The social photo and video sharing platform is also seeing its popularity soar among the older generation
Malaysians are enamoured with photo and video sharing. According to a Connected Life report — a global study of 70,000 consumers across 57 countries — Instagram has a 73 per cent penetration rate in Malaysia, the highest in all of APAC.
Hong Kong is ranked second, at 70 per cent. And although Singapore has the highest smartphone penetration rate in the region, only 63 per cent are using Instagram.
Another photo and video sharing platform Snapchat, is also experiencing success in APAC, albeit much less than Instagram.
It sees the widest traction in Hong Kong, at 46 per cent. This is followed by New Zealand at 39 per cent. Malaysia and Singapore are tied for third place, at 37 per cent.
In vast emerging markets, both of the aforementioned apps’ penetration rates are especially low.
A measly 9 per cent of Chinese surveyed use Snapchat, while only 13 per cent use Instagram. This comes as little surprise as the country has a deluge of alternative homebrewed photo and video apps,
India fares only marginally better. 19 per cent of Indians surveyed are on Snapchat, and only 23 per cent are using Instagram.
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The only anomaly is Indonesia. While Snapchat is still unpopular, at 9 per cent. More than half of Indonesians (54 per cent) surveyed are using Instagram.
Another interesting takeaway from the Connected Life report is that, while photo and video sharing apps are primarily used by young people, the older generation are also jumping on the bandwagon.
In Singapore, a third (33 per cent) of Internet users aged 55 – 65 use Instagram, while 10 per cent from the same age group are on Snapchat.
The rise of social photo and video sharing apps also marks a shift in how consumers discover brands.
“Curated platforms like Instagram not only provide brands with access to a global audience, they also deliver the ability to become part of consumer communities and reach people with similar interests,” said Subhashish Dasgupta, Head of Digital, Singapore at Kantar TNS, in an official press statement.
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“Daniel Wellington watches created a US$200million business by working with bloggers, celebrities and other influencers worldwide to get more than a million followers on Instagram – four times the following of other premium brands,” he said.
“A number of Singaporean brands have also been very successful in this space. Singapore Tourism Board’s @visit_singapore has beautifully curated content, attracting close to 150,000 followers. Likewise, local Singaporean fashion and lifestyle brands like Naiise (@naiise) and Collate (@collatethelabel) have created strong local identities and cultivated large, engaged audiences,” he added.
To download the full report, click here.
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