What's Driving Facebook Growth in Thailand/Asia?

Hi everyone

Great to read in this newspaper article recently that Thailand is embracing social networking - Facebook & Twitter - as much or more than anywhere in the world.

But as Jon Russell points out in this great blog, the actual impact is different from what the news article suggests.

It's the growth potential that counts. Thailand has one of the fastest growing FB markets in the world, and Twitter could have up to a million users. But we don't yet match the strength in numbers found elsewhere in Asia like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

All across Asia we're on the edge of the next big wave in social networking that's taking customers, and marketers, by storm. And there is plenty of potential growth yet in Thailand, and elsewhere in Asia.

Why? Umm...well you wouldn't really know by reading the Nation article. But the 'why' is crucial for marketers to understand how we can use this tool in our marketing, or how we shouldn't, and the future of this type of communication.

I've listed of few potential reasons I see below, but would be interested in your thoughts as well:

1) Social Networking Re-enforces a Cultural Norm: You don't have to be Einstein to realise that many Asian cultures - grounded in close-knit nuclear families with networks of friends/neighbours originating from agrarian roots of community & sharing - would naturally embrace social networks.

In fact the early adoption of social media through Friendster and Hi5 were already some of the highest in the world, Couple this with the fact that online sites offer more entertainment to poorer kids in remote areas, such as highlighted in this NYT article about youth in China, and we can see the vast potential for social networks in the region.

2) Localization Means Deeper Engagement: Another 'glocal' lesson is that until FB offered Thai language content , its growth was stifled by local players. But with more localised content, especially new applications and gaming, this switch to local languages meant FB really started to take hold.

In the bigger picture the message for marketers is important, as this excellent NYT article highlights. Social networks and other digital tools give us the power to localize, personalize and deepen our engagement in different cultures now more than ever before.

3) Gaming & Entertainment are the Key: As I've pointed out a few times before, Thailand has a massive online gaming culture with youth (research shows kids spend more time gaming online than any other Asian country) and FB has been able to tap into that with an array of popular games such as Farmville really taking hold here. As a marketer using FB Connect or other services, creating and fun & sharable experience in line with this behaviour makes a lot of sense.

4) Mobility is the Driver: As Jon Russell again points out in this blog, the future for social is clearly mobile. "Mobile is an even more significant platform for Asia, a region where mobile is the primary internet access point for many. It is estimated that Thailand’s 12 million mobile internet users will grow to 18 million this year overtaking the 16 million in the country with ‘fixed’ internet access.

Smartphones sales continue to rise in Thailand with IDC estimating 2 million will be sold in 2010, an increase of 500,000 on 2009, you can bet most of these new smartphone owners will be logging into Facebook from their mobile."

Something to watch out for is mobile social applications, such as Foursquare. This service allows you to not only connect with friends where they actually are at any given time, but combines this with gaming and point systems to reward the user. The marketing benefits in Thailand are clear, as highlighted in this local article, so get familiar with this now!

Cheers, Rob