20 MIN READ
As one of the most active consumers of social media in the world, the social media landscape in Singapore is always changing and adapting to new technologies, platforms, and media habits. As such, we have prepared this report to help you in planning your social media strategy and selecting the right platform at the right time to achieve the greatest strategic impact for your business.
Table of Contents
Key Digital Trends in Singapore
Source: Statista.com
In 2021, the number of Internet users grew 12.8% as compared to 2019 – a faster rate of growth than population size. We also saw a 19.4% increase in the average daily time spent on the Internet, to reach 8 hrs. Both increases are likely driven by the increased adoption of technology by all segments of society amid COVID-19 .
Popular Social Media Platforms in Singapore
Source: Alexa.com
We can notice a few pointers when comparing the top social media websites in Singapore in 2021 versus 2019:
- There are more social media platforms competing for users’ attention, such as Reddit, Telegram, Twitch, and TikTok.
- Twitter and Tumblr have fallen out of favor with the Singapore audience
- Instagram’s popularity may have fallen.
YouTube
YouTube is the 2nd most popular website in the world and the #1 platform for video content in Singapore. Some key statistics:
- >4 million users in Singapore
- Estimated >30 million+ sessions/visits per month
- Daily Time on Site of 19min 31s
- Daily Pageviews per Visitor of 10.33
In a Dec 2020 annual news release, YouTube stated that watch time in Singapore grew by more than 30% over the last year. This was likely driven by the shift to home entertainment amid the COVID-19 movement restrictions.
Source: Statista.com
While there is no data available on the demographics of YouTube users in Singapore, we can infer from the global statistics shown above that:
- YouTube is popular across all age groups, including teenagers and people in their 50s.
- YouTube is evenly popular among both genders, despite the stereotype that it is more popular among males than females.
The top Singapore-based YouTubers are:
- Sneaky Sushii – https://www.youtube.com/c/SneakySushii/about. Started in Jul 2019 and has 164 thousand subscribers and 117 videos with 20.5 billion views. Sneaky Sushii is a Singaporean Youtuber who produces videos that “make you breathe forcefully out of your nose”. His content is comedic and satirical, focusing on controversial incidents in Singapore. His videos, ‘Singapore’s Cringiest TikToks…(i died)’ and ‘XMMs Have Gone Too Far’ are extremely popular, with over 300,000 views each.
- Spice N’ Pans – https://www.youtube.com/c/SpiceNPans/featured. Started in Dec 2016 and has 751 thousand subscribers and 478 videos with 86.6 billion views. Spice N’ Pans, or Roland and Jamie, is a couple from Singapore who specializes in Singapore-influenced Chinese food but also cooks other cuisines from time to time.
- JEBBEY FAMILY – https://www.youtube.com/c/KINGHAO. Started in Nov 2013 and has 603 thousand subscribers and 102 videos with 69 million views. The channel features brand collaborations and product promotions from YouTuber Tan Jianhao and his wife, influencer Debbie Soon.
- Ghib Ojisan – https://www.youtube.com/c/GhibOjisan. Started in Apr 2017 and has 216 thousand subscribers and 478 videos with 59 million views. Ghib Ojisan is a Japanese travel vlogger living in Singapore. He speaks in Japanese and English in his videos and includes captions in both languages. The channel has many videos about places in Singapore, e.g. hawker centres, Sembawang Hot Spring Park, as well as topics such as the Japanese Occupation of Singapore during World War 2. In 2020, Ghib Ojisan’s YouTube channel was among the top 10 channels with the highest increase in Singaporean subscribers.
- YEOLO – https://www.youtube.com/c/YEOLO. Started in Oct 2011 and has 59.5 thousand subscribers and 111 videos with 7.6 million views. YEOLO, or Yeo Tze Hern, is a Singaporean YouTuber. His channel features satirical videos that focus on local content and controversial incidents. His most viewed video, “I Watched Singapore Social So You Don’t Have To”, garnered more than 292 thousand views.
- JianHao Tan – https://www.youtube.com/jianhao. Started in Sep 2010 and has 4.8 million subscribers and 264 videos with 1.3 billion views. The channel’s videos focus on Singapore-related themes as well as topics such as gaming, travel, skits and music videos. Tan Jiahao also has another Youtube channel (JEBBEY FAMILY – refer to above).
- WahBanana – https://www.youtube.com/user/wahbanana. Started in Sep 2012 and has 1.3 million subscribers and 445 videos with 471 million views. WahBanana started as a gaming YouTube channel with gaming-related comedies but has evolved over the years to produce skits inspired by trending topics and pop culture.
- TheSmartLocal – https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSmartLocal. Started in Jan 2013 and has 300 thousand subscribers and 1,278 videos with 157 million views. The Smart Local is an independently-owned media publisher that focuses on Travel and Lifestyle in Singapore. The channel also publishes episodes of The Algorithm, a drama series featured on MediaCorp.
- Night Owl Cinematics – https://www.youtube.com/user/Alozerk. Started in Sep 2011 and has 1 million subscribers and 588 videos with 323 million views. Videos on the channel feature Singaporean humour in the form of short films, music videos, and comedy skits.
- Real Talk by MOSG – https://www.youtube.com/c/MOSGtv. Started in Jan 2018 and has 204 thousand subscribers and 255 videos with 47 million views. This is the official video channel of Real Talk, a group of Singaporeans who seek to hear and share compelling stories of everyday individuals. Videos focus on entertaining and thought-provoking content for Singaporeans, including social issues, millennial stories, as well as love and relationships.
- Nubbad TV – https://www.youtube.com/c/NubbadTV. Started in Mar 2013 and has 78 thousand subscribers and 326 videos with 10.2 million views. Previously known as OffiialSGAGtv, the channel was rebranded by SGAG (a Singapore-based content creator) as Nubbadtv in 2019 to focus on the trend of long-form video content on Youtube. The channel has videos on comedy and entertainment.
- MothershipSG – https://www.youtube.com/user/MothershipSG. Started in Jul 2013 and has 133 thousand subscribers and 1,473 videos with 53.6 million views. MothershipSG is a community news service for Singaporeans and the videos on this channel focus on community news, social issues and current affairs in Singapore.
- Eatbook – https://www.youtube.com/c/Eatbooksingapore. Started in Aug 2016 and has 123 thousand subscribers and 726 videos with 49.4 billion views. Eatbook.sg is a new Singaporean publisher that is changing the way Singaporeans discover food. Through beautifully shot Facebook videos and honest undercover reviews, Eatbook provides its viewers with new ideas on where to eat in Singapore, food reviews and the latest food trends/news.
- LADIES FIRST – https://www.youtube.com/c/LADIESFIRSTTVSG/featured. Started in Jan 2019 and has 361 thousand subscribers and 139 videos with 59 million views. This is a female-fronted channel with 3 core pillars: Beauty & Fashion, Health & Wellness, and Advisory, with topics ranging from growing up to pregnancy and weddings.
- Our Grandfather Story – https://www.youtube.com/c/OurGrandfatherStory/featured. Started in Nov 2016 and has 281 thousand subscribers and 597 videos with 57.4 million views. The channel covers a diverse range of topics with a Singaporean focus, from local hawker culture and traditions to current affairs and adventures around Singapore.
- ZULA – https://www.youtube.com/c/ZULAsg/featured. Started in Oct 2016 and has 83.5 thousand subscribers and 348 videos with 27.3 million views. ZULA is a female website and Youtube channel for Singaporean Millennials that focuses on lifestyle, beauty and fashion. The channel seeks to empower girls by validating the stories of everyday women and providing them with the knowledge to make informed choices.
- Tropic Monsters TV – https://www.youtube.com/c/Tropicmonsters/featured. Started in Dec 2013 and has 67.5 million subscribers and 254 videos with 12.6 million views. They post videos that take a light-hearted and comedic view of topics that Singaporeans generally talk about, as well as videos about the lives of yuppies in Singapore, gaming and Singlish.
- Clicknetwork – https://www.youtube.com/c/clicknetwork/featured. Started in May 2011 and has 1.2 million subscribers and 1,345 videos with 388 million views. Videos on this channel include reviews on food, beauty & consumer products, gadgets; personal issues faced by young adults; visits to places of interest in Singapore, and tips for aspiring home cooks.
Facebook is one of the pioneers of social media networks and has maintained a dominant market position in Singapore and globally. With a large variety of content formats, it is also considered one of the most versatile platforms.
However, the number of Facebook users in Singapore are expected to decrease slightly over the next few years due to intense competition from other up-and-coming social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit, which are drawing younger users away from Facebook.
Source: Facebook Ads Manager
Some key statistics:
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- Facebook Users in Singapore (excluding Facebook Family Apps like Instagram): 3.8 million
- Demographics: 1.9m Males and 1.8m Females
- Age Group:
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- 18 – 24: 320,000 (8.6%)
- 25 – 34 – 1,200,000 (32.4%)
- 35 – 44: 940,000 (25.4%)
- 45 – 54: 590,000 (15.9%)
- 55 – 64: 360,000 (9.7%)
- 65+: 250,000 (6.8%)
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Instagram started out as a visual-focused platform, with users posting mostly aesthetically pleasing images. It was acquired by Facebook in 2012 and is now part of the Facebook ecosystem.
Its Instagram Story feature allows users to post short vertical videos that disappear after 24 hours.
Some key statistics:
- Instagram Users in Singapore (excluding Facebook Family Apps): 2.6 million
- Demographics: 1.1m Males and 1.5m Females
- Age Group:
- 18 – 24: 490,000 (18.8%)
- 25 – 34: 1,100,000 (42.3%)
- 35 – 44: 570,000 (21.9%)
- 45 – 54: 320,000 (12.3%)
- 55 – 64: 140,000 (5.4%)
- 65+: 65,000 (2.5%)
Looking to leverage Instagram for your business? Check out 7 Successful Singapore Businesses on Instagram.
Reddit is the 20th most popular website in the world, and it resembles a forum in terms of its mechanics. Discussion threads are grouped into topics called “subreddits”.
Users can join Subreddits, which are indicated with an “r/” in front, such as “r/singapore” and “r/aww”. Subreddits cover a diverse range of topics. For example, r/politics focuses on worldwide political news and r/dogberg focuses on footage of dogs knocking over people or things.
Here are some key statistics:
- Users by Country – Reddit has over 1.65 billion users, with over 401,000 members in the subreddit r/Singapore alone, which suggests that there are at least 401,000 users from Singapore. But the majority of its users are from the US (50%), UK (8%), Canada (7.5%), etc.
- Using estimated reach from Reddit Ads, there should be at least 1.6m Reddit users in Singapore.
- Over 270M Monthly Active Users
- Over 853,000 Subreddits
- Predominantly Male users – Over 67% are male users.
It is also noted that Reddit is a platform that prioritizes content and discussion over individual profiles. Minimal emphasis is given to the author of a post.
Reddit is also not the best platform for native promotion, as ads are clearly indicated. Instead, brands can actively participate in discussions on relevant subreddits. Check out this great article by HubSpot on How 10 Brands Use Reddit for Marketing.
Telegram
While Telegram may appear to be just another messaging app, it is packed with features that qualify it as a social media platform. Telegram is also one of the fastest-growing messenger apps. It reached 500 million users in 2021, up from 300 million in 2019, largely thanks to privacy concerns with WhatsApp.
Popular Singapore-based Telegram channels
You can send one-way messages to multiple users at the same time via Telegram channels. Note that some Telegram channels accept brand collaborations and sponsorship. For smaller brands, collaborating with established channels may be an efficient way to leverage Telegram to reach their audiences.
The “social media” aspect of Telegram comes into play when the comment feature is enabled on Telegram posts.
Telegram also allows you to run Polls and Quizzes to engage channel subscribers.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social media platform dedicated to professionals who want to network, engage with high-quality content and advance their careers. While most people kill time on Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn users invest time on LinkedIn.
For advertisers, LinkedIn is also the only platform where you are able to target audiences according to job seniority, job function, skills, and industry. Users are also much more receptive to professional, long-form B2B content like whitepapers and eBooks.
Some key statistics:
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- LinkedIn Users in Singapore: 2.6 million
- Demographics: 1.4 million+ Males and 1.2 million+ Females
- Age Group:
- 18 – 24: 440,000 (17.3%)
- 25 – 34: 1,480,000 (58.1%)
- 35 – 54: 580,000 (22.8%)
- 55+: 47,000 (1.8%)
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- Seniority:
- Entry: 620,000
- Senior: 1,300,000
- Manager: 210,000
- Director: 190,000
- VP: 100,000
- CXO: 42,000
- Owner: 63,000
- Partner: 16,000
- Seniority:
Twitch
Twitch is a live-streaming platform that largely focuses on video game content, including broadcasts of esports competitions. It allows creators (aka “streamers”) and fans to connect and chat with each other in real time. Creators can monetise their stream either by inserting pre-roll ads into their stream (similar to YouTube) or via brand sponsorships.
Some useful statistics:
- There are >1.3 million+ Monthly Unique Viewers from Singapore
- 41% of viewers are between 16 – 24 YO, while another 23% of viewers are between 25 – 34 YO.
- 68% of the viewers are males, with only 32% female viewers.
TikTok
TikTok is a social media network that focuses on short-form mobile (vertical) video content. It started out as a platform that allows users to create and share funny videos while singing, dancing, or lip-syncing to their favourite tunes. Content on TikTok has since diversified into a wide variety of categories, such as cooking tips, investment tips, parenting tips, life hacks, and many more.
Some key statistics:
- TikTok Users in Singapore: 1.87 million (excluding users age 13 – 17 YO).
- Demographics: 909,000+ Males and 963,000+ Females
- Age Group:
- 13 – 17: NA
- 18 – 24: 637,000
- 25 – 34: 692,000
- 35 – 44: 334,000
- 45 – 54: 146,000
- 55+: 63,000
Above: TikTok Account of AJ Hackett, the operator of the bungee jump facility at Sentosa
Brands can find success in TikTok if they are willing to invest time and effort into creating valuable content. AJ Hackett, the operator of the bungee jump facility at Sentosa, started a TikTok account in May 2021, and has since garnered over 46,000+ followers. Its most successful video to date has garnered over 5million views, 74,000+ Likes and Comments without any ad buy. Check out our article on 7 Successful Singapore Businesses on TikTok for inspiration on how you can utilise TikTok for your own business as well.
For brands who are looking for a more short-term campaign on TikTok, collaborating with TikTok Creators to run influencer campaigns is an excellent option as well. In fact, TikTok has a built-in platform called TikTok Creator Marketplace dedicated for this purpose. Note that Creators and Brands will have to negotiate the specific arrangements privately.
TikTok Creator Marketplace allows brands to filter for relevant creators based on:
- Location – Where the Creator is based.
- Topic – What Topic the Creator focuses on.
- Followers – The number of followers the Creator has.
- Average Views – The average number of views the Creator’s video has.
- Audience Location and Gender – The location and gender of the Creator’s audience.
- Age group – The age group of the Creator’s audience.
- Audience Device – The OS used by the Creator’s audience (e.g. Android/iOS).
