Top Social Media Sites in Malaysia [2023]

Social Media in Malaysia – Which Platform You Should Consider?

In these digital eras, where most of us are always on social media, social media become the most effective platform for businesses to find potential leads and convert them.

Choosing the right social media sites for your social media marketing is an effective way to reach your targeted customers by providing them with the latest & trending, relevant, and interesting information which could provide them value through insights. This will helps to create an audience and increase potential leads towards the end of the funnel, conversion.

Effective ways of reaching out to new audiences and getting them to convert as followers/potential leads:

1. Call to Action on your website, Eg: To subscribe to your newsletter by providing free tutorials/ebooks. Add them to your mailing list and potentially for email marketing in the future for your product & services.

2. Hosting online webinars to reach out to new audiences and engage with them through useful insights.

3. The concept of a viral marketing campaign has become so ubiquitous that marketers have become adept at the ability to capitalize on and exploit the power of social media. Eg: Pizza Hut Malaysia send out lovely pizza to other fast-food chain competitors in Malaysia such as McDonald’s & KFC, to share their love on Valentine’s Day.

Here is the list of top social media sites in Malaysia that you should focus on for your business:

1. Facebook

2. Instagram

3. Tiktok

4. Youtube

5. Twitter

6. Pinterest

7. Red Little Book – Xiao Hong Shu

8. Twitch

 

Facebook Malaysia

Facebook in Malaysia consists of 22.7 million users in 2019 as for global, and 1.69 billion across the globe according to statista. The reason why Facebook is the most popular social media site for business is the following reasons:

1. Facebook is the largest and most used social network in the world.

2. The platform provides you with a platform to share content with your audience, and reach them with your message.

3. Facebook has the largest mobile audience, with 97.4% of its users using the app.

4. Facebook offers businesses the opportunity to interact directly with customers and potential clients.

5. You can create interactive live videos and use the Messenger platform to interact with customers directly.

Facebook also offers a range of other business tools, such as Facebook Ads, which can be used to advertise your business, and a Facebook Business Manager, which can help manage your business operations.

It is known to be the most effective platform to promote your business, especially if your business is in the field of B2C and digital marketing. Facebook has already become a significant platform for advertisement, especially in the fields of entertainment, fashion, business, and so on.

Therefore it is a no-brainer why Facebook ads or Meta Business Ads are the most popular advertising platforms for social media.

Let’s talk about how Facebook ads work.

Facebook ad system helps you to build new audiences by putting your ads to relevant/targeted consumer that Facebook algorithm work by categories such as location, interest, age group, gender and etc. Businesses have to pay the amount according to their selection of targeted niche to be more effective in terms of reaching out to new leads.

So here are some simple steps for using Facebook ads,

Step 1. Identify targeted audiences based on your business niche, audiences, location, etc.

Step 2. Businesses can choose to opt-in with the current audience or just target new leads for their ads promotion.

Step 3. Start your campaign and manage under Facebook Adverts Manager or access through your Facebook page.

If you want to accelerate your business but limited time to focus on managing your business page, social media agencies provide such services to help and increase your brand awareness on the social media platforms,

 

Instagram Malaysia

TikTok Malaysia

The fastest growing social media platform that came from China, is Tik Tok which is a short clip-sharing platform. The platform’s huge popularity had helped it to surpass the total download of famous day-to-day messenger, Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, and more. It has about 500 million users in 2019 according to Oberlo, not just normal day-to-day users, more influencers and artists are joining the platform to engage with their followers which is why brands should come in. Therefore, how is this helping businesses?

When it comes to social media marketing, Tik Tok is the most popular social media app that people use worldwide. The reason for its popularity is because of the fun and interactive videos that are posted daily. The videos are very short, ranging between 60 seconds to 2 minutes.

TikTok is a mobile app that allows users to create, share, and view videos. Users can add music, images, and texts to their videos. Furthermore, users can also add filters to their videos. Users can also share their videos on their profile and on the Tik Tok website.

TikTok has a community of over 1 billion users. Some of the users are businesses that are involved in creating content for the platform. One example is that the platform has been used for a wedding campaign in Australia where the couple uploaded a video on the Tik Tok platform before tying the knot.

TikTok has been used by many businesses as an advertising platform. One of the biggest companies that use this platform is the American fast food chain, Mcdonald’s. In the year 2017, the company launched a Tik Tok campaign with a song called “Happy Meal”. The campaign was aimed at promoting the Happy Meal that Mcdonald’s offers.

How to Set up TikTok ads?

Step 1. Sign Up a New Profile and Start Paying Ads

Step 2. A few different kinds of ads on Tik Tok depend on the Country,

a. Pre-roll ads where video start after users open the app.

b. In-feed ads where the video appears on the user feed when looking through.

c. Hashtag ads where promoting hashtags challenges that prompt users to submit a video using that hashtag.

d. Branded filter which allows brands to use a custom filter with brand information to use in the video.

 

Youtube Malaysia

Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google. The adoption of youtube to search for educational videos increased since the pandemic time, and it is growing stronger as more content creators join the platform. As for businesses, youtube is the first choice of many entrepreneurs and business owners.

It has become the first choice of the internet user for entertainment, music, and video. It provides a platform for its users to upload and view their videos. It has millions of videos uploaded every day. This makes it a very popular platform for businesses to advertise their products and services.

With the high number of visitors and viewers, businesses have to be creative to make their presence known on the platform. One of the best ways is by creating youtube channels. It allows the business to connect with its audience. It is a good way to build customer loyalty and increase sales.

Let’s dive into How To Set Up Youtube Ads,

Youtube ads are really simple to set up. In fact, the process is so simple that people often feel overwhelmed by the task. If you’re ready to set up your first ad, this guide should get you started.

Step 1. To begin, you’ll need to create an AdWords account. This is a free service provided by Google, which allows advertisers to target certain types of users or keywords.

Step 2. Once you’ve created an AdWords account, you’ll need to choose your ads. You can choose between different types of ads, like standard text or image ads, or you can select to advertise on a video.

Step 3. In order to set up an ad on a video, you’ll need to upload a YouTube video to your account. When you upload the video, you can set a price for the ad, and choose a location for where it will show.

Step 4. You’ll be able to set up an ad on a video for about $2 per thousand views.

There are many different types of Youtube ads that you can use to advertise your business, such as:

a. Video Ads

b. Text Advertisements

c. Image Ads

d. Text Links

e. Promoted Videos

f. Promoted Links

g. Sponsored Content

h. Call to Action Videos

You can use these different types of ads to target specific audiences or to get people to come to your site.

 

Twitter Malaysia

Twitter is another popular social media site in Malaysia, especially for news updates and more. So how does this help your business by using Twitter?  Twitter is a microblogging website that allows users to create short 140-character posts called tweets. These can be any message, links, images, videos, etc. It is a very popular social networking website in Malaysia.

You can use Twitter to promote your business, products, and services. You can also connect with people who share your interests. It is a great way to get more exposure and reach out to your target audience.

Let’s take a look at how Twitter can help your business:

• Builds Relationships

Twitter is a great place to build relationships with prospects. It is a quick, easy way to build trust and credibility with your audience. You can talk to people in real time and share your thoughts and opinions on current events, topics, and products.

• Communicates Your Message

Tweeting is a great way to communicate your message to your followers. You can use Twitter to keep them up to date with what’s happening in the world, what you’re doing, and what you’re thinking about.

• Promotes Your Business

You can use Twitter to promote your business. You can retweet news items, share links, and advertise your products and services.

• Monetizes Content

If you have a blog, you can monetize your content by selling advertising or affiliate products. You can also sell your own products and services through your Twitter account.

• Engages Audience

The best thing about Twitter is that it engages your audience. People follow you and your tweets because they are interested in what you have to say.

Let’s Dive into How To Run Twitter Ads,

Step 1. Make sure you’re logged in to Twitter.

Step 2. Go to your Ads tab.

Step 3. Click on the “Create New Campaign” button.

Step 4. Enter a name for your campaign.

Step 5. Choose the type of campaign you want to run similar to most targeting – sales, awareness, leads and etc.

Step 6. Specify your campaign budgets.

Step 7. Choose a location that you want to target.

8. Targeting & Choosing the right keywords that are relevant to your business!

9. Voila – Your campaign is ready to Go!

 

Pinterest Malaysia

Pinterest is a social media site that is similar to others in a certain way like photo sharing and so on, however, its unique selling point is more towards its mood board feature, which allows users to create boards that consist of pictures and text, and pins images to it. It is one of the most popular social media platforms used in Malaysia, with over 2.3 million active users. It is a great platform to use to promote your business or products to potential customers, especially for interior design, renovation, graphic design, and more industries. Some might not really be into Pinterest, but here is a simple get-started guide for Pinterest.

Here’s how to get started with Pinterest:

Step 1. Create an account & select categories you would like to explore more.

Step 2. Next, you’ll want to find something to pin. There are tons of amazing things to pin on Pinterest.

Step 3. Once you’ve found something you want to pin, add it to your board.

Step 4. Next, start pinning. When you’re done pinning, you’ll see your pins in your feed.

Step 5. Finally, share your pins with your friends, family, and followers.

You can always take advantage of Pinterest’s “Pin It” button to save images you find online, and then you can use those images for inspiration on Pinterest.

Let’s Dive into Setting up Pinterest Ads,

Step 1: Create a Pinterest Account.

Step 2: Create a Board

Step 3: Create a Pin

Step 4: Pin Your Content

Step 5: Promote Your Ad

Step 6: Optimize Your Ad

Step 7: Promote Your Ad – Voila Pinterest ads started!

There are lots of options for you to optimize your ads through various targetings, like niche, location, keywords, interest, and more which you can explore through their ads account setting.

 

Little Red Book (Xiao Hong Shu) 小红书 Malaysia

This is another social media platform originating from China that is growing in popularity in Malaysia. XiaoHongShu is a Chinese social media platform that is popular among Malaysian users. It is similar to other social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram. It allows users to create short videos, which can be shared with other platforms.

For businesses that are into Chinese Audiences and in industries like foods, fashions, cosmetics, and health products, this platform is very useful. Most users on this platform are looking for recommendations with intends of searching for products, services, and places to go with.

How Does This New & Young Popular Social Media Works?

1. Opening the app shows three main ways to discover new content.

Follow – which brings you a feed of the latest posts from accounts you follow.

Explore -which showcases curated posts based on what you’ve browsed.

Nearby – which features posts from creators

There is also a search function on it, which allows you to search for anything while also showing you some popular searches on the platform itself. Definitely not to miss for any business, to gain extra exposure on another popular social media site!

How To Start Advertsing on Xiao Hong Shu?

Step 1. Collaborate with KOLs and influencers on Xiaohongshu – take some time to research about KOLs & influencers that resonate with your business niche to get the most effective advertising campaign!

Step 2. Paid Advertising on Xiao Hong Shu – required you to create an official account on their platform which you can then select “Pop Up Ads” or “Integrated Content Ads”.

Step 3. Select your budget, category, and audience targeting for the ad copy to start!

Step 4. Voila! The campaign started & you can monitor your performance through their platform!

 

Twitch Malaysia

Twitch is another popular social media platform dedicated to game streaming for content creators that are in gaming niches. If your business involving in the gaming industry, this is something you should never miss!

There are many features of Twitch that make it an attractive platform for viewers and streamers. The most prominent one is the ability to broadcast live gameplay directly from your computer. This means that the person broadcasting can stream from any location, and the viewer can watch the stream from anywhere else. Twitch is also one of the few platforms that allow users to comment on the video while it is being streamed. This can be done by typing comments or talking over the video.

There is no doubt that Twitch is one of the best platforms to reach people. With over 100 million users and a lot of them active gamers, it is a great platform to reach a wide audience.

How do you advertise on Twitch? How do you start an advertising campaign?

Let’s get started step by step on how to start an advertising campaign on Twitch,

1. Choose the right channel

The first thing you need to do is choose the right channel.

A channel is a stream that is dedicated to gaming. You can find a list of channels on the official Twitch website.

Once you have selected a channel you want to advertise on, it is time to go to the settings of that channel and enable advertising.

If you are not sure whether or not a channel is advertising enabled, check its settings.

In the screenshot below you can see that the game DOTA 2 is advertising on the Twitch channel.

2. Add the channel to your favorites

After you have selected a channel to advertise on, you should add it to your favorites.

You can do this by visiting the channel settings of the channel you want to add to your favorites.

3. Set up your account

The next step is to create an account on the Twitch website.

This is the easiest way to start advertising on Twitch.

4. Select your budget

The last step before you start your advertising campaign is to select the amount of money you want to spend on advertising.

To do this, go to your Twitch account and select the ad tab.

5. Set up your ads

Now you can start your advertising campaign. In order to start an advertising campaign on Twitch, you have to set up your ads. Then you can choose your budget and click “next”.

6. Add your ad copy

When you have selected your budget, you can start adding your ad.

You can choose from a variety of templates to create your ad.

7. Select your target audience

The next step is to choose the type of audience you want to target. After you have selected your audience, you can select the channels you want to display your ad on.

You can choose from four different categories:

1. Male
2. Female
3. Teenager
4. Kids

8. Schedule your ad

Now you can schedule your ad.

When you have scheduled your ad, you can preview it.

9. Voila Your Campaign Started!

 

Final Tips – How To Choose Social Media Sites For Your Business in Malaysia?

First of and foremost, you won’t be able to do well on social media if you don’t have a strategy. A well-structured strategy for social media marketing in Malaysia is important to make sure that your business is using social media platforms for the right reasons. It would also help to achieve the goal of your business as social media campaigns are derived from strategies and techniques. Through a strategy, you’ll be able to map out the steps in order to achieve the goal. 

That’s also the reason why many successful brands create social media campaigns to leverage each social media platform. Even AirAsia uses social media to increase their brand awareness, which eventually became a viral campaign. It’s also one of the most common goals to include in your social media strategy, which is to make it viral.

Step 1: Identify Your Target Audience

Are you a B2B or B2C business? What is the common age range? You have to find out which social media platforms are where most of your target audience are commonly found. 

Based on this article, the most popular range of users for the most popular social media platforms are as follows: 

• Instagram: Aged 13 to 17
• Facebook: Aged 18 to 29
• Twitter: Aged 18 to 29
• Tik Tok: Aged 16 to 24

The thing is, there are so many social media platforms. To do well, you have to focus on just 3. You won’t have time to do well if you’re on every single social media platform. You have to find out which one suits your business and where your target audience mostly spends their time on. 

Step 2: Create A Stellar Profile

Your profiles should be able to tell your audience what your business is all about. It would be more professional if your social media accounts contain information that could immediately tell what kind of business you are. You would also have to set a tone such as choosing a professional or casual style. That would depend on the type of business you own, though.

Tips On Creating A Great Profile

• Have clear, good quality profile pictures, cover photos, etc
• The information displayed should be up-to-date and recent
• Ensure you have both visual and text on all your profiles 

Step 3: Set Your KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Without knowing the goals for your social media platforms, it’ll be aimless to have one at all. Some of the most common goals for social media platforms would be: 

• Build brand awareness
• Increase sales & conversions
• Manage brand reputation

Find out what are you trying to achieve for each social media platform. For example, if you plan to increase brand awareness for your Facebook page, you could measure the success by how many impressions or shares your posts have. 

Step 4: Choose The Type of Content

Are you going to upload all text-based posts or a mixture of both visual and text? Well, you should decide what type of content you’ll be uploaded such as the topics you would want to cover and such. 

It is highly recommended to have a mixture of text, images and video in order to attract a wide range of audience. Nowadays, most users are more drawn to videos compared to text and images. 

Content Schedule

Aside from the type of content, you have to decide how often you want to post as well. Consistency is key, you would have to be always active on social media in order to maintain your social media presence. 

For each social media platform, there are certain timings where users are the most active. You may take a look at the infographic below:

Source: Buffer.com

Step 5: Analyze Your Competitors

To be ahead of your competition, research should be done among your competitors. By seeing what your competitors are doing, you’ll be able to either get tips from them or try to be different than them. Identify your top competitors around your niche, and analyze their social media strategy. 

Step 6: Test, test, test!

After you’ve done all the necessary basic steps, the key to know whether your social media strategy works or not is to keep testing and evaluating. One of the ways to analyze your performance is to check your statistics monthly. At the end of the month, evaluate how many likes, shares, etc you have. If the response isn’t as good, you can then tweak your social media strategy in order to ensure that your achieving your KPI. 

You have to constantly be trying new things as well. If you’ve never done videos before, you can start experimenting the many different video styles such as short and long videos. The live videos are also becoming more common nowadays. 

Ways To Enhance Your Strategy For Social Media Marketing in Malaysia

1. Host Giveaways or Contests

One of the best ways to increase your followers would be to host giveaways or contests that require your audience to tag other people and stand a chance to win.

2. Consistent content

Nobody likes to follow accounts that aren’t active. You have to be constant with your content to keep your audience engaged. Plan out a monthly social media calendar for each of your social media platforms, and maintain a regular posting schedule.

3. Engaging with customers

Of course, you would have to respond to all your customers when they comment or message on your social media accounts. People like to feel like they are heard, so customer service on social media is very important too.

4. Social Media Influencers

Influencers have been growing ever since Instagram started to become more popular. The reason why most businesses establish a collaboration with these influencers is that each of them has a very large following. Most of their followers trust their opinion and if the influencers promote your business, their followers are more likely to be influenced as well.

Conclusion – Social Media Platforms in Malaysia

Ultimately, to maintain a good social media profile and social media ads that work perfectly while scaling on the right social media platforms. If you are a busy start-up owner looking for an agency to manage all your social media profile and ads – we do offer comprehensive SMM advertising agency services for your business while you can focus on other more important tasks when we help to grow online!