Instagram vs YouTube – Which is more popular in Singapore?

• Singapore has 5.3 million social media users, accounting for 89.5% of the country’s total population
• Instagram is still the most engaging platform, with content growing by 5.34% and engagement increasing by 14.18% to 34.57%.

Social media has long since grown to play a significant role in people’s everyday lives because it keeps everyone in touch with friends and family and gives them access to fresh internet content every day. Take Instagram and YouTube for example; they are not all dissimilar from one another depending on the kind of content people are looking for. Both have content that allows viewers to watch short-form videos for convenience.

It’s interesting to observe what individuals are utilizing depending on the nation that uses social media on a daily basis. For instance, social media in Singapore has grown in significance for both businesses and individuals, whether they are trying to develop their brand or widen their circle of friends and family.

Recent findings from the “Singapore Government Social Media H1 2022” report by Emplifi, the leading unified customer experience platform, show how 30 statutory boards and 16 ministries are using popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to interact with Singaporeans on a range of issues like COVID-19, vaccination, the environment, national service, and social conversations.

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Interestingly, 5.3 million people in Singapore utilize social media, making up 89.5% of the population. The COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination programs, travel safety precautions, floods, and social initiatives are just a few of the significant themes that the public sector uses social media to tell citizens about, according to Varun Sharma, Vice President, Asia Pacific & Japan, Emplifi.

“We also see an increased focus on reaching millennials and Gen Z through the growing use of Instagram and platforms like Tik Tok. We expect this trend to continue along with a greater mix of content types – videos, stories, live-streaming – to appeal to the younger demographic,” said Sharma.

According to the Emplifi research, the ranking of released content and interactions across the four platforms in H1 2022 was similar to that of H1 2021. 12,877 tweets, or more than half of the content, were published on Twitter, yet just 39,954 interactions (1.94%) resulted from this. When compared to Facebook, there were 7,330 pieces of content published (29.06%) and 60.26% more interactions (1.24 million).

Despite the positive results, Facebook interaction has declined by 15.4% from H1 2021. On the other hand, Instagram keeps expanding as a crucial platform for connecting with online users, especially the younger generation. From H1 2021 to H1 2022, the platform’s published content percentage increased by 5.34% to 3,797 posts, and engagement increased by 14.18% to 710,688 interactions.

Instagram and YouTube have the highest engagement

Due to its high engagement rate (0.85%), Instagram is the platform of choice for statutory boards and ministries in H1 2022. In contrast to H1 2021, YouTube surpassed Facebook as the second-most engaged platform, underscoring the expanding opportunity for the public sector to access images and videos via social media.

The National Parks Board’s (NPB) #CityInNatureSG campaign, The Ministry of Defence’s (MINDEF) NS55 campaign, The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) COVID Protocols, and MuslimSG’s Ramadan and Raya material rounded out the top five campaigns that generated the most interactions.

The majority of engagements for three of the top five campaigns were on Instagram and YouTube. MuslimSG received 27,359 conversations on Instagram, while #CityInNatureSG garnered 47,251 interactions (66.74% of all interactions). MINDEF NS55 recorded 15,380 and 17,674 engagements on YouTube and Instagram, respectively (together, 80.42% of all interactions).

This isn’t surprising considering that 88.7% of Singaporeans use YouTube on average for two hours per day and that four out of five of them choose the channel as their favorite platform for watching videos. Regarding Instagram, it is still one of the most well-liked social media platforms among millennials and enables businesses to connect with roughly 86% of the audience.

Singaporeans connect most frequently on social media in 2022, and this trend is unlikely to slow down very soon – whether it’s watching videos to communicating with friends and co-workers to just generally passing time on the applications.

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