Seoul, South Korea – As more and more K-pop groups are debuting in South Korea, social media has proved to be a driving force for these groups to be widely known by the general populace. This in turn gives the opportunity for these K-pop groups to be noticed by non-Korean fans globally, and hopefully build a global fanbase.

Such is the case for Twitter, which recently released findings of the platform usage by various K-pop groups, ranging from the so-called ‘Second-Generation’ groups such as Super Junior to Girls’ Generation to ‘Fourth-Generation’ groups such as ENHYPEN, ITZY, and Stray Kids.

The ‘Second-Generation’ groups were the first to build an online fanbase, including circles in Twitter, which is fueled by their strategic entry into other Asian markets and exploring global opportunities since 2009. Meanwhile, the ‘Third-Generation’ groups, which include BTS, BLACKPINK, TWICE, and Red Velvet expanded their global fan base through open platforms like YouTube, which gave birth to the globalization of the genre. Lastly, the ‘Fourth-Generation’ group are born from the proactive discussion of other K-pop groups globally before their official debut, fueled by online events as an alternative due to COVID-19 restrictions.

According to the data collected, K-pop stars averaged 1.2 tweets per day by second-generation stars, 3.5 tweets per day by third-generation stars, and seven tweets per day by fourth-generation stars. Fourth-generation stars also tweeted 5.8 times more than second-generation stars, and two times more than third-generation stars.

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In terms of tweeting after the debut of their respective groups, second-generation stars tweeted for the first time 1,154 days after their debut, third-generation artists tweeted for the first time 132 days after their debut, and fourth-generation artists tweeted for the first time 116 days before their debut.

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Analyzing the amount of tweets for a year following artists’ debuts reveals other differences between the generations as well. Most second and third-generation artists did not post tweets before their debut, and slowly increased their amount of tweets after their debut. However, a notable exception is BTS: BTS opened its Twitter account in December 2012, six months ahead of its debut, and actively communicated with fans globally. Currently, BTS has 36 million followers on Twitter.

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Meanwhile, Fourth-generation artists, such as ATEEZ, THE BOYZ, ENHYPEN, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and TREASURE, communicated with their fans after opening their Twitter accounts, months ahead of their respective debuts. On average, fourth-generation artists tweeted an overwhelming amount before their debuts compared to second and third-generations, with each artist uploading an average of 323 tweets, and accumulating 562,377 followers even before debuting.

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For YeonJeong Kim, head of global K-pop and K-Contents partnerships at Twitter, direct communication with global fans through Twitter has now become a success formula for K-pop artists, adding that such activity demonstrates that digital-based communication has a significant impact on growing their fandom.

“When BTS, a 3rd generation K-pop group, had intimate real-time conversations with its global ARMY, it set an example for the 4th generation to make this a feature of their engagement with fans. Fourth-generation artists like THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, GIDLE, ITZY, TREASURE, ENHYPEN, and aespa, who have been using Twitter as an active communication channel even before their debut, are advancing to the global stages faster than the previous generations,” Kim stated.

Manila, Philippines – With the celebration of Mother’s Day, Twitter Philippines has released a special report on how mothers in the country are using the platform. 

Twitter isn’t necessarily a top-of-mind platform for mothers, but data shows that the cohort has looked to Twitter as their go-to in the past year for useful content and engagement, specifically on parenting and health wellness.

Research shows that in 2020, there are over 8 million users who are mothers in the Philippines, which is a 36% increase in the past two years. About 58% of moms on Twitter are millennials, some of which are first-time moms, and are still learning the ropes of parenthood. Data shows that through Twitter, about 69% of Filipino moms are looking for content and information for learning and self-improvement.

Twitter is also used by Filipino moms for downtime and to indulge in their personal interests and passions. The film and television came out to be the top category around mom-related conversations with 20%, followed by health and wellness with 18%, music with 16%, with food and beverages at 15%, as well as finance at 10%, and shopping with 9%. 

With the internet becoming the top source of information for buying decisions, Filipino moms also don’t pass up on relying on the platform to find useful bits on the best brands and products, For example, about 66% of Filipino moms act as the main food shoppers at home, so mothers also rely on the help of fellow moms on the internet in making smarter shopping decisions. Twitter said that 79% of moms on the platform research on a product before buying it and apart from proactively researching on their own, they are also active in sharing product reviews themselves. 

Since pre-pandemic saw brands interacting with moms directly on the grocery shelves, it won’t be as effective with the ongoing lockdown. 

“Connecting to active mom audiences on Twitter might not be enough; brands must also create a space for moms on Twitter to help them embrace, nurture, and celebrate their real and unfiltered lives,” said Twitter. 

Chandan Deep, the head of emerging business at Twitter SEA, commented that Twitter is a space where moms and brands connect and deepen relationships, thanks to conversations on real-life experiences. 

“Moms found a sense of community, while brands are given the opportunity to reach moms where they are the most open to learn and hear new ideas,” said Deep.

Singapore – Twitter has recently announced the promotion of Yu Sasamoto, former country general manager for Japan and South Korea, to now assume as vice president for the unified region of Twitter Japan, South Korea, and Asia Pacific (JAPAC).

Yu’s appointment comes after the elevation of Maya Hari, former vice president and managing director of Twitter APAC, who now takes the helm as vice president of global strategy and operations.

Prior to joining Twitter, Sasamoto has held senior executive roles for various companies, including cable channel MTV Japan, technology company Microsoft Greater Asia Pacific, and restaurant search engine and review site ASKU. In his new role, Sasamoto will be responsible for Twitter’s advertising business across the JAPAC region, including Australia, Greater China, Japan, India, and New Zealand, as well as the whole Southeast Asia, and South Korea. 

Sasamoto will move to Twitter’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore for the expanded regional role, and will continue to serve as the general manager of Twitter Japan, as well as the head of Twitter Client Solutions in Japan until the platform finds his successor.

Meanwhile, Hari brings with her over 15 years of experience in the digital media, mobile, and e-commerce industries across the US and APAC. She has previously worked for brands such as Samsung, Google, and Microsoft, as well as Cisco. In her new role, Hari will be responsible for leading a global team focused on customers and revenue product strategy, operations, innovation, and automation to enable commercial and content partnerships efforts around the world. 

Hari will continue to be based in Singapore and her global appointment aligns with the company’s overall belief that having more leaders and employees living and working in places that are representative of all perspectives and cultures will help Twitter be a better service and company.

Commenting on his promotion, Sasamoto said that he is thrilled and honored to be tasked with leading the powerhouse that is the new unified JAPAC region for Twitter, and working closely with world-class talents across the region. 

“Not only does Asia boast a rich, diverse culture and society, it also breathes innovation and vibrancy – and being at Twitter means we get to be on the pulse of everything that’s happening. I’m looking forward to bringing more people, communities, brands, and partners to Twitter as we build on the incredible business momentum from Maya’s leadership across the region,” said Sasamoto.

Meanwhile, Hari shared that they are delighted that Sasamoto will be stepping into the expanded role, as it is a testament to everything he has achieved at Twitter to date, leading Japan to become among the largest revenue markets globally. 

“In my new role, I am excited to work with him and our other international leaders to grow our businesses around the world and find new opportunities for Twitter to serve the global public conversation,” said Hari.

Manila, Philippines – In the mid of the COVID-19 pandemic, food has been a frequent topic that sparks hearty discussions for Filipinos on Twitter, expressing their love for food and channeling their inner chefs, as seen on the #DalgonaCoffee, #UbeCheesePandesal, and other food trends that happened during the lockdown.

According to Twitter, just in 2020 alone, there were over 7 million food and drink mentions in the Philippines, which proves that moments with food or just the thought of food alone invites people to share and tweet about it. Out of all the consumer-packaged goods in the market, food is the most talked about on Twitter in 2020 with 57%, followed by drinks with 20%, alcohol with 9%, and beauty with 7%. Food became a conversation starter and an expression of care and concern. In addition, most of the conversations about food at home are on ‘ulam’, which means ‘dish’ in the Filipino Language.

Chandan Deep, the head of emerging business at Twitter SEA, said that conversations on food are highly welcome because people are very passionate about it and they actively engage in these discussions, which is why the buzz keeps on growing. 

“In fact, food conversations on Twitter increased in 2020 as more foodies became active in sharing their activities or thoughts related to food. These observations are vital because they help us understand how food conversations evolved during the pandemic. Knowing what’s happening around this community, from how or where to find them, is also helpful for brands as they navigate and make relevant campaigns moving forward,” added Deep.

Twitter has also recorded other insights on Filipino foodies on the platform such as the popularity of home-cooked meals which came about during the lockdown period. About 50% of Filipinos on Twitter shared that they spent more time cooking at home, and more than 1/2 of Filipinos on Twitter are searching the platform for products to buy. 

Filipino users were also found to tweet before eating, which presents a marketing opportunity for food brands to promote their products, as 50% of Filipinos discover new brands through the platform. Meanwhile, another popular topic on the app is food for special occasions. Many Filipinos order food from their favorite restaurants or newfound local shops during special days and tweet about it.

With this, Twitter believes that food and beverage brands must consistently share their stories, and create strategies to launch campaigns and connect through different ways, be it through graphics, videos, or something experimental and new such as Fleets, a new way to post content on Twitter that will disappear after 24 hours.

Seoul, South Korea – Twitter’s #FanTweets, the platform’s exclusive fan engagement feature is venturing into K-pop, starting with BLACKPINK member ROSÉ, where fans can now engage with the artist herself through BLACKPINK’s official Twitter account

#FanTweets are a custom type of exclusive content on Twitter, where celebrities record their responses to real Tweets from fans. #FanTweets help to bring fans closer to their favorite artists and give them a chance to hear straight from the artists themselves. Also, witty, vibrant, and authentic tweets from fans will provide a different fun experience unique to #FanTweets.

Through #FanTweets, ROSÉ can reply to fan’s tweets about her new album, stage performances, life, and her dog ‘HANK’.

This comes after ROSÉ released her debut solo album ‘R’ last 12 March 2021, in which it entered the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut single ‘On the Ground’ also debuted and peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.

“#FanTweets offer another way for fans to hear directly from their favorite K-pop artists. With #FanTweets, BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ shared new sides to her, as well as more stories for her fans to cherish. Twitter will offer more fan-driven exclusive content to enable fans to connect with their favorite artists and to drive conversations about #KpopTwitter and various K-content,” said YeonJeong Kim, head of global K-pop partnerships at Twitter.

Some of the celebrities who have engaged through #FanTweets include Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović and English singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson, known to be part of the English boy band One Direction.

SEA – In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), Twitter has announced its new #SheInspiresMe campaign across Southeast Asia, which aims to highlight women’s inspiring voices on the social media platform, featuring leaders in business to entrepreneurs, mothers, daughters, partners, and friends.

The #SheInspiresMe campaign has partnered with more than 40 creators from different countries in the SEA region, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. 

The said creators will make a personal #SheInspiresMe video tweet in which they share about the women that inspire them, and why, and will be tagging three other people to spread the campaign across the platform. This series of videos will be tweeted from 8 to 19 March on Twitter. 

There will be 40 creators across the SEA region. Participants from Indonesia include Cheryl Tanzil (@CherylTanzil), Febriana Firdaus (@febrofirdaus), as well as Laily Fitry (@MahameruLee), among others. 

From the Philippines, Catriona Gray (@catrionaelisa), Dr. Gia Sison (@giasison), Inka Magnaye (@inkamagnaye), and Joyce Pring (@joycepring), and many more will also participate in the campaign.

Meanwhile, participants from Singapore include Cheryl Allison (@cherzinga), Preeti Nair (@plspreeti) as well as female communities and organizations like AWARE Singapore (@awarenews), among others.

And finally, joining the campaign from Thailand are Amanda Chalisa Obdam (@amanda_obdam), Danupha Kanateerakul (@millimdk), and 4EVE (@4eveOfficial), among others.

Users are also invited to join in Twitter’s #SheInspiresMe campaign by simply creating a video tweet of up to 2:20 minutes in length, sharing positive stories about inspiring women with the hashtag #SheInspiresMe. Participants should also tag three other app users and Twitter’s official accounts – @TwitterID, @TwitterPH, @TwitterSG, and @TwitterThailand.

Furthermore, Twitter has launched a special emoji to celebrate IWD, which will be available throughout the month of March. The emoji is actuated when people tweet with the hashtags #InternationalWomensDay, #WomensDay, #WeAreWomen, #ActForEqual, #IWD2021, #IWD, and #GenerationEquality.

Singapore – As chief executives of their respective firms, CEOs are sure mentioned and displayed a lot on online media, and this year, DBS Bank’s Piyush Gupta emerged as the most visible CEO in local digital media in Singapore, according to a report by market intelligence firm CARMA ASIA. 

Gupta had the largest volume of online articles that mentioned him, amounting to 90 articles from the period of May to October this year. CEOs’ visibility, or frequency of mentions, was studied on both mainstream media – which are local online publications such as The Straits Times, The Business Times, and The New Paper – as well as on social media, particularly Twitter mentions.

Gupta retains the crown, being hailed in the same rank last year. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines’ Goh Choon Phong received the highest social media engagement with 999 mentions. 

According to the report, Gupta outperformed other CEOs due to his frequent communication around DBS’ efforts to navigate the COVID-19 crisis. 

The report also looked into how ‘favorable’ the visibility of CEOs are on media, and for this strand, Wilmar International’s CEO Kuok Khoon Hong took the reigns.

Favorability was measured via an article’s disposition, such as whether a company appears in the headline, the tone of the sources inside the article, and the sentiment of the journalist and the media outlet. Meanwhile, the mood of Twitter mentions was determined via the tone of the messages as well as the type of emojis and GIFs placed.  

The report said Hong’s favorability in the media emanated from the depiction of Hong as resilient, financially sound, and supportive towards the community by giving away the company’s largest-ever S$7m donation as well as the firm’s acknowledgment that the business had continued to record positive performance in 2020.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines’ CEO Goh Choon Phong was commended for being the first to publicly address the news surrounding SIA including staff layoffs and pay cuts, as well as their rapid response to the backlash following new initiatives such as the ‘Flight To Nowhere.’ 

OCBC’s Samuel Tsien, Singtel’s Chua Sock Koong, UOB’s Wee Ee Cheong were also among the most visible CEOs with a total of 60, 40, and 22 articles respectively. These were due to their prompt responses to the COVID-19 crisis, assurance of the companies’ financial positions, and introduction of digital transformation initiatives to ensure their companies are able to weather the COVID storm.

CARMA ASIA’s Managing Director Andrew Nicholls spoke about the importance of CEOs being vocal in a time of crisis.

“In a period that has shaken confidence, the pressure on CEOs to provide guidance and reassurance to shareholders, employees, and customers has intensified.”