This year’s Digital 2021 Report for Thailand provides essential guidance for brands looking to maximize their online marketing efforts in this rapidly changing environment. Published by Hootsuite and We Are Social, the report tracks major changes within people’s everyday internet habits – including social media use, embrace of e-commerce, and more.
Our web agency in Bangkok has taken the following data directly from the Digital 2021 Report. We then bring this article – and the entire series – to a conclusion, with actionable analysis for businesses moving forward.
Thailand: By the numbers
Mobile phones have taken a central position in Thai society. The country’s 90.66 million active mobile phone connections is equivalent to 129.7% of the total population. Mobile phones are also Thailand’s dominant method of connecting to the internet, with each user aged 16 to 64 on mobile internet for an average of 5h07m per day.
Even when we ignore dedicated apps, and consider only the narrow category of web pages loaded by web browsers, we find that mobile phones are responsible for 60.2% of the total web traffic in the country. Marketing managers would be wise to consider these statistics when making design and layout decisions for their brand content.
Of course, devices are not the only important variable involved in marketing strategy. We must also consider what people are doing online, and the Digital 2021 Report breaks down the numbers with admirable clarity:
The daily social media average in the above infographic (2h48m per person per day) is particularly interesting. There are now 55 million social media users in Thailand, an increase of 3.0 million (+5.8%) from a year ago. This total number of users is equivalent to 78.7% of the total population of the country.
The influence of social media on Thai society is remarkable; the average internet user aged 16-64 has ten social media accounts across all platforms. With this same population, more than 90% actively use YouTube and Facebook, 86.2% use LINE, 54.8% use TikTok, and 64.2% use Instagram.
Even the lower numbers have important statistical significance. Thailand’s LinkedIn numbers total just 3.2 million. Although at first glance, one might interpret these numbers to mean that LinkedIn is a less valuable platform within Thailand, the opposite may in fact be true. Lower user numbers likely mean that the people on LinkedIn are the ones who truly belong there, and are well worth reaching. LinkedIn marketing may well give brands the ability to more precisely target their intended audiences, using quality rather than quantity as a goal.
Looking closer at people’s activities online, we see a striking pattern with regard to video content:
These are impressive numbers, and it is noteworthy that most of the above categories either include or rely on video formats. Video has become a very important medium for brands looking to connect with their audiences – and as the data below suggests, now is likely the best time ever to get onboard:
Download speeds affect video more than any other kind of content, and these major increases make video a more attractive medium than ever before. By partnering with the right web agency in Bangkok, you can put custom-made, professionally produced video well within reach – letting you speak to your customers directly in their own preferred format.
The above statistics, of course, become truly meaningful when they impact sales. And statistics on e-commerce in Thailand are encouraging indeed:
Perhaps even more remarkable than the high numbers above is the fact that older users have joined their younger counterparts by fully embracing the online shopping experience. A full 71.7% of internet users aged 55-64 reported that they had ‘purchased a product online in the past month’.
An industry breakdown follows:
All of the above categories saw gains of over 20% compared to the previous year – except for the first category, which fell 43.4% due to pandemic-related restrictions. These growing numbers indicate that online shopping in Thailand is very much here to stay, and businesses that invest wisely in this area stand to gain a sizeable piece of a growing market.
Turning insight into action
The Digital 2021 Report for Thailand provides a valuable look at current data and trends for the country’s massive online community. Its findings lead to clear paths forward for brands looking to make the most out of their 2021 marketing efforts. These include:
- Optimizing content (including webpages) for the mobile experience
- Publishing useful content across a variety of social media platforms
- Crafting communications that will appear to all age groups, including older demographics
- Incorporating professional video into marketing campaigns
- Investing in a high-quality e-commerce system to facilitate online purchases
Our web agency in Bangkok can help with any or all of these services, and a host of others. If you’d like to improve your digital marketing communications in 2021, contact us today.
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