Nowadays, social media platforms have changed the way many things work. People’s interactions with one another, how businesses do business, and how ad expenditures are spent have all changed as a result of social media. As social media platforms gained tremendous momentum in the 21st century, can you guess which platform is the most widely used in Malaysia? The answer is Facebook. Facebook has been around longer than most of the other social media platforms, yet can still remain as the winner. Let us take a look at the top 5 social media platforms by total users in Malaysia, which is demonstrated below.

Number of Facebook users in Malaysia

Facebook has unquestionably become one of Malaysia’s most widely used social networking sites. The number of Facebook users in Malaysia is increasing year after year, owing to the ongoing growth of interest in Facebook among social media users. According to figures from 2020, significantly more men than women utilised Facebook, with those aged 25 to 34 being the most common age group.

You can check for the potential audience reach by launching Facebook Ads Manager, set the audience open to all genders and age ranges in Malaysia and then edit placements to Facebook only. There are 27 million Facebook users in Malaysia as of March 2021 and this figure is only going to grow in the future.

Malaysians use Facebook to communicate with their family, friends, and favourite brands. In Malaysia, adverts on social media are the most popular means of brand discovery, making this ideal demographic for most firms particularly receptive to social media advertisements. When marketing to Malaysian Facebook users, it is best to employ a mobile-first approach as most Malaysians access Facebook via smartphones.

Number of YouTube users in Malaysia

There are no publicly available statistics, however according to Google internal data, there are 20 million YouTube users in Malaysia as of February 2018. That is why YouTube is positioned as the #1 TV channel in Malaysia.

According to Cisco, in 2022, online video will account for nearly 79 percent of global internet traffic. More than a third of mobile internet traffic was attributed to YouTube. When compared to other social media sites, YouTube has the highest penetration in Malaysia. The most popular categories on this channel are those relating to entertainment, with phrases like ‘Movie’ and ‘Lagu’ (which means ‘song’ in Malay) ranking first and second, respectively.

It is forecasted that the potential YouTube ad Malaysian audience reach in Malaysia is almost 24 million. Given the widespread use of YouTube in Malaysia and the importance of local content to this audience, marketers seeking to appeal to the Malaysian market should seriously evaluate and implement a localised content strategy.

Number of Instagram users in Malaysia

As Facebook owns Instagram, the social media giant has reported that potential audience that can be reached through Instagram is 14 million as of January 2021. This figure is almost a 60% increase from the 6.5M users announced by Facebook 2 years ago back in 2016. Did you know that Malaysian social media users tend to be the younger generation?

Brands should build an efficient Instagram marketing plan if they want to advertise to a younger female demographic (aged 18-34) in Malaysia. Having a strong balance of localised and interesting content, utilising influencers, and this audience’s receptivity to paid media are all important factors to consider.

Number of LinkedIn users in Malaysia

According to a study conducted earlier this year, 9.5% of our population (2.75 million) uses LinkedIn, with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia being the top three Southeast Asian countries in this regard. If we set the target location to Malaysia and open everything else in LinkedIn Campaign Manager, we can verify this number. Malaysia has 4.4 million LinkedIn users.

LinkedIn is widely used by Malaysians as their clean interface and simple-to-use platform proves to be suitable for both jobseekers and employers alike.

Number of Twitter users in Malaysia

Statista provided the annual growth chart for Twitter users displayed above. When compared to the other social media networks listed above, it appears to be sluggish and steady. In Malaysia, Statista estimates that there are 2.4 million Twitter users in 2019.

Furthermore, Twitter’s rapid growth and appeal among young Malaysians, combined with the rising trend of video engagement in Malaysia, make Twitter a platform that businesses should contemplate and incorporate into their social media strategy, particularly if they want to reach out to Malaysia’s younger demographics.

Reasons why Facebook is the most popular platform

With the launch of its Messenger app in 2011, Facebook’s rapid growth has been fueled by mobile apps. Messenger is expected to have 2.77 billion monthly users by 2020. Rather than compete with WhatsApp on the mobile market, Facebook bought the company in 2014 for $19 billion, bringing another one billion users into the fold.

Smartphone users will spend an average of 4.2 hours a day on their phones by 2020. On the average smartphone, there are over 40 apps, with 18 of them accounting for 89 percent of daily usage.This is not surprising as many functions can be fulfilled through smartphones.Facebook is the most popular social networking platform worldwide, and its adaptability makes it a go-to for almost anything. However, Facebook is particularly useful for the following:

1) Local Marketing

Did you know that, alongside Google My Business, Facebook is one of the most popular local business directories? This should come as no surprise when you consider what a Facebook company page includes. Among them are:

– Price range, description, and category

– Information about the company, its hours of operation, and photographs are available upon
   request.

– Reviews, instant messaging, and a call-to-action button

60% of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once a week, so market it and use it to establish relationships, keep customers informed, and interact with your community. If your services are great, the customers may come again as repeat customers or even market your brand for you to their acquaintances.

2) Advertising

While your business page is a popular site for individuals who are already familiar with your company, Facebook isn’t the best place for organically reaching new audiences. In fact, it has a 2.2 percent organic reach (compared to Instagram at 9.4 percent).

Facebook, on the other hand, is tied with Google as the most popular digital advertising platform due to its size and targeting capabilities. Facebook advertising have the biggest reach of any social media network, reaching up to 36.7 percent of the adult population (Twitter is the lowest, at 6.5 percent). It is no wonder that giant businesses are willing to spend so much money just on advertising on Facebook as it is proven to reward them in terms of sales.

3) Links & Photos

This is a fascinating find. According to Statista, the most popular types of branded posts on Facebook are photographs and links (videos and status updates pale in comparison). However, this is based on the quantity of posts rather than the engagement of those posts. Links and photographs are an excellent bet because they’re what people anticipate, but they’re also the most common because they’re the easiest to make. As a result, publishing films can help you get a competitive advantage.

4) Community and relationship building

Don’t be put off by Facebook’s poor organic reach when it comes to engaging with your audience. People frequently visit a business’s Facebook page for announcements, store closings, sales, and other recent information. Your clients and close followers will know to visit your page frequently if you use it this way, and you won’t have to worry as much about showing up in their feeds. You can then tailor your articles to the high-quality visitors coming to your page, generating discussions and responding to specific comments, promoting direct messaging, and more.

The most popular industries on Facebook

Facebook can be used for any industry or business, but according to the research, the industries with the best conversion rates for ads are:

-Aesthetics and fitness

-Jobs and education

-Career and job training

The bottom line

Facebook is the most popular social media site because it appeals to a large range of individuals and incorporates a variety of media elements, such as images, messenger, and text. It isn’t as restricted as other social platforms, which are geared toward a specific demographic.

Because of its widespread popularity, Facebook has garnered a sizable user base, which correlates to ad revenue, since businesses prefer to spend their ad expenditures on platforms with the highest viewership, and with so many monthly active users, it’s difficult to beat Facebook.

Here is a quick recap on why Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Malaysia:

• Local Marketing
• Advertising
• Links & Photos
• Community and relationship building

Now that you know why Facebook is so widespread, you can take these into account when you decide to do marketing here. Be sure to incorporate great and tested social media strategies when doing so.