MESSAGING app Telegram’s popularity, especially among the Malays, is drawing politicians such as Najib Razak and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to complement their outreach efforts on other social media platforms, say analysts.

Telegram, which is available on iOS and Android, has features that suit politicians wanting to reach large numbers of people, such as the group feature, which allows for an infinite number of people to follow it.

“Among the Malay population, their usage of Telegram is much higher compared to non-Malays. Non-Malays will stick to WhatsApp and in the Chinese community there is a shift to WhatsApp,” said Kelvin Kiran Anthony, data analytics and digital marketing lead at public relations firm Lumos Hill + Knowlton Malaysia.

“There is also a lot of privacy on Telegram, and there are many groups and users who like that group identity a lot,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The shift to Telegram is also partly driven by Putrajaya’s use of the platform to disseminate information on Covid-19.

The National Security Council (NSC) set up a Telegram group last year to ensure that Malaysians have easy access to all information and announcements pertaining to Covid-19.

The group, which has 1.3 million subscribers, shares information on Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP), the number of daily infections, lists areas that are put under the enhanced movement-control orders and any other announcements made by the relevant authorities.

Anthony said since there is a growing number of Malay users, it makes sense for politicians such as former prime minister Najib, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Muda founder Syed Saddiq, to use the platform.

“Politicians use it to drive their personal brand. At the end of the day, they want to get elected and show that they are doing a good job.

“Telegram reaches the grassroots level and if that is where your supporters are, you might as well tap into it,” he said.

From a practical standpoint, Telegram allows its users to reach all of their subscribers at once, unlike Facebook.

“You can reach all your subscribers at once without needing any form of boosting, unlike other social platforms, which generally have a low organic reach of between 10% and 20%.”

In order to reach a larger demographic on Facebook, a user will need to spend money to boost a post so that it gets more engagement.

Janelle Wong, social media executive at creative firm Isobar, said Telegram appeals to politicians who wish to communicate directly with their subscribers.

“Each social media platform is for a different use. For example, Facebook is now more for older people, while younger people use it as a news feed but are more active in posting content on Instagram or TikTok.

“Telegram is more popular for people to communicate as a group,” she said. – July 10, 2021.