IM getting more popular among Thais

Based on a study of more than 60,000 Internet users worldwide, TNS’s Connected Life unit found that 55 per cent used IM every day, while 76 per cent used it on a weekly basis.

Daily IM users proliferated across much of the Asia-Pacific region, with 77 per cent of those in Malaysia, 74 per cent in Thailand, 73 per cent in Hong Kong and 69 per cent in mainland China using an IM platform every day. By contrast, some Western markets lagged behind, including Britain (39 per cent) and the United States (35 per cent). 

Arpapat Boonrod, managing director of TNS in Thailand, said IM was particularly dominant in emerging “mobile-first” markets. 

“The popularity of IM has soared in Thailand over the past year, with a 40-percentage-point [increase] in daily usage, from 34 per cent in last year to 74 per cent of Thai people now using instant messaging every day. Line and Facebook Messenger are the most popular instant-messaging platforms in Thailand, with 79 per cent and 48 per cent respectively using them daily,” she said.

The study found that consumers were even more connected to one another, and across multiple platforms. While IM popularity was rising, traditional social-media platforms were still holding strong, allowing content to go viral more quickly. The challenge for brands is to create content that consumers actually want to share.

Joseph Webb, global director of Connected Life at TNS Global, said that as people’s online habits became ever more fragmented, brands needed to tap into the growing popularity of IM and other emerging platforms. The need for a content-driven approach across IM, social and traditional channels had never been clearer.

“Now it’s about moving from a broadcast to a content-creation model that gets people talking and sharing across different platforms,” he said.