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Platforms Featured APAC

Amidst economic uncertainty, 3 in 5 APAC marketers eye to increase social media investments 

Singapore – Around 77% of marketers in Asia-Pacific, or 3 out of 5 APAC marketers, have said that they intend to increase or dedicate the same budget to social media amidst economic uncertainty this year. This is according to the latest research from media monitoring and social listening platform Meltwater.

According to the data, around 42% are currently running a social listening programme and an additional 15% plan to do so in 2023. Moreover, around 64% of the respondents have the goal of improving their understanding of audiences and target groups.

In terms of the social media platforms that dominate the APAC social media landscape, Facebook led the list, with 87% of marketers using it. They are followed by Instagram (81%), Linkedin (81%), Youtube (64%), and Twitter (50%). Comparatively, TikTok has yet to be leveraged at the same rate, with only 29% using the platform.

Mimrah Mahmood, senior director and partner at Meltwater Asia-Pacific, explains that the average internet user actively uses about 7.2 social media platforms each month, hence audiences are not always where you expect and marketers should now have stronger social listening tools to find and understand users.

“With a huge amount of consumer data available these days, it is now possible to segment audiences in far more sophisticated ways. Marketers need to go beyond demographics and look at communities. Social media data can reveal how people form ‘digital tribes’ based on their shared attitudes, behaviours, and interests, allowing marketers to make more strategic decisions,” Mahmood said.

In terms of the rise of short-form content in the region, Mahmood said, “Short-form videos such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are effective new formats that marketers should incorporate moving forward. In 2024, we expect to see more social commerce features, including paid ads, and purchase capabilities woven into these formats in response to consumers seeking more seamless shopping experiences.”

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Marketing Platforms Featured APAC

Meltwater onboards What’s Next 2023: Marketing in Asia Pacific as Gold Sponsor, to speak about the importance of influencers and communities

Singapore – For MARKETECH APAC’s first-ever hybrid conference this coming 2023, What’s NEXT 2023: Marketing in Asia Pacific, social and media intelligence firm, Meltwater, will be joining us as a Gold Sponsor. 

Meltwater helps companies make better and more informed decisions by examining millions of posts each day from social media platforms, blogs, and news sites. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 50 offices across six continents. 

Weldon Fung, Area Director at Meltwater Southeast Asia, will be doing a keynote presentation on the first day–February 28–titled “The Evolution Of Influencers And Communities: How Effective Partnerships Can Fuel Your Affinity Brand In 2023?

Through the keynote presentation, Fung will be sharing relevant data about how impactful partnerships with influencers or creators can be on community brand building and how to find the perfect fit in a partner. Moreover, he will explain how influencers can help create a meaningful impact for brands.

Fung also explains how influencer partnerships have been vital for brands to build relevance and authenticity for new audiences.

“Influencer partnerships can be an effective way for brands to reach new audiences and increase brand awareness. Influencers have built up a following of engaged users who trust their opinions and are more likely to engage with and purchase products that they recommend.”

He further added, “Additionally, influencer partnerships can help to build credibility and authenticity for a brand, as the endorsement of a trusted influencer can signal to potential customers that the brand is reputable and trustworthy. Furthermore, Influencer partnerships can also help brands to increase their social media reach and engagement. Not only that but this steers marketing to move toward community brand building as well.”

Joven Barceñas, founder & CEO at MARKETECH APAC, commented, “With gratitude, we extend a heartfelt thank you to our Gold sponsor Meltwater for joining us on this journey to uncover the future of marketing in Asia. Their unwavering support and partnership have enabled us to bring the What’s NEXT 2023 Conference to life in a hybrid platform that promises to be an exciting and insightful experience for all.”

What’s NEXT 2023: Marketing in Asia Pacific is the dedicated conference under the digital media’s future-centred industry series, What’s NEXT 2023. To be conducted in a hybrid format, the 2-day conference will happen on February 28 – March 1, 2023, with the in-person event on the first day to take place in Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila. 

The hybrid conference gathers the top marketing leaders in the region to drive the conversation on what to come next in the marketing industry this 2023 across its different domains. To be presented in multi-platform discussions, industry speakers will be touching on various areas such as Digital, Growth Marketing, Engagement, Public Relations, Customer Experience, Retail & E-Commerce, and Influencer Marketing, amongst others, to help brands and marketers prepare for the future of the marketing landscape this 2023.

Head over to the official event site to see the full agenda of What’s NEXT 2023: Marketing in Asia Pacific. 

Interested delegates for in-person and virtual sessions may register here.

For sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to [email protected].

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Platforms Featured Southeast Asia

Global report reveals Filipinos clock most hours in consuming vlog content, playing video games

Philippines – With most of our attention now veered towards digital content, a new global report reveals the average number of hours each audience in a country spends in navigating social media. The said data, which was gathered via a partnership between social media intel Meltwater and creative agency We Are Social, revealed that it’s the Filipino internauts that are the most invested when it comes to vlog content and video game consumption.

The annual report on social media and digital trends uncovered that the Philippines ranked first in terms of the average time allotted for watching vlogs and playing video games. Particularly, 95.8% of internet users in the country play video games on any device, and this cohort is found to spend an average of 1 hour and 29 minutes on gaming each day. This is a few minutes more than the global average of 1 hour and 14 minutes. 

Meanwhile, 55.6% of the country’s digital consumers – those aged 16 to 64 – stated that they watch vlogs each week, and in terms of consumption, the market also bested all markets, ahead of the global benchmark of 25.5%. 

In the same report last year, Philippines also emerged on top with the highest count of users that watch vlogs each week with 60.4%, and likewise topping the global charts with the highest percentage of consumers that play video games on any device (96.4%). 

Overall, from the current year’s data, the country landed in fourth place in general social media consumption, with consumers spending an average of 3 hours and 43 minutes for such activity.

Alexandra Saab Bjertnæs, chief strategy officer at Meltwater said that competitive brands should stay ahead of trends to understand their impact on any industry. She also highlighted that as consumers invest more time on social media, it will affect the decision-making process in their customer journey.

Bjertnæs added, “With more than 5 billion internet users today, it’s becoming more crucial than ever that brands deliver relevant, impactful, and purposeful content to capture attention and create value across digital channels.”

Nathan McDonald, group CEO and co-founder at We Are Social said that social media’s influence affects people’s lifestyles and it continues to grow. McDonald also expressed that users consider the discernment in internet usage, making sure that it’s a time well spent.

However, McDonald also had thoughts for marketers. He added, “Marketers and creators will have to work even harder to attract and retain people’s attention in 2023 – it’s never been more important to understand online culture in order to reach people in a relevant way.”

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Marketing Featured Global

Meltwater, Twitter launch fashion-centric report highlighting key fashion trends, discussion

Singapore – Media and social intelligence company Meltwater and social media platform Twitter have co-launched a report that highlights insights on how fashion is being discussed online, and how marketers and advertisers should care about in 2022 and beyond.

The report explores the conversation drivers around top-trending fashion topics on Twitter over the past year— including luxury fashion, meta fashion, handmade fashion, inclusive fashion, and retro fashion— as well as ways that brands can stay ahead when it comes to responding to these conversations.

According to the report, the past year has seen high-end fashion conversations flourish on Twitter, and have grown 16.7% between March 2021 and February 2022. With an average of 20,000 mentions per day, this category saw the largest increase in mentions compared to other verticals like athleisure, fast fashion, and street style.

In addition, conversations about meta fashion have increased more than 1,500% as the metaverse, VR, and AR have entered the wider cultural consciousness. Across 1 million conversations that reached more than 330 million Twitter users, meta fashion netizens focused on luxury and designer pieces like sneakers, particularly when involving well-known, high-end brands and celebrities.

Lastly, after widespread calls for more diversity in the fashion industry in 2020 and 2021, the conversation around inclusive fashion has grown 7% in the past 6 months — averaging 1,400 mentions a day. Our analysis found that about 77% of authors in this conversation are writers, editors, designers, creators, bloggers, and models. Together, they give voice to this customer base’s values: inclusivity and innovative style.

Meltwater’s VP of Partnerships and Product Marketing Johnny Vance, said, “The insights in The Fashion Industry’s New Era illustrate the value of social listening and analytics. Explore, Meltwater’s AI-powered social listening platform sifts through billions of data points each day and enables brands, marketers, and boardrooms to enhance decision making whilst ensuring their marketing strategies remain both forward-thinking and customer-centric.”

He added, “By leveraging this kind of market research, brands, teams, and organisations can improve their competitive positioning, ultimately enabling an agile marketing strategy addressing the real-time shifts in consumer behaviour.”

Meanwhile, Lauren Jenkins, head of the Twitter Official Partner Program, commented, “To create innovative and impactful marketing strategies, you must have a comprehensive understanding of your target audience. The Fashion Industry’s New Era report, developed in partnership with Meltwater, taps into the global fashion conversation on Twitter to identify meaningful insights and emerging trends within the industry. The insights shared within the report provide fashion marketers and advertisers with a solid foundation they can use to build out their future marketing strategies.”

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Technology Featured APAC

Meltwater ramps up APAC growth with new business wins, enhanced capabilities

Sydney, Australia – Global media intelligence and data analytics company, Meltwater, has announced several product enhancements and the addition of several new premium clients, including IKEA Australia.

Aside from IKEA, Austrade, Australia’s trade, investment, and education promotion agency, is the latest client to appoint Meltwater to replace multiple existing vendor partners. The company will be deploying Meltwater’s integrated solutions both in its Australian operations and all its global offices. It’s the most recent of Meltwater’s Australian-based multinational clients who have opted to standardise their use of Meltwater globally.

Meanwhile, as part of its ongoing commitment to invest in research and development, Meltwater has recently launched its enhanced TV & Radio (Broadcast Content) offering which includes diarised speech to text for transcripts and identification of supers/banners for TV coverage. It has also announced the introduction of facial recognition technology to further improve its platform offering. Meltwater has also confirmed that it has secured long-term deals with The Australian and Australian Financial Review to support its media monitoring capabilities. These deals coincide with a global partnership with Twitter for industry-leading access to its social data intelligence pipeline.

In addition, Meltwater has expanded its local workforce with 47 new people joining the company in Australia in the last year and three new strategic senior appointments set to lead key functions across APAC, which includes Upali Dasgupta stepping into the newly created role of marketing director based in Singapore.

David Hickey, Meltwater’s regional director, believes that the breadth of their offering combined with their exceptionally strong locally based team means that they can provide unparalleled support for the often-complex requirements of their customers both here and across the region. 

Over the past year, Meltwater has also completed the acquisition and onboarding of four insights companies with a focus on emerging areas including social media engagement and influencer marketing. These include social media intelligence company Linkfluence, influencer marketing company Klear, community-based research company Owler, and AI start-up Deepreason.ai. Meltwater also recently partnered with Hubspot on World Certification Week in a bid to support the learning and development of its local talent by joining the Great Upskilling initiative. 

Hickey said, “We have always placed a lot of importance on learning and development, it’s in our DNA and our partnership with Hubspot was in perfect alignment with our values. At Meltwater, we regularly invest in upskilling through training budgets and are further investing in our employees by hosting a yearly two-day Australian Leadership Development Summit in Sydney for the entire national team.”