Effective Measure, the leading provider of digital media planning solutions in emerging markets, today reported the latest data on LinkedIn™’s growing reach into South East Asia (SEA), with Salesperson, Early Adopter and Free Spender personas identified significantly on the networking site. This data, featured on Effective Measure’s industry-standard market intelligence tool, OpenView, highlighted the emergence of the ‘networking consumerist’ – an engaged, persuasive and curious audience segment that enjoys impulse shopping in the SEA professional landscape.

Effective Measure SEA Regional Director, Dinesh Arasaratnam, said, “The Networking Consumerist makes a good product ambassador, as he or she is likely to promote up and coming brands, be it B2B or B2C brands, to friends and peer groups. On a broader scale, the Networking Consumerist is potentially an important catalyst for further economic development in SEA’s emerging markets.”

LinkedIn™ audience profile in SEA’s emerging markets

·     The three personas featured were: Salesperson (persuasive communicators) at 30.4 percent share, Early Adopter (risk takers keen on being the first to try new things) at 32.9 percent share and Free Spender (impulse buyers of consumer products) at 23.7 percent share.

·    A significant proportion of the audience had high incomes, compared to the average SEA Internet user, notably segments that earned US$2,000-3,000/month (45 percent above market average) and US$10,001-15,000/month (52 percent above market average).

·    Employees in Consulting/Professional Services, Technology/IT and Advertising/Media were prominent, with these industries accounting for 46.6 percent audience share.

“With almost two-thirds of the audience active on mobile Internet last month, organizing professional networking events based on geo-location should generate great results on LinkedIn™. Similarly, consumer brands looking to engage with this segment should incorporate mobile apps to help consumers purchase products quicker in the shortest time possible,” concluded Arasaratnam.


OpenView for LinkedIn™

Demographic data for linkedin.com in the month ending February 2012 was sourced from Effective Measure’s OpenView, based on the SEA’s emerging markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.