An extended period of physical lockdown during the second quarter of 2021 has seen Vietnamese social media users increase their presence on their favorite apps and return to familiar ones for lockdown relief.
Decision Lab’s latest Connected Consumer Report has confirmed an increase in social media use during Vietnam’s ongoing compliance with strict social distancing and physical movement measures.
All of the major platforms, including favorites Facebook, Zalo and YouTube have either maintained or grown their popularity during the latest survey period.
Asked which social media apps they were using, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Twitter all experienced spikes.
TikTok’s increase was noticeable, climbing to 42 percent from 37 percent in Q1. More people got back on Twitter, and 9 percent of people said they’d been active on professional networking site, LinkedIn.
Pinterest, which bills itself as a platform for ‘visual discovery’ also enjoyed a resurgence. It gained 6 percentage points to hit 25 percent in Q2 as more people looked for recipe, home-workout and travel inspiration.
Unsurprisingly, Vietnam’s most popular way of watching music and entertainment videos, YouTube, continued to recover lost ground. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they had been on the platform during Q2, up from 77 percent in Q1.
Son Tung M-TP has continued to build his audience across multiple platforms during the lockdown. (Source: "Sơn Tùng M-TP Official YouTube channel)
Vietnamese singer Son Tung M-TP has been one artist to benefit from the extra attention. His channel, which he uses to release new music videos, passed 9 million subscribers during the quarter. This makes him the first Vietnamese singer to reach such numbers on YouTube, which has enabled him to maintain several lucrative brand deals.
Typical of Vietnamese his age, he’s omnipresent on social media, and maintains strong followings on his Instagram (6.2 million), Facebook (13million) and TikTok (3.1million) accounts.
Other successful creators like @linhbarbie have kept "TikTok-ing" from home, providing a micro-dose of escapism and hope for a legion of young fans.
The popularity of slice-of-life TikTok entertainers like @linhbarbie, who provide a micro-dose of escapism, has also grown exponentially during the pandemic. (Source: @linhbarbie's TikTok page)
Instagram’s popularity as a means to #turnbacktime also saw it hit 50 percent for the first time in this category of the Connected Consumer Report.
Stuck in lockdown, many have been taking to its ‘Stories’ tool to indulge in nostalgia from previous travel, share their ‘pandemic survival tips’ and reminisce on not-possible gatherings with friends.
Influencers like Supermodel Ha Anh Vu have continued to keep in touch with their fans and promote brands from lockdown. (Source: Ha Anh Vu's Instagram page)
Overall, social media use grew across all age groups, but it was Gen X and Gen Y who were most likely to have increased the amount of time they spent engaging with multiple platforms.
According to Decision Lab’s mobile survey results, it’s been these two groups driving the increased take up of apps like TikTok, while also returning to old favorites like Instagram, where their accounts may have stood dormant for a while.
For more insights into Vietnam’s social media and mobile app landscape download Decision Lab’s FREE Connected Consumer Report for Q2 2021 for here. For a consultation about how your brand can tap into this market, reach out to one of our expert consultants today.
