Instagram and Pinterest gain popularity in Asia by leaps and bounds: Experian

The study, which measured the growth of Instagram and Pinterest between July 2011 and July 2012 in terms of their share of all visits to all sites by country, found that Instagram’s popularity surged by 8,121 per cent in Singapore, 843 per cent in New Zealand, 362 per cent in Australia and 132 per cent in Hong Kong.

It’s fortunate for Facebook that the FTC has recently approved its acquisition of Instagram as according to the report, Facebook is the biggest driver of traffic to Instagram in North America, Brazil and Australia. In Singapore however, 42 per cent of all visits to Instagram are from Twitter, followed by 22 per cent from Facebook.

After leaving Instagram, Hong Kongers, Americans and Brazilians are most likely to head back to Facebook, while Singaporeans will go on to Twitter and Twitpic. Interestingly, visits to shopping sites from Instagram have almost doubled in the first half of 2012, compared with 2011 (from about 3 per cent to nearly 6 per cent).

Pinterest experienced its top surge of popularity in Hong Kong, where it shot up by 2,373 per cent, followed by Australia with 798 per cent, New Zealand with 643 per cent and Singapore with 623 per cent.

In the US, it surged by 5,124 per cent to become the fourth-biggest social network used by Americans. Singaporeans spend an average of 23 minutes on Pinterest and are likely to be directed there from Facebook.

The success of these two niche social networks, said John Merakovsky, managing director at Experian Marketing Service for Asia Pacific, is that the networks haven’t tried to ‘be another Facebook’. “Instead they both identified a gap in the market and used the scale of Facebook to reach consumers,” he observed.

“These popular social networks are also image-based, which people love,” Merakovsky told Campaign Asia-Pacific. The use of pictures, rather than words, to drive the message is ideal for marketers looking to engage consumers, he added.

To leverage niche social networks, brands should gravitate toward the networks relevant to their industry, Merakovsky advised. “ For example, a food company or a retailer can use Pinterest to promote products in a visually appealing way.”

Marketers can also leverage these networks to gain a better understanding of online consumer behavior, and, by understanding which websites they have come from and where they have gone, make changes to their business strategies to acquire, retain and make relevant engagement to build customer relationships, he said.

In an earlier article on Campaign, digital experts advised a "build it and they will come" approach to Pinterest. 

Other social networks that brands should keep an eye on due to their dramatic growth in Asia-Pacific are Reddit, which grew 177 per cent in Australia and 107 per cent in New Zealand; and Steam Community, a social gaming site, which grew 124 per cent in Singapore over the past year.