With LinkedIn reporting rapid growth around the world, the social media platform has also seen increased adoption among professionals in Laos.
LinkedIn, founded in 2002, predates the world’s largest social network, Facebook, but has taken a lot longer to establish its position.
Once the target of jokes and memes, the social media platform has gradually evolved into an indispensable tool not only for professional networking and recruitment, but also as a reliable channel for sharing news and information.
Recent statistics count over 46 million LinkedIn users across Southeast Asia, with 130,000 members in Laos, according to research by Datareportal.
But that number is quickly growing as younger, more tech-savvy members of society enter the workforce in a country with a median age of 24.
This past year, there was an increase in new members from Gen Z, says Ms. Ayaka Vu, Accounts Director at RDK Group.
“Besides the growing number of new users, you can clearly see that existing users are becoming more active,” she says.
As digital platforms become more pervasive in everyday life for Laotians, individuals are realizing that there are more social media channels available than just Facebook, and that these can be used for a variety of purposes.
And LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for businesses as well.
“LinkedIn can be the right platform for certain brands to gain exposure in Laos. While Facebook is overwhelmed with ads, other platforms that are grabbing attention are mostly focused on “fun” content, leaving LinkedIn open for more serious brands,” says Ayaka.
After Facebook dropped its jobs feature last year, both recruiters and jobseekers in Laos have returned to LinkedIn as the old favorite for finding work.
The internet penetration rate in Laos was 51.1 percent of the population at the start of 2022, increasing by 7.5 percent between 2021 and 2022, according to recent statistics.
Some 3.5 million people in Laos use social media, increasing by 200,000 people between 2021 and 2022.
