Vietnam’s top social media sites in 2022

” What are the most popular social media sites in Vietnam? ” This is the most frequent questions our non-Vietnamese prospects ask us, along with:

• Where should I advertise my products or services?

• How Popular is Facebook in Vietnam?

• Do Vietnamese use Twitter or Snap?

They’re all great questions.

Of course, if you want to sell your products and service in Vietnam, you must know where your customers are, and how do they behave?

One major concern of our customers is whether the Vietnamese social media eco-system is only made of local players? Like in China where WeChat or Weibo are the leaders because players such as Facebook & Instagram are simply forbidden?

The answer is NO.

The Vietnamese social media landscape is like what we are used in western countries.

Except for Zalo, global social media platforms are also leading the Vietnamese market.

Let’s review the most popular one.

Top 4 Most popular social media platforms in Vietnam:

1. Facebook
2. Zalo
3. TikTok
4. Instagram

(We decided to not consider YouTube as a pure social media). 

Minor social media platform :

1. Twitter (less than 1 million users)
2. Snap (user base unknown but still close to nothing in 2022)

We usually don’t consider them as relevant marketing platforms in Vietnam as the user base is too limited.

So let’s find out more about Vietnam’s favorite social media sites in 2022

 Facebook

Facebook is the unchallenged leader of the Vietnamese market. More than 60 million users from all age groups have an account on the platform.

Unlike in western countries, where Facebook’s popularity is decreasing among youth, Vietnamese teens remain loyal to the network.

More than 90% of Vietnamese social media users connect at least once a day to Facebook.

Vietnamese use Facebook to:

• Connect with their friends 
• Read new articles
• Share personal updates
• Shop (more than 20% of Vietnam’s eCommerce transactions happen directly on Facebook).

Facebook users in Vietnam:

• 65 million in 2022

Demographics:

Facebook Vietnam Marketing tips:

With more than 65 million users, Facebook is the place to be in Vietnam. Whatever your product or service, your potential customers are most likely on Facebook.

• Vietnamese users love long posts, go with long copies that carefully describe your features and benefits.
  
  
• Decorate your text with lots of emojis (Vietnamese are not bothered by them).
  
  
• Storytelling works wonderfully on Facebook in Vietnam.
  
  
• When a Facebook user contacts you, be as reactive as possible; Vietnamese like to have a chat with sellers before making the final buying decision.

• Implement a chatbot to filter out poor quality leads.
  
  
• Let your customers buy directly on Facebook – don’t force them to a website or landing page.
  
  

Also, remember that more than 80% of users connect via mobile devices. Optimize your videos, images, and website or your campaigns will underperform.

Zalo

Zalo is Facebook’s local competitor, it was first launched in 2012, by VNG Corporation (VNG):

We like to call it a hybrid of Whatsapp and Facebook. Vietnamese use it for both chatting and staying in touch with friends and relatives.

Zalo is most popular within the 30+ segment. 

Zalo’s Main Features:

• Messaging app
• Timeline
• Online Shopping
• Mobile payment
• Games

Zalo users in Vietnam:

• 35 million+ users

Demographics:

• 18+ but the largest and most engaged audience is 30+
  

Zalo Vietnam Marketing tips

• Create a Zalo business page (official account) and advertising account (they are separate entities).
  
  
• Focus on mass products. Zalo still lacks Facebook and Instagram’s fantastic targeting tools. Therefore, it’s more difficult and expensive to find audiences for premium products & services.
  
  
• We have seen the best results with cheaper products that lower-income users can afford.

Instagram

It’s the best platform for brands looking to reach the Vietnamese lifestyle & fashion enthusiasts. On Instagram, users are looking for inspirational & aspirational content. 

Instagram users in Vietnam:

• Estimated between 5 and 8 million in Vietnam.
• 60% of users are women

Demographics:

• 18 to 30 mainly

Instagram Vietnam Marketing tips:

• Visuals are key, try not to look like an ad, When you promote your brand on Instagram, you must be as authentic as possible. On Instagram, users are more easily turned off by ads than on other networks.

• Instagram is Vietnamese influencer’s favorite channel, leverage them.
  
  
• Make efficient use of both Vietnamese & English hashtags

Instagram is known to be a great advertising platform for the following industries

• Fashion
• Food and Beverage
• Cosmetics 
• Lifestyle
• Furniture

TikTok

With more than 1,5 billion users, Tik Tok has become a global phenomenon, it’s the fastest growing social media platform in Vietnam.

It’s an app that lets you create and share short music video clips.

How to get started with TIkTok

It’s so popular, that young Vietnamese cut-down time from FB & YouTube to spend it on TikTok.

TikTok users in Vietnam:

• 12 million registered users in 2019 (not bad)

Demographics:

• Teens (generation Z)
• 66% of TikTok’s users younger than 30 (41% are aged 16–24)

TikTok Vietnam Marketing tips:

• Many believe that TikTok has the potential to become the most popular social media in Vietnam. It is not a surprise that big brands such as Nike or Disney already create content and promote it on TikTok.

• At this point, TikTok is better suited for building brand awareness rather than generating leads or sales.

• TikTok is known for the high virality of the content created on the platform. It’s easy for brands to be visible. By making efficient use of hashtag your content can easily be seen by thousands.
  
  
• You must understand the platform culture; you will not succeed if you copy-paste your Facebook campaigns. Be creative on TikTok and create entertaining content.

• Even though TikTok is used by teens, we believe that older generations such as Millenials will join the platform soon.  TikTok represents a fantastic opportunity to build a first-mover advantage for your brand.

• The platform has less competition than other channels, you’ll get a better bang for your buck.
  
  
• If you want to advertise on TikTok, keep in mind that the daily minimum campaign budget is $20. It’s higher than Facebook or Zalo but remains reasonable considering the low CPM and high engagement rate.

We recommend TikTok marketing for the following industries in Vietnam:

• Gaming
• Media
• Entertainment
• Food And Beverage
• Fashion
• Lifestyle
• Sports

Brand Ninja helps international brands to run great social media marketing campaigns in Vietnam – Check out how we can help you.