Is social media in Asia here to stay?

Once a catchphrase for techies looked at as delusional, and two words that have been thoroughly misunderstood- ‘Social Media’ looks like it is finally getting the recognition it deserves in Singapore and in the whole of Asia.

As a practitioner myself, I had the satisfaction to walk out of my house today and shout to the skies, “Social Media is here to stay!”

But does my statement ring true? It’s a tricky question to answer; Asia of course is a very complex and varied place, most Asian countries are diverse, enriched with their unique cultures and conduct their businesses in traditional ways. Asians are also more private people in general, and they’re really big on family values. In short, there is no ‘definitive’ sense of how Asia as a whole reacts to social media, and the direction of the future can seem cloudy at times.

Looking purely at the numbers, Asia’s Social Media statistics are booming –Facebook reigns supreme across most countries across the continent, with 7 out of 12 countries (including countries such as Singapore, Thailand, India) listing Facebook as the most preferred social media network.

China’s strongest social network is Qzone, which boasts 531 million users, more than all the other 12 countries combined!

The penetration of social media however, gives us a different perspective, and varies across nations. Surprisingly, traditional technological champions Japan have a very low Social Media penetration as compared to countries such as Malaysia and even Brunei.

Why? The Japanese culture is more private with their personal lives, therefore a ‘facebook’ style of social media network is yet to be as popular as in other parts of Asia.

Localisation is very important, and cultural lifestyle and habits are a critical factor for how a nation uses (and adapts) it social media in terms of personal and business use. Whereas in Indonesia social media came to prominence with political issues (google ‘Coins for Rita’), social media in countries such as Singapore became known for its marketing effectiveness, as brands utilise social media promotions and strategies to sell products and spread awareness.

The lesson here? – Each Asian country has been introduced to Social media in different ways, and thus utilizes it in very different ways.

Another important factor to consider is this – How do people access their social media? The recent news is of Indonesia, becoming Facebooks 3rd largest community, just behind India and the US. Looking at the facts, it is interesting to note that the majority of users from Indonesia and India access Facebook through their mobile phones.

Social Media practitioners should be especially aware of this, as mobile is, and will continue to be- the true platform for social media networks in Asia. Social networking via mobile has dramatically increased the popularity of what we call ‘microblogs’ such as twitter and Weibo, making it the fastest growing categories in the Social Media realm.

The ability to share information quickly and personally across microblog platforms, from almost anywhere, is truly the future of Social Media in Asia.

To sum up, it’s important for practitioners to fully understand the different social media habits for each Asian country before embarking upon it, and not to expect one strategy to fit the other. If social media has taught us anything in the past, it’s that things change fast.

Users adapt, shift, and continue to progress in different directions in their usage of social media, especially as mobile based apps and mobile marketing increases. Due to the strong importance of localisation in each nation, social media practitioners must have an eagle-eye focus on what works, and where it works.

So is social media here to stay in Asia? Yes, without a doubt, but it’s clear that how it stays and where in Asia it stays will be a much talked about topic in the years to come. 

Taisuke Yamamoto, International Communications Manager, MediaPop