Facebook Connects Over 241 Million People in Southeast Asia

(Marketingmagazine.com.my) – Facebook says its mission is to make the world more open and connected.

Thus it announced 241 million people in Southeast Asia (SEA), 94% of them through mobile, stay connected with friends and family, and the businesses and moments that matter to them.

Many people across SEA say Facebook is where they first discover breaking news and new games, products, brands, services and entertainment*.

A new study released by McKinsey shows half of all people on Facebook are connected to someone in a different country, a number which has tripled in the past year.

And an analysis of the over 50 million small businesses that use Facebook to find customers also shows 30% of their fans are from other countries.

“Southeast Asia is a dynamic mobile first region, and the fastest growing for Facebook. Connecting the more than 241 million people in Southeast Asia – and 18 million Malaysians – Facebook on to the friends and family, businesses and moments that matter to them is at the core of everything we do.

“We are committed to investing in resources and expertise to help our partners in Southeast Asia grow and achieve measurable business results,” said Kenneth Bishop, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Facebook.

People in SEA are actively engaged with the businesses on Facebook that matter to them.

• Nearly 2X as many Thais and 2X as many Singaporeans send Facebook messages to businesses each month (compared to the global average)
• Malaysians send nearly 50% more Facebook messages to businesses each month (compared to the global average)

Take e-commerce retailer Lazada – it grew its fan base by 60X in one year to reach 80% of the population in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Also, established brands like Air Asia engaged Facebook to win back customer confidence during a difficult time for the airline.

Through a comprehensive Facebook marketing campaign, Air Asia gained 58X return on ad spend using Lookalike Audiences and broke Facebook’s global records for ad recall in the travel sector.

Similarly, smartphone brand Honor Malaysia used Facebook to run targeted link ads to get its target audience excited about a new product launch. It reached 15.5 million people within four weeks.

“Facebook’s powerful targeting capability allowed us to reach a precise audience from a specific age group on a huge scale for our product launch.

Being able to measure both conversions and purchase intent enabled us to make sure our campaign was aligned with our business objectives at all times,” said Allen An, E-Commerce Director of Honor Malaysia.

Small businesses like Christy Ng Shoes in Malaysia also turned to Facebook to achieve 2X year-on-year sales growth.

“Without Facebook, my business wouldn’t exist. By targeting the right people efficiently, Facebook Ads helped us grow and find new customers when we were first starting up and didn’t have a huge budget. Facebook has leveled the global playing field and enabled startups like us to scale and reach a global audience. It’s changed my life,” said Christy Ng, founder, Christy Ng Shoes.

*Source: Facebook-commissioned TNS studies of people ages 16+ in the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand in Jun 2014 and people ages 18+ in Singapore and Vietnam in Jan 2015.
*Source: Facebook internal data

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