Bliža se 21. SEMPL, na katerem se bo zvrstilo kar nekaj zanimivih govorcev. Med njimi je tudi Momchil Elenkov, direktor za telekomunikacije in B2B partnerstva, Rakuten Viber, Bolgarija.

Momchil je pri Vibru odgovoren za strateška komercialna partnerstva z mobilnimi operaterji, tako na ravni skupine kot tudi na različnih tržiščih po svetu. Njegovo področje delovanja vključuje tehnološke projekte s področja finančnih tehnologij, umetne inteligence, pogovornih (chat) botov, B2B in B2C - komunikacije med korporacijami in končnimi uporabniki prek ekosistema Viber. Z njim smo se pogovarjali na temo novodobnih uporabnikov Viber platforme in kako naj jih blagovne znamke učinkovito nagovarjajo. Intervju objavljamo v angleškem jeziku.

1. What will be, in your opinion, the most important feature in the future, to win over the users? 

The communication services are continually changing, driven by the speed of technology evolution. New and new players rise and shine, but it's often hard for them to survive longer than a mayfly. From our perspective, the winning mix of features consists of ensuring privacy and allowing users to connect freely no matter what. Of course, there are many ways for the message itself to be generated and delivered, including voice-to-text and multimedia expressions. These will be some of the innovations we'll experience in the years to come.

2. What is your advice to brands on how to »listen to users« on messaging platforms?

I've read somewhere that the internet is not a marketplace of 1 billion people but rather a puzzle of 1 billion individual stories. If you think about it, we're all holding a piece of the digital world of our hands, and our smartphones are the outlets for expressing the personalities we have. Therefore, for a brand, it is a must to communicate to the end-users in a personal and emphatic way. At Rakuten Viber, we've been making that possible via opening up our APIs for business messaging and Chatbot creation and the conversion rates prove this theory right. 

3. What are the 3 most important tips for creating branded content on your platform?

Reduce the noise, be empathic and provide local and relevant content. To create content for a digital platform in 2019 is not like pushing a TV ad in the 60s. You don't have to show the same thing to everyone, thus wasting efforts on being noisy. Focus on your minimum viable market first and make sure you speak their language. 

4. What is the share of people that are using your platform for audio/video communication vs text?

Viber is a messaging app, and we're focusing on providing the best experience for 1 on 1 and group chats. Usually, in our markets with high penetration, such as Slovenia, the share of the users who chat is more than 90%. In addition to that, between 50% and 70% are also making Viber to Viber calls.

5. How many users have Viber in Slovenia and what is your estimate of Share within real-time messaging?

According to many 3rd party sources, 7 out of 10 smartphone users in Slovenia are active on Viber, and our penetration has been increasing steadily. That's why we focus on bringing more and more locally represented businesses on our platform. We want to save some time for the end-users by making it fast and easy to connect to the brands they care about.