Brands in APAC quiet on #BlackLivesMatter posts

Media outlets have shared nearly 900 posts across Asia-Pacific related to #BlackLivesMatter since the tragic death of George Floyd in May, but brands remain much quieter versus other regions, according to data shared by Socialbakers.

The social media marketing company pulled geographical data for posts using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag between May 13 and June 21 across major platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and broke this down into brand and media posts.

The insights, solicited by Campaign Asia-Pacfic, show that media coverage of the movement is, unsurprisingly, highest in the US where it first swelled up following the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. Interestingly, in the US, there is a higher volume of brands posting about #BlackLivesMatter than there are media outlets—showing that brands have been quick to support the cause.

That dynamic reverses in Asia-Pacific, with only 164 posts shared by brands using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in the past month. This is less than half the volume of brand posts shared in the UK, a much smaller market. It also shows that despite awareness being high in Asia-Pacific, with a large volume of media posts about #BlackLivesMatter, brands remain unwilling to take a stand.

Notable brands that have shared posts related to #BlackLivesMatter in APAC include Kmart, Patagonia and Lush—all shared out of Australia and New Zealand. Other brands in the list include small swimwear or fashion labels. Major multinationals are noticeably absent.

The top three most engaging posts shared by brands in APAC are from PrincessPolly.com, which has has so far accumulated 19,300 interactions, Urban Monkey with 13,800 interactions and Zimmermann with 12,300 interactions. 

Within the same time frame, media outlets in APAC posted 887 posts, with the most engaging post coming from Instagram page Brut India with 48,900 interactions. The second and third most engaged posts are on Facebook from The Standard with 47,200 total interactions and TBS news with 46,300 interactions.