Today, Chinese internet giant Tencent announced that its hugely popular messaging app WeChat had reached the impressive milestone of 50 million overseas users. Currently in the Top 10 of at least 42 countries’ mobile app stores, WeChat has gained much of its momentum from neighboring Asian markets like Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest, all of which, now, can be considered mobile social media platforms, WeChat, which is currently available in eight languages, including both simplified and traditional Chinese, has been a smartphone/tablet-only network since it launched in 2011. Why has the mobile social app trend been so successful in this part of the world? In the video above, L2’s Head of Research and Advisory Maureen Mullen talks about why the mobile social app has taken off in the APAC region, highlights features of the apps that make them so appealing to young digitally-native Asians, and identifies some of the global brands like Starbucks, Coach and Louis Vuitton that have been to quick to establish a local presence on the platforms.

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