The social media landscape in Hong Kong : Edelman DBI

Here are the key findings:

Offline marketing is driving online chatter, but brands such as Apple are doing little to establish an online presence.

Not surprisingly, Apple moved to first position with a new peak of 12,857 brand mentions as compared to the previous quarter (8,750 brand mentions). The majority of online conversations centered around product announcements and the launches of the Apple iPad and iPhone 4.

However, no proactive outreach or engagement by Apple was tracked during DBI 10.3. Among the most popular IT and technology brands being monitored, microprocessor giant AMD leaped into second place from its previous seventh position with a total of 9,413 online brand mentions, a 61 per cent surge as compared to the previous quarter.

AMD also led all other brands in terms of its engagement index, which evaluates how leading online content creators (influencers) are being actively wooed by brands.

Korean mobile manufacturer Samsung debuted at fourth place on the DBI's list of the top 10 'buzziest' brands. The 8,577 brand mentions were largely attributed to online conversations around the launch of its latest smartphone products. Software giant Adobe also joined the list in tenth place with 3,866 mentions.

There continues to be an opportunity for technology brands to take advantage of the popularity of Twitter by creating a presence and delivering exciting and engaging content.

In an area dominated by local channels and websites such as the Baby Kingdom (親子王國) and Uwants.com forums, Twitter has surpassed all expectations to firmly establish itself as the 'buzziest' channel in Hong Kong, according to DBI 10.3.

Twitter was previously ranked second in terms of brand mentions but is now leading the Hong Kong online scene with 151,680 brand mentions in April to June this year. This represents 26.1 per cent increase from the previous quarter.

There is clearly an opportunity for brands to become smarter about communicating through this channel. Although a brand can set up a Twitter account in five minutes, it is important to recognise the ongoing account management commitment and the need to plan engaging and relevant content.

As negative sentiment towards a company can quickly spread on Twitter, it is crucial for technology brands to monitor for specific feedback on their products and services and determine suitable responses when appropriate.