Continuing the series on the top Facebook pages for the month of April, here are the reports from the remaining Asian countries.

India:
Pepsi is a new addition to the top 10 brands in the country. This success can be contributed to the Pepsi’s sponsorship at Cricket, Indian Premier League.

Pakistan:

Nepal:

South Korea:
Samsung continues to be top performing brand in Korea. It is interesting to see Ted Talks gaining huge popularity in Korea.

Japan:

Hong Kong:

SocialBakers has published its latest set of infographics on the Top Facebook Pages for the month of April. The report no longer shows the fan base of the market, however, we are still able to understand what the top brands and top content in the region are. Here are a selection of reports from the Asean countries.

Indonesia:
Blackberry continues to be the top Facebook brand, with a strong following of locals on its Blackberry Indonesia page. Intel Indonesia’s content was one of the top performing post for the month of April – a 3.1% engagement rate for such a large page is commendable.

Philippines:
Interesting to note that “Our Mother of Perpetual Help” page is a recent add to the top 10 pages in Philippines due to its recent spik.

Thailand:
The highlight of April in Thailand was the content produced by Pantene that garnered more than 82,000 interactions.

Malaysia:
McDonalds Malaysia continues to be the top page in the nation with the largest fan base and providing the top content.

Singapore:

LinkedIn passes 20M users in India, is second largest market behind US
TheNextWeb recently reported that LinkedIn users in India had soared to an impressive milestone of 20 million users. This makes India the second largest market on the platform, only behind the US in terms of registered users. What’s more impressive is the fact that user sign-ups on the professional networking platform has gone up by over 500 percent since November 2009, when the company opened its first office in the market. Currently, India represents half of the 40 million users in Asia Pacific, and 9 percent of its 225 million users worldwide. In other markets across the region, the user bases are comparatively small, but growing as well: there are 4 million users in Australia, 2 million in Indonesia, and 1 million in both Malaysia and the Philippines. Singapore also recently passed 1 million users as well.

There are 18M social media users in Thailand; Instagram users up 163%
According to a recent report by TechInAsia, Thailand’s social media landscape has seen rapid growth this year. Citing a new infographic by ZocialInc, the results indicated that Instagram users had increased by a staggering 163 percent in the last year, to over 600,000 users. While this figure still pales in comparison to Facebook’s 18 million, the social network’s growth also declined to a relatively sluggish rate of 28 percent in the same time period. Social media is growing healthily across other platforms as well: Line has 15 million users, while YouTube has over 5 million and Twitter has about 2 million in the market.

Emerging markets drive Facebook user growth
Facebook continues to gain users at a rapid pace, even after passing 1 billion users last year, and 1.1 billion users last month. eMarketer reports that the growth in user base is being strongly driven by emerging markets across the globe; India, Brazil, Russia, the Middle East and Africa are particularly strong markets in the recent gains for Facebook’s user base worldwide. eMarketer predicts that active users will continue to grow as well, to pass 1 billion active users at some point this year. In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America are set to contribute the most across the global user base, by growing at a rate of at least 30% during 2013. eMarketer estimates that Facebook will reach 1.26 billion global users in 2014.

WeChat now has 195M monthly active users
WeChat has continued seeing rapid growth this year. Last week, we reported that the chat app had grown to an impressive 190 million monthly active users. Without skipping a beat, it’s grown again to reach 195 million monthly active users. TechInAsia reports that the chat app has increased by about 23% since last quarter, and over 228% in a year. While WeChat’s 300 million registered accounts are predicted to breach 400 million during this month, the increase in WeChat’s monthly actives suggest that WeChat and Whatsapp are quickly becoming neck and neck for this figure (Whatsapp has 200 million monthly active users).

In the US, 90% of mom internet users are on social media
According to a recent report by eMarketer, over 90% of US moms who used the internet were also active social media users as well. Based on a comScore study from March 2013, the results suggested that moms who used social media in 2013 were up by 20% compared to those who did in 2010. The study also indicated that moms in the 18-34 age bracket were the most likely to use social media, but also the demographic that spent the most time on them. In fact, young mothers spent the most time on Facebook, even compared to the general population. While time spent on Facebook was 24 percent higher on desktop, the combined differece of desktop and mobile Facebook usage suggested that “young moms spent 260 perent more time than the average user.” US moms were also more likely to spend more time on other platforms across social media as well. 77 percent of US moms were on YouTube, compared to 61 percent of the total internet users in the country. 27 percent of US moms were on Instagram, while only 15 percent of the general internet population were using the platform.

Alibaba invests $294M in China’s top online mapping company AutoNavi
Two weeks after taking an 18 percent stake in Sina Weibo, China’s biggest e-commerce company has announced another investment of $294 million in AutoNavi. This investment will take up 28 percent shares of the company. AutoNavi is China’s top online mapping company, beating search giant Baidu and even Google Maps in terms of mobile maps market share in China. As an industry leader, AutoNavi seems to be a perfect partner for Alibaba in seeking opportunities to explore and develop new location-based e-commerce services. It is also clear that this deal will give Alibaba access to a huge pool of consumer behavior data based on location. With Alibaba’s acquisition of the social music service Xiami last year and their more recent stake in Sina Weibo and AutoNavi, Alibaba has quickly become equipped with big social data and strategic alliances to explore a new kind of e-commerce service—one that will integrate three big things: social, mobile and location. It will be interesting to see what kind of revolutionized services Alibaba will bring out to the market in the future.

In Japan, politicians leverage Line to deepen ties with supporters
The importance of mobile messaging apps is growing. Many brands already know it and try to leverage the increasing impact of mobile messaging app to engage with their consumers. Politicians in Japan are no exception to this recent trend. According to Japan-based mobile messaging app Line, ten political parties in Japan have opened official accounts on the app. This was after the ban on the use of internet-based mediums for election campaigns (including social networks and blogs) was lifted. Line provides politicians an opportunity to engage with their supporters more directly and actively, by allowing users to opt-in to receive message from political parties, as well as leave feedback and comments on their accounts. Will this impact on the way politicians in Japan communicate with public?

IGAWorks joins KakaoTalk to increase game releases and app traffic
Korea-based mobile messaging app Kakaotalk has announced a partnership with IGAWorks, the local in-Game advertisement provider. The partnership will involve integrating IGAWorks’ adPOPcorn into Kakaotalk that will provide “in-game and in-app incentivized offers, as well as pop-up adverts that link through to social and mobile media channels.” This collaboration is intended to strengthen Kakaotalk’s video game offerings—features that have contributed to distinguishing Kakaotalk from other mobile chat apps. By allowing all game developers on Kakaotalk to access adPOPcorn, Kakaotalk is looking to create a new channel of income for video game developers and publishers. The goal is to encourage more game releases which will drive more user traffic to the app. This also reflects KakaoTalk’s desire to attract more brands as well, to tap into Kakaotalk as a mobile advertising platform.

Japan’s Quan-inc partner with AIS to roll out sticker maker app “AIS myStickerShop”
Japan based mobile application maker Quan-inc has partnered with AIS, Thailand’s top mobile network operator. Quan-inc is well known for developing Lounge - a mobile messaging app with unique features of collaborative drawing and message decoration. The partnership is intended to release an app called “AIS myStickerShop”. The app allows users to create their own stickers for their mobile messaging apps. Currently, only Android users can enjoy the service. iOS users will have to wait a while for an iOS version to come out later this month. Quan Inc’s partnership with AIS could be indicative of a desire to expand their presence in Southeast Asia, as the deal with AIS may open up an opportunity to launch future apps for Singtel, Singapore’s top mobile network operator and a stakeholder in AIS.

We recently spotted this great video over at Vietnamnay‘s YouTube Channel.

They’ve remixed much of the info we shared in our recent report on Vietnam’s online ecosystem, but they’ve translated it all into Vietnamese, and they’ve added some great new stats and insights into the mix too:

We’re big fans of remixed content, so let us know if you’ve made one too, or if you spot any others you think we should feature.

WeChat now has 190M monthly active users
WeChat is a giant amongst chat apps. It has a user base of over 300 million users with projections that it will surpass 400 million in a few weeks. So it comes as no surprise that WeChat has reached 190 million monthly active users. As noted by TechInAsia, this number suggests that WeChat is closing in on Whatsapp territory, which has 200 million monthly active users according to the most recent data. On the other hand, an overwhelming majority of WeChat users are based in China, whereas Whatsapp–and even other Asian chat apps like Line–enjoy greater success on an international level. Nonetheless, WeChat has experienced growth at breakneck speeds in the last two years, an incredible accomplishment as illustrated in the graph below.

70% of brand engagement on Pinterest is user-generated
Mashable cited a recent study by Digitas and Curalate and found that 70% of brand engagement on Pinterest is generated by users as opposed to brands. The disparity between brand- and user-generated content is much larger for some industry categories. With brands in the fashion industry, for example, only 18% of content engagement comes from the brands, while 82% comes from the community. Similarly, 75% of content engagement for the automotive industry came directly from the users. By contrast, the study found that brands in the electronics industry were split more evenly, between user-driven and brand-driven engagement; while 47% of content engagement came from brands, 53% came from the community. Ultimately, these findings indicate that there is massive potential for brands to join the conversations and direct engagement on the platform.

In India, PC users watch 3.7 billion online videos per month
According to TheNextWeb, 54 million PC-based internet users in India watched videos online in March 2013. This number has increased from 32 million in March 2011, indicating a rise of 69% over the last two years. Equally significant is the growth in the total number of videos watched each month; the figures have risen from 1.8 billion in 2011 to 3.7 billion last month. It is interesting to note that the top two platforms for video consumption are social to some degree; Youtube and Google sites ranked first with 31.5 million video viewers, while Facebook came in second with 18.6 million. When it comes to the average time spent on video consumption, DailyMotion outranks Facebook’s 21.9 minutes by a significant margin, with 59.6 minutes spent on average.

Google+ has 359M users, ousts Twitter as second largest social network
A recent report by Business Insider details the recent growth of Google+. Citing new data released by GlobalWebIndex, the findings suggest that Google+ is growing at a rate that may ultimately oust Twitter as the runner-up for largest social network (with Facebook and its 1.1 billion users remaining at the helm). Google+ currently has a staggering 359 million active users. This is up by 33 percent from June 2012, when they had 269 million active users. Twitter is growing at a faster rate, however, as it experienced a 44 percent increase during same timeframe, from 206 million users to 297 million users today.

Chat app Zalo has 2M users, plans for 5M soon
While well-known Asian chat apps like WeChat have continued to gather a massive following, this trend has also been demonstrated as strong in other Asian markets. According to TechInAsia, Vietnamese chat app has passed 2 million users, and has stated plans to reach 5 million in the near future. With 10 million smartphone users in the market, 5 million seems like a lofty goal at first glance. Vietnam is currently at the threshold of rapid mobile growth, however, and given Zalo’s recent uptake in growth, 5 million may not be such a stretch after all.

[Bonus Fact] Chat app to cash cow: Line revenue is up by 92% this year
The Japanese chat app Line has recently revealed that its first quarter revenue for 2013 was 5.82 billion yen (71.1 million SGD), The company’s revenue for the fourth quarter of 2012 stood at 3.03 billion yen (37 million SGD), indicating a staggering 92% increase on Q4 2012. The results were retrieved by TheNextWeb, as shown in the graph below:

Roughly half of these earnings come from in-app payments and social gaming features–components of the chat app that have been heavily developed in recent months. In particular, Line’s gaming feature reached the milestone of 100 million downloads earlier this year. Stickers raked in 1.7 billion yen (20.8 million SGD), or about 30% of the revenue for Q1 2013. Ultimately, these numbers suggest that there is serious potential when it comes to the monetization of chat apps.

The only constant is change, and that’s all the more evident in the social media landscape.

Only recently, all that chatter was about Pinterest and Instagram; today it’s moved on to WeChat and Vine.

But beyond these platform trends, what does the future of social media look like?

That was the topic of my presentation at The Internet Show 2013 last week, where I shared We Are Social’s ‘provocations’ on the key things that will, or should, define and shape the future of our social and digital world in the months to come.

You’ll find my full presentation in the SlideShare deck embedded above, but here’s a quick summary of what our provocations are all about:

01. Simultaneous Social Transmedia Experiences (That’s a mouthful!)
The phenomenon of ‘second screen’ and the user’s ability to multitask across devices simultaneously present an opportunity for brands to create interconnected experiences, where a brand’s story is told across various mediums. The prologue could start on television through a commercial, carry the story into a digital destination, before letting the audience take ownership and contribute to the storytelling through social networks.

02. Communities vs. Platforms
The network effect has taught us that people go where their friends are and where the action is. Case in point, MySpace. They came, they left, and they’re trickling in again. Brands should create communities around their audiences’ shared passions, not around platforms. We’ve said it before, it’s about social – people and the relationships or interactions they have with others; not necessarily about the media. For MySpace, it’s rebranded itself as a community of music lovers. Just so happens it’s a platform in itself too.

03. Mobile Life vs. Mobile Phone
The devices in our pockets and our bags, which we carry about everywhere and keep by our side at all times, are the ‘most important’ medium to us. In the 50s, it was the TV. Mobile was a big topic in 2012, and similarly, if you’re not thinking about mobile as part of your bigger communications strategy, you’re missing out on capturing your audience’s attention as they’re on the go. Beyond creating mobile-optimised platforms, it’s also about understanding your audience’s mobile habits.

04. Content Tapas
Let’s admit it, not everyone can pull off a Gangnam Style, or Grumpy Cat. Everyone wants a piece of ‘viral’ action, but epic content isn’t the only way to engage people. What brands can work towards is creating ‘content snacks’ – bite-sized, easily digestible, unknowingly addictive – and leverage the window of opportunity in the moments ‘in-between’ when people can consume these while on the go. Refer to 03.

05. Commitments, not Campaigns
Many brands still use social media to run short-term campaigns in bursts and spurts. There’s a greater opportunity in forging enduring relationships with your audience through committed, consistent interactions. Like with any relationship, it could have started off with a pick up line, and sweetened with one-off celebrations throughout the year, but there is also the everyday conversations that allow you to understand each other better.

06. Socially Interactive Customer Service
People demand for and expect customer service whenever they want it. Brands can’t expect to get away with posting “Only open 9.00am – 5.00pm” on their Facebook page or Twitter account, especially when actions are dramatically amplified on social media and there’s no opening hours for that. There’s no reason why brands can’t extend their extensive CRM system online, in real-time, to cater to online customers. Brands already doing so with dedicated customer service accounts on social include Best Buy’s TwelpForce and e-retailer ASOS.

07. Social Buying
People struggle with the plethora of brands and choices available to them, and often look to reviews and friends’ recommendations for help. Social recommendations will become the key driver of referrals that brands have to facilitate, in order to leverage word-of-mouth, and peer-to-peer recommendations.

08. Social Sharing as Currency
I personally love services like ‘Pay with a Tweet’. With services such as these and bitcoin, the power to valuate what a piece of content or item is worth lies in the consumer’s hand. By incentivising social sharing, the brand gets a social stamp of approval from the consumers, which is a more credible form of endorsement.

09. Social Inside
Rather than just being a brand that does social, be a brand that is social. There’s no better way to do so than inculcating this attitude within the organisation, and facilitate collaboration via social networking. Platforms like Yammer, Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups already exist. You’ll have succeeded when your employees become ambassadors of the brand on their own social networks.

10. Crisis and Opportunity Management
Events and news spread like wildfire through social media. Apart from mapping out a comprehensive social media crisis plan, brands can do more by monitoring real-time activity to react to or assert their stand on certain current events or news. This could help reinforce the brand’s mission or association. Brands like Oreo during the Superbowl blackout, or Google setting its Person Finder page during the recent Boston Marathon incident, are examples to draw from.

Which ones do you think will be the biggest priorities? Did we miss any? We’d love to hear your thoughts – let us know in the comments.