Emplifi, the leading unified customer experience platform, has revealed its quarterly social media trends and findings for brands worldwide and in Asia Pacific (APAC) for Q3 2022.
According to Emplifi’s Social Media Benchmark report, median engagement rates on Facebook for brands in APAC remained consistent with Q2 2022. However, Instagram brand engagement rates saw a slight uplift. Looking at the format of the platform’s top-performing posts by median interactions, Instagram Reels came in first (32%), followed by carousels (25%), video (24%), and then images.
Instagram Reels has outperformed all other post types since the start of the year, with 80% of brands on the platform publishing at least one reel in Q3 2022. This is a significant increase versus 2021 when only 41% of brands on the social media network were posting reels content. Instagram Reels in APAC are most popular within the sports industry (89%), followed by media (88%) and entertainment (87.5%).
Comparing 463 global sister Instagram and TikTok brand accounts, Instagram outperforms TikTok for median reach by a wide margin (63% to 37%), and brands also earn more interactions and more video views on Instagram. However, TikTok earns higher reach engagement for brands, with a 57% to 43% advantage and follower growth for brands on TikTok continues to climb, up 200%.
“Short-form video is a vital part of a brand’s marketing mix and is here to stay. Brands have added Instagram Reels to their content strategies, and TikTok’s increase in followers reaffirms its position as the fastest-growing channel out there,” said Varun Sharma, Vice President, APAC & Japan at Emplifi. “To maximise reach and engagement, brands need to invest their resources in the content formats and on the platforms which resonate with their audience”.
The e-commerce industry makes up the largest share of social interactions on Facebook (41%), followed by retail with 11.8%. Similarly on Instagram, e-commerce is the dominant industry (42.8%), followed by fashion (11.4%) and retail (8%).
In terms of social customer care, APAC brand response rates to user questions are the highest on Facebook; 88% of direct messages are responded to in less than an hour. While on Twitter, the response rate is 68%, with an average response time of 1.6 hours. Response rates are the lowest on Instagram (40%), and the platform was the slowest to respond at 4.2 hours.
Mega sales days encourage brand switching
Mega sales days (MSDs) are key events for retail and e-commerce brands, and kick off in Q3 with 9.9, followed closely by 10.10, 11.11, Black Friday, 12.12 and then year-end holiday shopping. According to Meta’s Seasonal Holidays Study, MSDs drive new product discovery and consideration within the APAC region. Out of those surveyed, 40% of consumers discover products and shopping on social platforms, and 61% are Gen Z or Millennials.
Emplifi looked into the top 10 e-commerce platforms in APAC for the 10.10 sales event, and found between 3-16 October 2022, there was minimal brand loyalty with significant changes in total followers or fans on social platforms during this time. On Instagram and Facebook, e-commerce brands saw a decrease in fans on 10 and 11 October respectively, while brands on Twitter had a surge in followers on 12 October.
The lack of brand loyalty during MSDs creates opportunities for brands to win customers and engage with new audiences. Facebook and Bain & Company found that during this time, 91% are more likely to try products from a brand they have never bought from before, and consumers have brand affinity after they move.
“Brands need to understand customer expectations from the discovery phase onwards, preparing well ahead of mega sales days. In Asia and globally, social media continues to be a key platform for modern consumers, and there needs to be a smooth and timely experience throughout the customer journey,” concludes Sharma.
Methodology
- Emplifi’s analysis is based on Q3 2022 data and YoY comparisons, downloaded at the beginning of October 2022. You can read the findings here.
- Asia Pacific countries included in this report: American Samoa, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis, and Futuna.
- Asia Pacific e-commerce brands analysed for the 10 Mega Sales Day includes: Blibli.com, Bukalapak, Carousell, Lazada, Sendo, Shopback, Shopee, Tiki, Tokopedia and Zalora.
