Twitter and Forums draw more conversations on technology brands in Indonesia, indicating significance of different channels for different topics

Jakarta, January 19, 2010 – Edelman and Brandtology today unveiled the second edition of its quarterly Digital Brand Index (DBI  2.0) for  Indonesia. Researched during the last quarter of 2009, the DBI  2.0 revealed:
 

• 101,866 online conversations tracked  for  DBI 2.0  (October-December), almost double than those from DBI 1.0 (July-September) at 58,658 conversations.
• Twitter has  increased  in popularity and become the busiest channel for sharing news on  technology brands, with an increase of 94 per cent compared  to DBI 1.0 or 45.7 per cent  from the total online conversations tracked.
• Web forums  are  also one of the busiest channels  (43  per cent), with KasKus.us remaining as  the most used web forum that contributes 27.54 per cent  from the total online conversations tracked on tech brands.
• Some changes from DBI 1.0 include: Google jumped to be the most discussed tech brand (previously number three), while Intel fell to number six (previously number one)
• The newcomer  in DBI was MSN (3,921 mentions), although discussions on this brand were mostlyabout its services.

 
Different Topic, Different Channel
 
The DBI 2.0 shows the dynamic nature of the social media. In DBI 1.0, Twitter was positioned in third rank as the busiest channel with only 5,721 mentions of technology brands. In DBI 2.0, it jumped to 53,697 mentions, contributing 45.7 per cent of the total online conversations tracked on technology brands. Twitter is also the second most mentioned technology brand with 7,416 mentions.  

 
Although Twitter is the busiest channel, we found out that there was a different composition in using channels for certain topics:
•    Twitter is the most used channel for Internet (72.7  per cent), followed by forums (12.8  per cent), news (9.56  per cent), reviews (3.27  per cent), blogs (1.36  per cent) and social networking Sites (0.19  per cent)
•    Twitter dominates the channels for discussion on mobile and telecommunications with 58.6  per cent, followed by forums (24.8  per cent), news (9.91  per cent), reviews (3.54  per cent), social networking site (2.55  per cent) and blogs (0.53  per cent)
•    Twitter also dominates the channels for discussion on software with 57.4  per cent, followed by forum (32.6  per cent), news (6.54  per cent), reviews (1.79  per cent), blogs (1.27  per cent) and social networking site (0.23  per cent)
•    Forums are the most used channels for discussions on consumer electronics brands (50.9  per cent), followed by Twitter (38.7  per cent), news (6.58  per cent), reviews (1.82  per cent), blogs (1.05  per cent) and social networking sites (0.86  per cent)
•    For IT and technology, forums dominate as the busiest channels with 82.1  per cent, followed by Twitter (9.35  per cent), news (6.05  per cent), reviews (1.45  per cent), blogs (0.88  per cent) and social networking sites (0.07  per cent)

“The results from the second DBI showed us that brands should not only rely on a particular channel when trying to communicate to its stakeholders. As different channels serve different users, brands should have a multi platform approach for their campaign,” said Edelman Digital Jakarta Director Nanda Ivens. “We have also seen the tremendous growth and powerful influence of Twitter, and therefore, brands should not question the importance of having their presence on Twitter. However, careful planning and content strategy plays an important role in determining a successful engagement campaign,” he added.

The results of the DBI 2.0 reflect the need for brands to maintain their presence in various channels. For example, under the Average Engagement category, AMD reached the number one position with a 2.50 score, followed by Asus with a 2.45 score, and Intel with a 2.43 score. Such high number of engagements for these brands appeared not on Twitter, but in forums. Twitter’s influence for technology brands is increasing, but forums are still important.

Brand owners should not only measure their online buzz and engagement levels, but also actively identify and engage influential channels and voices. This will translate to goodwill and brand preference, and ultimately an increase in sales," said Kelly Choo, Brandtology Co-founder & Business Development Director.

Survey Methodology
The DBI was conducted across eight key markets in the Asia Pacific region, namely, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Delivering deep online insight on a quarterly basis, the Asia Pacific Digital Brand Index monitors key brands from the following broad categories: Internet and Software, Consumer Electronics, Mobile and Telecommunications, Business and Consulting, and IT and Technology, across a list of popular online channels – including influential blogs, forums and online news outlets. The channels were selected by identifying conversations based on both qualitative as well as quantitative research. For more information, please visit www.edelmanapac.com/index.jsp?series=36 and/or www.brandtology.com/index.php/press_release/dbi2.

About IndoPacific Edelman
With over 114 fulltime employees, IndoPacific Edelman is Indonesia’s largest public relations firm, specializing in six business practice areas of Financial & Investor Relations, Healthcare, Corporate, Public Affairs/Government Relations, Technology, and Brand PR, and specialist areas of Litigation PR, Political Counsel, Issues and Crisis Management, Shariah Marketing, Research and Training. For more information, visit www.indopacedelman.com

About Edelman
Edelman is the world’s leading independent public relations firm, with 3,200 employees in 51 offices worldwide. Edelman was named PRWeek’s “2009 Agency of the Year,” PRWeek’s “Large Agency of the Year" (for the third time in the last four years), and Holmes Report’s “2009 Best Large Agency to Work For” and was listed as a top-10 firm by Advertising Age in 2007 and 2008.

Edelman represents technology brands around the world, many of which are included in the Digital Brand Index. For more information about Edelman visit www.edelmanapac.com.

About Brandtology
Brandtology is one of the largest independent business and brand online intelligence service providers that combines technology, processes and trained professionals to deliver accurate and relevant intelligence to global organizations. Our proprietary opinion mining technologies aid organizations in listening to digital conversations across countries in multiple languages while our trained Social Media Professionals ensures high accuracy and relevancy of the intelligence provided to clients. Astute use of such intelligence has enabled Brandtology’s global clients to make timely and informed strategic decisions for public engagement, crisis management, media planning, campaign measurement, product development and strategic planning, amongst other uses. For more information, please visit www.brandtology.com.  

For more information on the research and in-country results, kindly contact:

Waraney Rawung
IndoPacific Edelman
Tel: (62) 21 721 59000
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ashley Lim
Brandtology
Tel: +86 1396 8024 646
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For Bahasa Indonesia version, please click here