Social Media Marketing

BANGKOK -- People in Thailand shop online through social media more than anyone else, a recent survey shows.

A growing number of farmers and others in Thailand sell their products on Facebook. A survey by the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, covering 25 countries and regions, found that 51% of online shoppers in Thailand made purchases via social media, ranking them first. The average for all countries was 16%. A PwC representative said consumers in emerging markets are more likely than others to be influenced by social networking services.

Some market watchers say the tendency of Thai consumers to shun credit cards could slow the expansion of online shopping, but that growth can still be expected. As many as 83% of Thai consumers, the highest percentage among Southeast Asian countries, responded that they prefer to use cash when shopping online, 8 percentage points higher than the global average. In contrast, 78% of Singaporeans said they would make credit card payments, 20 points higher than the global average.

Scott Constance, senior executive director and retail and consumer consulting leader for PwC southeast Asia consulting, said the market for credit card payments will expand in Thailand as well, once local consumers get accustomed to them. Southeast Asia, where smartphone penetration is high, has great growth potential, he said.
Resource: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Thais-embrace-shopping-via-social-media

More and more Brits are choosing to bypass branded content online on social channels, with many starting to feel like it is becoming too intrusive.

Almost half of Brits (40%) ‘actively ignore’ social posts or ads from brands, according to a new study by Kantar TNS, which polled 70,000 global consumers, of which 3,200 were British.

On a global basis, just over a quarter (26%) of consumers choose to ignore branded content, while 34% feel ‘constantly followed’ by online advertising.

Scepticism for social media ads is at its highest in both Sweden and Denmark, with 57% of each country’s consumers bypassing branded content altogether.

However, there could be more hope for marketers in Asia and South America, with the least sceptical consumers in both Saudi Arabia (15%) and Brazil (19%). China and South Africa sit closer to the global average, with 24% and 26% of respondents expressing cynicism, respectively.

“Some brands are getting it spot on – in the past year we’ve seen the likes of Disney, Starbucks and McDonald’s use Snapchat’s filters to engage consumers in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive,” says Michael Nicholas, global director at Kantar TNS.

“This is key to overcoming many people’s fundamental negative perceptions of brand activity online.”
Growth spikes for Instagram and Snapchat

The cynicism towards brand advertising on social media comes amid massive growth spikes for Instagram and Snapchat.

Despite both investing heavily in their ad platforms over recent years, almost one quarter (23%) of internet-users are now on Snapchat, a huge jump from just 12% two years ago. Instagram, meanwhile, has also seen a surge in popularity, with global usage jumping to 42%, up from 24% in 2014.

And it isn’t just younger people using these platforms either. According to the Kantar TNS study, one in five internet users aged 55 to 65 now use Instagram, a 47% jump since this time last year. And 9% of the survey’s respondents aged between 55 and 65 are now on Snapchat, a rate up from 3% in 2015.
Influencers are the key

Influencers and celebrities appear to be a key weapon in getting users to engage with brands online.

The study found two out of five (40%) 16 to 24 year olds say they trust what people say online about brands more than ‘official’ sources, such as newspapers, brands’ own websites or TV adverts.

Nicholas concludes: “Younger people are more influencer-oriented than ever before, trusting bloggers and peers rather than information from brands.”

Resource: https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/09/28/almost-half-of-british-consumers-choose-to-ignore-brands-on-social-media/

Social Media Marketing

Monday, 24 October 2016

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Thais embrace shopping via social media

Almost half of British consumers choose to ignore brands on social media