Viber – one of the world’s leading instant messaging apps,recently launched a new social media channel to partners in the Middle East and Africa called ‘Public Chat’. According to the company, this new social media channel is targeted at celebrities, organizations, brands, social influencers and public figures who would like to reach a local and regional audience through its platform.
Public chats on Viber are simply live discussions which any viber user can follow, like and share. Initially released in beta version in November 2014, this new social media channel would allow users tap into the live conversations of celebrities, brands or organizations they love.
According to the company, users can follow an unlimited number of public chats and they can also invite friends to follow their favourites. The most popular chats are featured on the home screen of Viber’s Public Chats section
Some celebrities, public figures and global brands currently on Public Chats include the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modri; Actress Karolina Kurkova, online media platforms such as Huffington Post, Mashable, BuzzFeed and the BBC and Pop star Pixie Lott.
While speaking about the recent introduction of Public chats to the Middle East and Africa, Mark Hardy, CMO Viber said “The Middle East and Africa are important markets for Viber, and we are pleased to welcome local influencers and brands to our Public Chats platform. We are sure they will enjoy chatting, commenting and debating live on this active social channel whilst sharing tips, news, and local content to our constantly connected mobile audience across the region.”
Some Nigerian brands and organizations that have already partnered with Viber include BellaNaija, Giditraffic, The Future Project, IT Talk Africa, Style Vitae, YNaija and Style Me Africa. Renowned photographer George Okoro, and Uzo Orimalade, CEO of Uzo’s Food Lab are also partners.
Chude Jideonwo, Managing Partner, RED, The Future Project and YNaija, said “We are immensely excited to partner with Viber to further our goal to reach and inspire Africa’s youth. Viber’s platform gives us the opportunity to facilitate meaningful, quality conversations in real time on how to empower African citizens. We hope that this will be an enlightening experience for our followers.”
Check out Viber Public Chats Guidelines for more details