Top Social Media Platforms In APAC 2024

The Asia Pacific Social Media Landscape

Social Media Penetration in the Asia Pacific is estimated to be at 97.3%, with a staggering 97.3% of social media users in the region accessing social media on mobile devices.

This post takes a look at top social media platforms in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for 2024.

In particular, we will focus our insights on the most popular social media platforms and emerging trends in the region, for the benefit of:

• Marketers seeking to grow their reach
• Businesses aiming to connect with audiences
• Anyone who is interested in the digital landscape of APAC 

Let’s begin

4 Key Social Media Trends in APAC

The APAC region is experiencing significant social media trends in 2024, driven by fragmentation, retail media, attention, and AI. 

Fragmentation

The digital ecosystem in APAC is becoming increasingly fragmented due to evolving consumer behaviors, emerging channels, and privacy regulations. 

This fragmentation is further complicated by regional differences, making it impossible to apply a universal strategy for success. 

Retail Media

Retail media networks (RMNs) are gaining significant traction in APAC as advertisers shift focus due to the decline of third-party cookies. 

Homegrown retail media super apps like Carousell, Grab, Lazada, and Tokopedia offer new opportunities for advertisers. 

However, this comes with media quality risks, necessitating ad verification to ensure brand safety.

Attention

Optimizing for attention has proven successful, as demonstrated by companies like Mondelēz International, which saw significant improvements in brand consideration and purchase intent by focusing on attention metrics.

The attention economy is a growing focus in APAC, with traditional metrics like viewability and clicks no longer sufficient to gauge ad effectiveness. 

Instead, new metrics are needed to measure meaningful attention. 

AI

AI’s predictive abilities enable marketers to analyze large quantities of data and optimize campaigns efficiently. 

Despite risks, AI is already being used to detect fraud, classify content, and drive campaign optimization.

Top Social Media Platforms in APAC 2024

Around 60% of marketers in APAC view social media as crucial for their organizations, with specific usage broken down as follows:

• Facebook: 87%
• Instagram: 81%
• LinkedIn: 81%
• YouTube: 64%
• Twitter: 50%
• TikTok: 29% (emerging channel)

Economic opportunities have increased the importance of social media, with 34% of marketing budgets allocated to it. 

The majority of 16 to 64-year-olds use Instagram for brand information, while TikTok, Reddit, and Twitch are emerging channels to watch.

Top APAC Social Media Platforms by Country

China

WeChat is the largest social media platform in China with over 1.3 billion monthly active users, offering services like messaging, payments, and more.

India

Facebook is the most popular platform in India, boasting 314.6 million users, making it the country with the highest number of Facebook users worldwide.

Indonesia

YouTube is widely used in Indonesia, with over 139 million users, making it a key platform for reaching the country’s social media audience.

Japan

LINE is the top social media platform in Japan, with over 95 million users, offering messaging, newsfeeds, and a cashless payment system.

Philippines

Facebook is the most popular platform in the Philippines, with approximately 80.3 million users, dominating social media usage in the country.

Thailand

Facebook is also the leading platform in Thailand, with 48.1 million users, widely used for discovering new products and online shopping.

Taiwan

YouTube is the most popular social media platform in Taiwan, with 20.2 million users, making it a primary source for video content.

South Korea

YouTube leads in South Korea with 46 million users, being the most popular platform for video content among social media users.

Daily Use Time

Social media usage varies widely across different countries. Here’s a breakdown of the average time spent per day:

• Philippines: 4.1 hours
• Taiwan: 3.5 hours
• Thailand: 3.3 hours
• Vietnam: 3.3 hours
• Malaysia: 3.2 hours
• Singapore: 3.1 hours
• Indonesia: 2.9 hours
• Australia: 2.5 hours
• India: 2.4 hours
• Hong Kong: 2.4 hours

X Statistics

X usage in the Asia Pacific region is significant, with 32.8% of all users coming from this area. Here are the top 10 countries in the region based on the percentage of X users:

• Indonesia: 84.7%
• India: 67.7%
• Philippines: 60.2%
• Malaysia: 56.9%
• Thailand: 47.4%
• South Korea: 43.3%
• Vietnam: 32%
• Singapore: 29%
• Japan: 28%
• Australia: 25.9%

Facebook Statistics

Asia plays a crucial role in Facebook’s growth, boasting over 426 million monthly active users. Here are the top 10 countries in the region based on the percentage of Facebook users:

• Indonesia: 76.7%
• Vietnam: 37%
• Malaysia: 74.7%
• Philippines: 74.7%
• Thailand: 93%
• India: 93.7%
• Hong Kong: 93.7%
• Taiwan: 84.1%
• Singapore: 78%
• Australia: 78%

Marketers, good luck capitalizing on all this information!

Conclusion

APAC’s social media landscape continues to be led by platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

However, channels like TikTok and Reddit are gaining ground and should not be discounted. 

Marketers and businesses would do well to study how key trends, namely fragmentation, retail media networks, the attention economy, and AI can help them reach a wider audience and give people what they want. 

Never forget countries in APAC are diverse, emphasizing the need for tailored app monetization strategies and marketing techniques to effectively engage diverse audiences.

All the best!

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