Top Social Media Campaigns in Indonesia

In 2016, a joint Google-Temasek report predicted that by 2020, Indonesia will have the fourth largest Internet market with 215 million users. With a current population of about 150 million avid Internet users and a growing mobile commerce market, it seems that the future is near.

Indonesia has stood out as one of the fastest growing digital economies in Southeast Asia with consumers spending an average of 8 hours of their time online every day on shopping and e-commerce sites as well as ride-sharing platforms. Amidst online services and websites, Indonesians are also observed to be very active on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and LINE. Hence, with the growing use and dependence on the Internet and social media sites, it opens up a lot of opportunities for businesses to push their digital marketing strategies, as well as boosting customer engagement and brand awareness.

Tip: Take a look at the top Indonesian YouTube influencers, and the top beauty influencers in Indonesia to partner with.

In this article, we will be looking at some of the best social media campaigns in Indonesia and what we can learn from them:

1. Go-Jek boosted brand awareness by paying tribute to local brands

Go-Jek made its mark in the ride-hailing industry as it grew from a simple motorbike taxi startup to a billion-dollar transportation network company, all within the span of 1.5 years. Besides increasing market growth, Indonesia’s very first unicorn is also well-known for its creative social media campaigns – one of them being their #AnakBangsaBisa (“Children of the Nation”) campaign which was held in line with the nation’s Independence Day.

Held in August 2018, the #AnakBangsaBisa campaign paid tribute to successful local brands, celebrities, musicians and athletes in Indonesia by featuring them in videos posted online as well as on TV and in cinemas. The campaign aimed to inspire and ignite a sense of pride amongst Indonesians and made use of floral petals and arrangements which to Indonesians, symbolised the idea of celebrations and special occasions. The company even went the extra mile to deliver floral arrangements to these brands and celebrities.

The use of relatable images and content resonated effectively with audiences, resulting in a well-received campaign. After it was posted online, the video garnered a high volume of views within a short period of time and was praised by netizens. Looking at the social coverage of the campaign, a month after its first video was posted, it can be seen that a high volume of mentions in relation to the campaign was tagged as positive:

Figure 1: Sentiment analysis of #AnakBangsaBisa campaign in August 2018 using Meltwater

To develop the content for this campaign, Go-Jek made sure to do its research. A survey was conducted beforehand to learn more about what the locals knew about their homegrown brands. It goes to show the importance of research and gathering insights on your audiences before developing any >social media strategies.

What can we learn from Go-Jek’s Campaign:

• Conduct market research first before launching a campaign to understand your target audience
• Use well-known local events to create relatable content to capture attention from local consumers

Tip: Read our customer story with Kopi Kenangan to understand how they are using Meltwater to get a clear picture of customer sentiment through social listening.

2. Tokopedia influenced brand perception by sharing a simple message

Tokopedia’s #MulaiAjaDulu campaign doesn’t just tell consumers to start striving for their dreams – it shows them where to start.

Using the hashtag #MulaiAjaDulu, meaning “just start it”, the campaign features short, simple and colourful video advertisements that capture the stories of individuals unhappy with their current situations and yearning to do more in life. The message is clear-cut but Tokopedia cleverly highlights the value of its e-commerce store as a one-stop platform where consumers can find the tools they need to achieve their dreams at the end of each video.

Although the approach and idea may seem cliche, Tokopedia did not just show that they were selling something tangible but essentially a life-changing way of shopping online. It showcased the convenience of using its e-commerce platform, paired with an inspiring message for their consumers.

What can we learn from Tokopedia’s campaign:

• Keep any social post simple and easy to understand
  undefinedundefined

3. Sale Stock Indonesia boosted revenue by optimising their resources

As one of the top social media platforms in Indonesia, Facebook has garnered over 130 million active users in Indonesia in 2018, growing by 23% as compared to the previous year. It was also one of the most used platforms among Indonesians when it comes to shopping online as 40% of consumers would use Facebook to look for recommendations and information on products.

During the early stages of its e-commerce business, fashion online retailer Sale Stock Indonesia (now rebranded as Sorabel, as of January 2019) optimised the use of its Facebook advertisements, making full use of all the tools available. Through the use of link ads on its Facebook page, the company drove people to its website where they could browse their store and make purchases, hence, boosting sales. They also made use of Facebook’s “Custom Audiences” feature to create personalised ads as well as the “Lookalike Audiences” function to ensure that their ads reached their target audiences, namely 18-34 year old women.  

In 3 months, Sale Stock Indonesia successfully experienced a 4x increase in sales, with 90% of its revenue driven by Facebook traffic. Thus, despite relying on a single platform to engage consumers, Sale Stock showed that optimising the full use of the site can prove to be beneficial in the long run.

What can we learn from Sale Stock’s campaign:

• Have a good understanding of social media tools to reap the benefits
  undefined

4. Rexona Indonesia lead social conversations to promote a new product

In 2015, Rexona Indonesia tapped onto a major local football tournament, Piala Presiden 2015 (President’s Cup), to promote the launch of its new product, Rexona MotionSense. Aware that many Indonesian football fans would be tuning into their social media platforms to comment on or receive updates on the game, Rexona decided to use the opportunity to hold a Twitter campaign.

The brand’s Twitter campaign evolved around the use of its hashtag #MOGER which means “get moving” in Bahasa Indonesian and is tied to its new MotionSense deodorant.  They also used the hashtag #MotionSense to further support the product launch.

Using Twitter’s Promoted Trend function to capture attention, Rexona engaged in real-time conversations during the event by posting live Tweets and updates as the game took place. To grab further attention from fans, the company also posted videos and game highlights as well as images of the teams preparing for matches and well-known national figures who had attended the event. Rexona even used a Poll Card before the final kick-off to get fans to vote for their favourite teams, encouraging interactions with the brand.

Although the campaign only lasted nine days, Rexona was able to achieve an overall reach of 720,000 and an average engagement rate of 5.2% within a short span of time, indicating how they will able to garner attention from a high volume of Twitter users. The brand’s campaign hashtag #MOGER was also able to obtain about 4.9 million Twitter impressions and 13,100 mentions, implying that Twitter users were also incorporating the hashtag in their own posts. Thus, Rexona was able to boost awareness of its new product as well as its brand by tapping onto the massive reach of a major local event.

What can we learn from Rexona Indonesia’s campaign:

• Similar to Go-Jek, take advantage of major local events to tap into a massive audience
• Create a simple and relatable hashtag that can be easily replicated and shared
• Encourage consumers to interact with your brand online

In conclusion, these businesses proved that with the right strategies, a simple social media campaign can go a long way! As shown above, these companies developed successful social media campaigns through conducting research to understand their audiences and markets, creating eye-catching and meaningful content as well as maximising the tools they have. Learning from these strategies, businesses and startups in Indonesia can leverage the power and prominence of social media within the country to boost their brand awareness. You too can learn more about how to build a social media strategy in 10 easy steps!

Tip: Read more about Indonesia's social media statistics, and take a look at the top Indonesian Instagram influencers.