can also be used to drive user engagement and generate revenue, with users willing to pay for exclusive and personalised sticker collections.
KakaoTalk : turning stickers into a growth machine
In Korea ๐ฐ๐ท, the go-to messaging app is called KakaoTalk. With over 50 million active users, the app is well-known for its wide selection of stickers that users can purchase and use in their conversations. In 2013, KakaoTalk had the genius idea to launch its sticker shop called kakaoemoticon. And in 2020, the app reported that the sticker shop generated more than $340 million in revenue, accounting for nearly a third of the company's overall revenue.
But, how did this happen?
KakaoTalk offers new users free stickers upon sign-up, which they can immediately download and use in their chats. Then, KakaoTalk is activating users by letting them explore the sticker shop's selection of popular and relevant stickers. This not only provides users with a fun and creative way to enhance their messaging experience, but it also allows them to become familiar with the thousands of stickers available on the platform. As users continue to engage with kakaoemoticon, they can choose to purchase new stickers, share or send collections to further personalise their conversations. This helps drive quality signals and indexing of stickers on kakaoemoticon.
This process creates a growth loop ๐ that encourages users to come back and engage with new stickers. To know more about growth loops, I would invite you to read this article from Reforge.
Within the growth loop, whatโs caught my eye is the social layer that can be found in the sticker shop. Let me deep dive on this:
#1. Sticker rankings
Kakaotalk's sticker shop features a ranking system that displays the most popular and trending stickers based on:
the # of downloads
the # of impressions
the user reviews
This ranking system both benefit the stickers designer and the end user ๐ซถ. On the one hand, it incentivises the designer to create high-quality stickers that are likely to become popular. On the other hand, the user can constantly find the most popular & relevant stickers.
#2. Shareable stickers
Within the sticker shop, users can share stickers directly from the shop to their chats or send them as a gift for a friend. It encourages users to spread the popularity of certain sticker packs and ensure the user engagement.
#3. User-created stickers
KakaoTalk allows users to create their own custom stickers via the โKakao Emoticon Studioโ and upload them to the sticker shop.
It a great growth tactic that benefits users, designers & the company to:
increase user-generated content
build ownership within the app and improve engagement
foster a sense of community among users & designers as they share stickers that represent their own unique perspectives and cultures
create a revenue stream that benefits the company and the designers
Line : leveraging cuteness for user acquisition
Line - the most popular messaging app in Japan ๐ฏ๐ต - has also a strong strategy when it comes to stickers. With over 1.7 billion sticker downloads and 500k + stickers features within the appโs sticker shop, Lineโs strategy revolves around creating exclusive & localised sticker collections that resonate with its users.
How Lineโs iconic characters are changing the way users communicate
One of Line's most successful sticker collections is called "Brown and Cony," featuring two adorable animated characters that represent the Line brand. Brown and Cony stickers are used to express a wide range of emotions, and the characters have become so popular that they have their merchandise and even a dedicated Line Friends store.
Interestingly, for smartphone users across Asia, the characters are as familiar as old school icons such as Pikatchu or Disney's animated stars. And the popularity of the stickers has shaped a new trend in mobile communication. Users are no longer sending texting messages but use these cartoon stickers instead.
In Japan there's often ambiguity in the way people communicate with each other. You might not want to say yes or no. Instead you can send a character sticker with a vague expression. It's a non-answer answer, which is still a form of communicating.
Takeshi Idezawa, CEO of Line
Hooking new users with exclusivity and FOMO
In addition to creating its own sticker collections, Line has partnered with popular brands and franchises to offer exclusive sticker sets that appeal to specific user segments.
For example, Line has partnered with popular brands like Netflix, Disney, Hello Kitty, and Pokemon to create sticker collections that are exclusive to the app. Line has also collaborated with public figures like BTS to co-create sticker sets.
Hence, by partnering with well-known brands, Line hooks new users who are already fans of the brand, increasing app downloads and user engagement.
Line regularly releases seasonal sticker sets that are only available for a limited time. For instance, Line offers stickers for holidays like Christmas, or Valentine's Day, as well as stickers that celebrate events like the Olympics or the World Cup. By offering seasonal stickers, Line creates a sense of urgency and encourage users to download the app to access these limited-time offers.
Key lessons
๐ Operate in a Growth Loop. KakaoTalk and Line have set up systems with their stickers that not only acquire new users but also keep them engaged by providing value. To know more about growth loops, I would invite you to read this article from Reforge.
๐ Act global, think local: Success growing internationally requires taking many of the lessons from scaling in your native market and then figuring out how to adapt them to different countries and cultures. Line's strategy of creating seasonal sticker sets for different regions is a great example of this.
๐ฌ Offer personalised and relevant content: Messaging apps must be able to offer personalised content and recommendations to keep users engaged. KakaoTalk, for example, uses machine learning to suggest stickers based on users' chat histories and preferences.
๐ค Foster a strong community: KakaoTalk and Line tap into their user communities for insights and user-generated content creation, fostering a sense of belonging and loyalty among their users.
๐ Leverage partnerships to expand reach: Both KakaoTalk and Line have successfully leveraged partnerships to expand their user base and increase engagement. For example, Line has partnered with major brands like Disney and the NBA to create branded sticker sets. These partnerships not only provide additional value to users, but also help the apps reach new audiences and increase user retention.
That's all for now. See you next month !
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In case you missed it: last month, I wrote about ๐ Dominating the hood: Shopee's hyper-local strategy