LinkedIn is one of the most rapidly expanding social media platforms. In the past two years, the platform has become one of the more powerful, consistent, and pure platforms to get your video, blog post, and content seen, engaged, and discovered. LinkedIn represents a tremendous marketing opportunity for businesses in Asia.
LinkedIn grew faster than any other social platform in the last year alone, now with 303 million active monthly users. 61 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers, and 40 million hold decision-making positions. In terms of companies’ growth on LinkedIn, the increase in the number of companies has been positive for all sizes in the last five years. LinkedIn’s research also states that the platform accounts for up to half of all brand website homepage traffic. This article will narrow down and particularly look at the marketing opportunities and growth in the Southeast Asian market.
First of all, it is essential to think beyond just top hubs to unlock new opportunities. This distribution on LinkedIn resonates with the most populous urban hubs in the market. Consider that around 60% of the Southeast Asian audience on Linkedln is outside the top 10 cities.
Audience Distribution: Cities
The fastest Growing Industries in Southeast Asia are Government, Education, Retail & Consumer Goods.
- 51% of the Southeast Asia audience is employed by sectors of Professional Services, Government, Education, Software, Retail & Consumer Goods.
- On average, industries grew at least 6% on LinkedIn over the last 12 months.
Southeast Asian audience is distributed evenly among large & small businesses.
- While the majority, 61% of companies on Linkedln, are SMBs in Southeast Asia, they have a small member base per account compared to 3.0% of large enterprises, which employ similar % audiences.
- Marketers should customize their strategy & content for the unique needs of each size.
💡 Pro-Tip: When it comes to LinkedIn B2B marketing in Asia, it is recommended to take the following concepts into account while creating content for your audiences, which includes prioritizing the audience’s informational needs over sales/promotional messages and crafting content based on specific points/stages of the buyer’s journey. Remember, on average, 10 pieces of content are consumed in the consumer process.
Address the intent of your audience.
Around 1/4th of the Southeast Asian audience is involved in Operations & Education roles.
- The Southeast Asia audience over indexes towards Marketing, Education & Support roles compared to the overall world.
- Focusing on use cases relevant to these functions will further boost engagement.
💡 Pro-Tip: Create an “always-on” approach that meets your audience where they are.
Audiences who don’t know you yet need to know you better. They are seeking information.
Suggested content: Helpful, entertaining(non-promotional) content focused on the audience at large and their goals & aspirations.
- Industry Trends
- Market Perspectives
- Thought Leadership
- Community & Causes
- Events
Audiences who know you and actively seek to engage with your brand somehow.
Suggested content: Company and solution-specific information to help people understand whether and how they should connect to your brand.
- Customer stories
- Research
- Management profiles
- Company culture
- “Behind the Scenes”
Decision-makers are now distributed & democratized.
- Over 85% of decision-makers are outside the CXO suite. Marketers now should widen their reach instead of just focusing on Manager+.
- While targeting senior decision-makers, who are generally time-starved, it is essential to have relevant content which is engaging and easy to consume.
💡Pro-Tip: Here are some LinkedIn marketing content best practices in Asia that are proven to boost CTR. For instance: “Guide” performs better than “eBook”, including an audience call-out in the caption and using human visuals rather than object visuals.
LinkedIn has a more affluent user base than other top social media apps.
- LinkedIn has the #1 proportion of high earners when compared not only to top social platforms but also when compared to the national average.
💡 Pro-Tip: If your business targets high net-worth audiences, Linkedln could serve as an ideal medium to reach your potential customers, such as crypto, financial or property investment, luxury, etc.
A share of the attractive Southeast Asian audience is exclusive to LinkedIn.
- Around 7% to 26% of LinkedIn members are not available to target on the other three major social media platforms.
- LinkedIn also, in general, brings unmatched member mindset & targeting capabilities over other platforms.
Content that resonates with your audience can help boost engagement.
Here are some top content interests among Southeast Asian markets according to the latest Linkedln insights report.
| Top Member Interest | Over-indexing Topics Read |
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💡Pro-Tip: A multi-media approach is necessary to continually engage and provide members with multiple ways to engage with the same content.
LinkedIn audience exhibits a positive outlook for marketing overall in Southeast Asia.
💡 Pro-Tip: Leverage different formats for your audience’s journey stages. It is often recommended to capture audiences at the top/mid-funnel with a diverse mix of formats and case studies for the bottom of the funnel. For instance, develop one deep drive unique study to build more credibility within the industry and create diverse assets from the main content, such as reports, infographics, videos, etc.
At what stage of the buyer’s journey is each content type most effective when used for demand generation purposes? Here is an overview for you.
LinkedIn audiences look favourable toward possible travel outlook.
Audience Attitudes & Perceptions
- Over 60% of the audience show a positive attitude towards travel-related interests & above 21% feel overworked.
- Combined with higher affluence, this audience has a favourable outlook for travel in future.
LinkedIn brings a relevant, initiated & attractive audience for boosting B2C travel marketing efforts.
💡 Pro-Tip: Align the right approach for the right intent. For new audiences, you need emotional appeal to create a “hook” and clear personal benefits they can see and feel. Existing prospects and customers have already crossed that threshold, so they need rational messaging to back up the emotional choice.
In the following article, you will learn more about what LinkedIn advertising offers to companies as a marketing tool. We will also share recommendations on the optimal ad format to drive brand awareness through our case studies. Stay tuned!
