Social media marketing is an essential part of any holistic digital marketing campaign, but different markets require different social media strategies.
This is because the most popular social platforms – where your audience spends their time and engages with brands like yours – differ from country to country, sometimes quite significantly!
I recently wrote the Webcertain search and social report 2024, which looks at the search and social landscapes of 57 countries around the world.
As I examined all these countries, I saw patterns emerging, with the same platforms appearing over and over again in the “top five” lists of the most popular platforms across different countries (Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp, if you were wondering).
I also noted with interest that there were various countries which bucked the trend and had their own unique social media landscapes!
In this blog post, I will share ten markets with an unexpected social media landscape in 2024. Let’s dive into it.
1. China
China stands out as having a totally unique social media landscape that looks completely different from anywhere else in the world. Most Western social platforms are blocked in China due to the country’s so-called “Great Firewall”, and a homegrown ecosystem of local alternatives has thrived in their place.
The most popular social platform in China is WeChat, with 87% of Chinese internet users saying they use the platform every month. This is followed by Douyin with 78%, QQ with 60%, Baidu Tieba with 59% and Xiaohongshu with 51%.
If you are not familiar with the Chinese market, you may never have heard of some of these platforms before, so let’s briefly go over what they are.
- WeChat is known as a “super-app” due to its huge range of functions. WeChat is so popular and so powerful that some companies do not even bother creating a Chinese website, choosing to create a company WeChat account instead.
- Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok. It is a great platform for B2C brands wanting to reach a younger Chinese audience through short-form video marketing.
- QQ is an instant messaging and social platform that is also particularly popular amongst the younger generation.
- Baidu Tieba is a content-oriented discussion forum. This platform will be of more interest to B2B brands, as it can be a great place to boost your brand awareness and showcase your thought leadership by creating high-quality, engaging content for people to read and discuss.
- Xiaohongshu (also known as Little Red Book) is a social shopping platform, where users can share social posts as well as shop for products.
When you are targeting China, make sure to completely localise your strategy to include these local platforms, taking into consideration your sector and your target audience.
2. South Korea
South Korea also stands out as having a unique social media landscape, with several local platforms making the top five.
KakaoTalk is the most popular social platform, with 87% of South Korean internet users saying they use the platform every month. This is followed by Instagram with 63%, Facebook with 42%, X (formerly known as Twitter) with 27% and KakaoStory with 26%.
If you are not familiar with the South Korean market, you may never have heard of KakaoTalk or KakaoStory before, so let’s briefly go over what they are.
- KakaoTalk is a messaging app, but it is not just a messenger app. It has a number of other features as well, the most important of which for businesses is KakaoTalk Channel. KakaoTalk Channel is a business tool created by KakaoTalk. It is used by both small and large companies as a tool to communicate and promote their services or products in South Korea. If used effectively, KakaoTalk Channel can act as a PR and sales channel for your brand in the South Korean market.
- KakaoStory is a social network where users can share photos and videos, as well as edit them using filters. Users can add friends and follow channels in order to see their updates in a newsfeed.
Display advertising is available for brands on both KakaoTalk and KakaoStory.
3. Taiwan
The most popular social platform in Taiwan is also one that you may not have heard of before.
Line is the most popular social platform, with 91% of Taiwanese internet users saying they use the platform every month. This is followed by Facebook with 85%, Instagram with 68%, Facebook Messenger with 61% and TikTok with 38%.
Line started life as an app very similar to WhatsApp – i.e. an instant communication app. It then expanded its ecosystem to include Line Pay (its mobile payments system), Line Manga (for reading manga on your mobile phone), Line Music (for music streaming), Line News (for reading the news), and many more services.
Line allows businesses to open an official account to advertise on the platform.
4. Japan
Japan is another country where Line reigns supreme.
Line is the most popular social platform in Japan, with 83% of Japanese internet users saying they use the platform every month. This is followed by X (formerly known as Twitter) with 55%, Instagram with 53%, Facebook with 24% and TikTok with 23%.
Japan is actually the birthplace of Line, and this is reflected in the fact that it is the main communication tool for many Japanese families, being popular across all generations and genders.
Another quirk of the Japanese social media space you should be aware of is that Facebook is used as a professional social network, akin to LinkedIn in other countries. You therefore need to ensure your Facebook strategy is adapted to account for this.
5. Thailand
The third and final country in the Webcertain search and social report 2024 where Line made it into the top five is Thailand.
Line is the second most popular social platform in Thailand, with 91% of Thai internet users saying they use Line every month. It is just pipped to the post by Facebook with 92%, and is followed by TikTok with 83%, Facebook Messenger with 82% and Instagram with 65%.
6. Vietnam
Vietnam is another country with its own homegrown social platform making it into the top five.
Facebook is the most popular social platform, with 90% of Vietnamese internet users saying they use the platform every month. This is followed by Zalo with 89%, TikTok with 78%, Facebook Messenger with 77% and Instagram with 48%.
In case you have not heard of the second-place platform, Zalo, let’s briefly go over what it is.
Zalo is a messaging platform that allows users to communicate via text, voice and video, as well as search for friends and brands.
Businesses can open an official account, which allows you to publish content and provide customer support via message, voice call and chatbot. There are also various advertising and e-commerce features available.
7. Hong Kong
Remember WeChat, the most popular social platform in China? It also has a presence in Hong Kong, where it is the fourth most popular social platform.
55% of Hong Kong internet users say they use WeChat every month.
8. Türkiye
In most countries in the Webcertain search and social report 2024, the most popular social platform was either Facebook or WhatsApp.
Türkiye is therefore noteworthy in that its most popular social platform is Instagram, with 92% of Turkish internet users saying they use the platform every month.
Instagram may therefore need to be given greater importance in your Turkish social media marketing strategy, compared to other countries.
9. Qatar
Qatar is another country where the most popular social platform is neither Facebook nor WhatsApp.
In Qatar, TikTok comes in at first place, with 84% of Qatari internet users being reachable through the short-form video platform.
10. Serbia
And last but certainly not least, Serbia is another country where the most popular social platform is neither Facebook nor WhatsApp.
In Serbia, Instagram comes in at first place, with 50% of Serbian internet users being reachable through the platform.
Want to learn more?
If you want more international social media marketing insights, check out the Webcertain search and social report 2024. The report covers 57 markets from all over the world, making it an ideal read for international digital marketers wanting an easy-to-digest overview of each market. Download your copy for free from Webcertain’s Self-learning platform today!
Data sources
All the stats quoted in this blog post are taken from the Webcertain search and social report 2024, which used the latest data taken at the time of writing from DataReportal.
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