Brands use native advertising to reach audiences in a contextually relevant and non-intrusive way, which resonates well with consumers. Globally, the predictions are that advertisers will be moving 25% of their marketing budgets from traditional advertising to native advertising by 2022. According to Business Insider, native advertising will drive 74% of all advertising revenue by 2021. Marketers can create native ads in the form of consumer content, influencer marketing, topical articles, mobile apps, social media, eye-catching videos and stickers.

Stickers are an area where Viber has thrived for years, with over 2.5bn sent each month. Users love to share them and send them in a natural, conversational manner, which is exactly how brands also want to engage with users. That’s why we built a “Stickers Best Practice” guide (below).

We’ve analyzed the various sticker components and have provided tips and tricks to ensure your stickers are not only fun enough for our users, but interesting enough to drive results.

Text

Stickers are a fun and often new ad type for people to experiment with in their marketing. Having said that, many of the same words and types of text will and will not work. Be expressive, thematic and conversational. Don’t be offensive, careless and don’t just showcase your product without thinking of the context of how stickers get used by consumers. It will not resonate.

Visual

There is a massive opportunity to be creative with the stickers you create. The key is not to go overboard— build a vibrant, legible and cohesive sticker pack that ties back to your brand and/or campaign. Avoid turning your stickers into just another digital ad that disinterests users.

Audio

We already have users’ attention in the app for 30+ minutes every day per user, so give them something to hear too. Pairing the imagery with audio can have a tremendous impact on delivering your message as well as scaling the reach and exposure of your stickers. Testing both static and animated stickers with sound is crucial to understanding what works for your brand.

Pro tip: Use the most native form of ads on the market—the dos and don’ts of stickers.

Download the full infographic here.

Coca-Cola’s name speaks for itself. Seriously, who has never had a Coke in their life? For decades, they have done a brilliant job of celebrating life and bringing people together through their product. Well, Viber loves it too and that’s why we’re delighted to help Coca-Cola’s team power their “under-the-cap” sweepstakes.

Coca-Cola leveraged Viber’s business solutions to boost its mobile footprint, interact with consumers and create an integrated digital sweepstakes experience for our massive Bulgarian audience. Here’s the recipe for success:

• A branded Sticker Pack to announce Viber-exclusive under-the-cap program and direct users to the Public Account in a shareable way.
• A Public Account to give access to unique multimedia content.
• A Chatbot that engages followers to participate in the under-the-cap program and encourages them to share the fun with their friends and family.

Within a short time-span, Coca-Cola used their Public Account to distribute redemption codes, create hype and drive conversions.

“Our strong fan base paired with Rakuten Viber’s active Bulgarian audience and captivating product suite made this program an instant success,” said Stefan Radov, Social Media Manager, Coca-Cola

During the three-month program, Coca-Cola saw incredible results:

• 191K+ sticker pack downloads
• 298K+ stickers shared
• 29K+ redeemed under-the-cap codes
• 680K+ user-chatbot interactions
• 184K chatbot subscribers
• 30% conversion rate

Coca-Cola continues to inspire moments of optimism and bliss all over the world. Pairing this legendary brand with Viber’s innovative approach led to an interactive and high-performing experience for Coca-Cola fans.

Check out the success story in its entirety.

Queen.gr always inspires fans to present themselves in strong, healthy and stylish ways. From the hottest fashion trends to the latest fitness routines and to juicy celebrity gossip, their fans are never bored. That’s why we are thrilled to partner with them to build an extension of their booming publication.

Queen.gr leveraged Viber’s business solutions to engage a heavily-active Greek audience with constant entertainment, unique content and contests. Here’s how it worked:

• Queen.gr’s Public Account and Public Chat launched as a destination for followers to receive exclusive fashion content, 1-to-1 messages and Viber-specific promotions.
• Their branded Sticker Pack was a native way to engage existing and new fans while introducing them to their Public Account and Public Chat.
• The bot experience was the catalyst for their concert series contest with the winner receiving tickets to a concert in Paris.

Within three months, Queen.gr was able to use Viber to give existing and new readers a singular destination for everything the publication has to offer plus more.

“We wanted to build a singular destination to meaningfully connect with fans. The technology, tools and active female audience that Viber offers allowed us to quickly and happily call them home,” Panagiotis Bomis, Group Publishing General Manager at DPG.GR told Viber.

During the three-month program, Queen.gr saw tremendous results:

• Public Chat Followers 495K (+330% more followers than Facebook page)
• Bot Subscribers 420K+
• User-to-Bot Messages 320K+
• Sticker Pack Downloads 495K+
• Stickers Shared 8.4M+
• Sticker Virality 15 (Stickers Sent/Downloaded)

Queen.gr delivers entertainment, wellness and life advice to its fans. Creating a digital environment where their audience already spends a considerable amount of time is about as natural as it gets and we’re thrilled to have them as a Viber partner.

See the full success story here.

We are happy to announce that starting May 5th 2018, all paid calls using Viber Out from the USA to Mexico are FREE. That’s how we celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

Viber Out is the popular way for people to make calls to any mobile or landline destinations using Viber app, when the other side doesn’t have an internet connection, smartphone or Viber installed. The service is widely known for its high quality and cheap rates.

Callers from the USA normally have to pay 1.8¢ per minute to a mobile and 1.5¢ per minute when calling a landline in Mexico, depending on their prepaid Viber Out plan. But gone are the days where you have to pay to call Mexico from the USA and deal with renewing your plan or topping up your credit. From Cinco de Mayo, it’s free!

The best thing about it is that there’s absolutely no strings attached – a completely free service without the need for a voucher, a coupon or a code to claim and insert into your account before the call. You can also make calls from Viber for Desktop, giving you another option for make high quality calls at ease and comfort.

The person you are calling to with Viber Out doesn’t need to have Viber downloaded on their phone or even have a smartphone or an internet connection. So, all you need to do is open Viber on your phone and make your regular call to Mexico through Viber Out,  no need for a prepaid plan or credit.

Getting Started: Making Free Calls to Mexico from the USA

If you haven’t already, download Viber to your smartphone from the App Store or Google Play and setup your account. Sync your contacts to your Viber account so you have full access to all your friends’ numbers.

To make a Viber Out call, you have 2 options :

1. Tap “Contacts”, select the contact you wish to call in Mexico and tap “Viber Out Call”
2. Tap “Calls” and use the keypad for typing the phone number in Mexico you wish to call directly for free

The offer of free Viber Out calls applies to destinations in Mexico using Mexico’s international dialing code +52. Read about the offer terms of use.

Spread the word! Invite your friends and family in the USA to Viber for them to enjoy free Viber Out calls to Mexico too.

Whether catching up with a family member, planning a day out with friends or chatting with a brand about their latest product, promotion or support need, Viber offers so many ways to stay connected. We’re always looking at ways to help deepen these conversations and we’re “vlipping out” about our latest Chat Extension with Vlipsy.

For those of you not familiar with Vlipsy, they make it easy to find the perfect clip for any type of conversation. From “LOL” to “I love you” and every emotion in between, there are thousands of carefully curated videos to choose from when words and captions alone just can’t get the job done.

The Vlipsy Chat Extension makes it quite simple to send a vlip. Simply tap the “GIF+” icon and select “Vlipsy” from the menu. You can search and find the perfect video for what you want to say, snag a popular vlip (video clip) from the trending list or choose from playlists like “Weekend Vibes” or “Monday Motivations.”  Tap “send” to share the message into your one-on-one or group conversations, and let Vlipsy say it for you. Features of the Chat Extension include:

• Featured: View the top picks from Vlipsy’s robust video library with new scenes and moments from your favorite TV shows, movies, events and quirky cat videos (yes! Lots and lots of cat videos!). Their featured list is regularly updated with the latest and greatest moments for you to share.
• Trending: Find what’s trending to stay on top of your game in your Viber conversations.
• Search:  Looking for something specific? Explore by actor, quote, character or emotion to see the most popular and perfect vlip to share.
• Playlists: Vlipsy has curated themed playlists, from “BFF” to “Happy Birthday” to celebrate any occasion.

Vlipsy is now a part of our Chat Extension family, which includes YouTube, Spotify, Yelp and GAMEE, and they’re even developing their own branded sticker pack for our users to share. This is just the beginning of what looks to be an exciting and vlipping good time.

To learn more about Chat Extensions and other Viber business solutions check out our media kit.