The digital marketing landscape in Singapore is rapidly evolving, with businesses of all sizes leveraging various digital channels to reach and engage with their target audiences. According to a study by eMarketer, digital ad spending in Singapore is projected to reach $1.29 billion in 2020, representing a growth of 12.9% over the previous year. This trend is expected to continue, with digital ad spending projected to reach $1.62 billion by 2023.
One of the key digital marketing channels that businesses in Singapore are utilizing is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords. A study by Search Engine Land found that the majority of Singaporeans (89%) use search engines to find information online, with Google being the most popular search engine. This highlights the importance of SEO for businesses in Singapore, as it enables them to reach a large audience of potential customers.
Another popular digital marketing channel in Singapore is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, also known as search engine marketing (SEM). SEM involves placing ads on search engine results pages and paying for each click on the ad. A study by Google found that PPC advertising in Singapore is growing at a rapid pace, with the number of advertisers in the market increasing by 60% in the past two years. PPC advertising is particularly popular among small and medium-sized businesses in Singapore, as it allows them to reach their target audiences at a relatively low cost.
Social media is also an important digital marketing channel in Singapore. A study by We Are Social found that the majority of Singaporeans (74%) use social media, with Facebook being the most popular platform, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram. Businesses in Singapore are using social media to reach and engage with their target audiences, with many of them leveraging features such as paid advertising, influencer marketing, and user-generated content.
In terms of specific statistics, a study by DBS Insights found that in 2020, 83% of Singaporean businesses had a social media presence, with Facebook being the most popular platform (89% of businesses), followed by Instagram (58%), and LinkedIn (48%). Another study by Hootsuite and We Are Social found that Singapore has the highest social media penetration in Southeast Asia, with around 7 in 10 Singaporeans accessing social media daily.
In summary, digital marketing in Singapore is growing rapidly, with businesses leveraging various digital channels such as SEO, SEM, and social media to reach and engage with their target audiences. These channels are particularly popular among small and medium-sized businesses, as they allow them to reach their target audiences at a relatively low cost. The majority of Singaporeans use search engines and social media, making it crucial for businesses in Singapore to have a strong digital presence to reach their potential customers.
Digital Marketing Statistics in 2022
- Digital marketing has gained enormous traction in Singapore over the recent years. According to eMarketer, mobile marketing & advertising account for 72% of digital ad spending in 2020.
- In 2020, Singapore has seen a 32% increase in online shopping activities
- 4 million people are the target group of digital marketing as they purchase consumer goods using e-commerce sites.
- 53% of digital marketers utilize interactive content to generate leads
- 30% companies in Singapore do not have a monthly budget for digital marketing
- 50% are not confident in developing and executing a digital marketing campaign, however, 62% are confident in leading a digital marketing team.
- Companies who use videos to market their products and services get 66% more qualified leads and benefit from a 54% increase in brand awareness.
- 72% of online marketers consider high-quality content creation as the most efficient SEO tactic.
- Affiliate marketing makes up 15% of all digital media revenue. And 84% of publishers and 80% of advertisers run an affiliate program.
- There is $1 billion dollar worth of e-commerce market in Singapore and it is expected to rise to $5 billion by 2025.
- Over 90% of Singapore’s population use Smartphone and over 50% of all online purchases are now completed using mobile devices, thus digital marketers creates more mobile-friendly strategies.
- 1 in 10 users in Singapore learn about a new product through online advertising.
- 51% of consumers make use of mobile devices to identify new brands and items on the market.
- Strategic landing pages are used by 68% of B2B businesses to acquire leads.
- According to 61% of marketers, their top challenges are generating traffic and leads.
- 53% of content marketers use interactive content in lead generation efforts.
Singapore Digital Marketing Statistics and Facts
- Digital ad spend worldwide is predicted to reach US $435.83 billion in 2020 and in Singapore it is US $720 million.
- Among $720 million worth market, search advertising dominates the market with US$293 million. 86% of Singaporean use cloud technology for their business.
- Segmented email campaigns gain 14.32% higher open rate than non-segmented campaigns.
- 4 pm to 8 pm is recorded as the best time to send emails for a digital marketer.
- A business website with videos captures 4.8% higher attention of audience than a website without videos.
- During covid-19, total social media messaging has increased by more than 50%.
- Digital marketers in Singapore believe video marketing strategies brings 55% returning customers.
- 25% to 43% of Singaporean digital marketers spend their marketing budget on content.
- Digital marketers also believe that content marketing cost 62% less than traditional marketing and help to generate 3 times more leads.
- 39% of Singaporean consumers made an online purchase via laptop or desktop computer, 50% made an online purchase via a mobile device.
The Ways Digital Marketing Evolved in Singapore Over The Last Few Years
Market Technology (Martech) in Singapore has been changing over the years
- 2012 is considered as the early age of martech
- 2016 is the first golden age of martech
- 2020 is the reckoning age of martech
- And 2022 will be the second golden age of martech
There are around 3.9 million online shoppers in Singapore.
- In Singapore, a woman’s average income is around S$61,653, a lot higher than what most women from other countries earn monthly. As a result, women in Singapore are more likely to purchase high-end fashion products online.
- More than 90% of the population is Smartphone users, which shows how rich and thriving the country is when it comes to digital technology.
- Singapore love social media. Now, 83% of the population has social media accounts and most online shoppers i.e., 16% share their shopping experience on social media than other platforms.
- 88 % of online shoppers in Singapore conduct pre-research online before making a purchase.
- In a 2021 report conducted by Wyzowl, found that video marketing gives marketer high ROI (89%), helps with lead generation (83%), increases their website traffic (87%), and boosts sales (80%).
- Due to COVID-19 pandemic, marketers in Singapore have reduced their ad spending significantly this year, with forecasters predicting a decline to 4.5% from pre-pandemic estimates of 7%.
The Ways Social Media is Transforming Digital Marketing in Singapore
- There are over 4.6 million active social media users nationwide. Because of this large penetration rate, more businesses started adopting Facebook marketing in Singapore.
- And over 66% of marketers in Singapore see improvements in their lead generation with social media.
- While 86% of Singaporean companies are comfortable marketing with social tools, only 41% use those tools for communicating with customers.
- 71% of customers who receive a quick response on social media say they are more likely to recommend that company to other people.
- Since the current mobile penetration rate in Singapore has reached 78%, then it is a great idea to create content that is compatible with mobile devices.
- 92% of all digital marketers have noted that their social media efforts increased exposure for their businesses, and 80% of digital marketers noted that their social media efforts created more traffic.
- More than 58% of marketers who have been using social media for at least a year have noticed an improvement in their organic search engine rankings.
- 92% of marketers strongly agreed that social media is necessary for their business.
- More than 90% of brands in Singapore have a presence of some sort on social media.
Statistics about the Growing Demand for Digital Marketers in Singapore
- Initially uncertainly and a rise in Covid-19 cases pushed ad spend levels 10% below the pre-pandemic levels by July, according to new digital marketing statistics.
- From August to November-2020 covid-19 pandemic, the demand for digital advertising is increased by 27%, followed by content creation 23% and content strategy 20%.
- Recently SEO/SEM is also seeing a growing demand at 19%, along with lead generation 16%.
- More than half (50.33%) of searches on Google now end without a click on a result.
- Only 17% of marketers use landing page A/B tests to improve conversion rates.
- About 64% of marketers actively invest time in search engine optimization (SEO).
- 86% of business professionals prefer using email for business communication purposes.
- 53% of marketers use interactive content in lead generation efforts.
- 72% of people prefer watching a video to learn about a product or service rather than reading a text.
- 61% of marketers agree that improving SEO and growing organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority.
- 47% of internet users use an ad-blocker today.
- 62% of customers now expect companies to anticipate their needs.
- 47% of email recipients will open your email based solely on the subject line.
Major Digital Marketing Trends and Opportunities of Singapore
- In Singapore content become prominent with more businesses amplifying content marketing in their marketing strategies.
- More businesses will be using AI technology, chatbots to attend to customer queries in real-time.
- 91% of smartphone owners made a purchase after seeing a relevant ad.
- 90% of brands rely on social media to increase their brand recognition.
- More than 60% of buyers said that mobiles played a big role in a recent purchase.
- 51% of marketing and advertising budgets now go into mobile ads.
- 67% of businesses have undertaken or already implemented marketing transformation strategies as a result of the crisis
- 65% of senior marketers plan to revamp their offices after COVID
- Voice search numbers will go up with more people using it and website owners optimizing their content for voice search.
- Businesses will incorporate a Vertical form of IGTV videos to remain ahead of their competition.
- 76% of SMBs say they have up-skilled in areas such as SEO, social media, and data analytics
- The country will have more digital marketing institutes across to address the demand of growing job opportunities in the digital market.
- 79% of CMOs continue to pursue relatively conservative growth strategies, primarily relying on existing markets to fuel growth.
18 Digital Marketing Trends to Focus on in 2021
Good riddance to the chaotic 2020.
The global pandemic has strained businesses in every possible sense.
A few weeks into the crisis, and we were already experiencing mass lay-offs and physical closures. Small businesses were massively dislocated, forcing them to look for alternative ways of doing business.
The pandemic singlehandedly upended how businesses operate. We saw more products and services move online, as many employees resorted to working from home or in a hybrid setting.
Now, from a digital marketing standpoint, what should we expect to see in 2021? What digital marketing trends will dominate and which ones will die out?
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Artificial Intelligence will Advance
AI has improved by leaps and bounds ever since it was first theorized in 1950. Fast-forward to 2021 and this technology is now dominating the digital world of marketing.
AI has become more accessible, and businesses all over are using it to predict trends, analyse data, and enhance their brands.
It’s safe to say it has dramatically changed the way brands conduct digital marketing. The world of marketing has been moving away from traditional media to a digital model, resulting in more efficient and advanced marketing strategies.
Now, the core of this marketing strategy has always been to target consumers based on the behaviours they exhibit. This brought us automation, which further ushered in virtual customer service and digital sales.
But now with AI getting thrown into the mix, digital marketing will be taking another turn – this time to embrace a more customer-centric marketing approach.
This leaves organizations with no option but to work AI into their digital marketing strategies.
Here are the reasons businesses and organizations need to adopt AI:
- To gain and sustain competitive advantage
- To explore new business opportunities
- Other organizations are already using AI. If not, new organizations that understand the value of AI will enter the market and elbow you out.
- To cut on cost: AI allows repetitive tasks, and now it’s advanced enough to augment human decisions. Different studies also seem to suggest AI will incrementally add 16% to the global GDP by 2030.
- Suppliers are offering AI-driven products
- Customers will soon start asking for AI-driven offerings
Digital marketers are using AI to analyse search patterns and consumer behaviours. The technology can also collate data from blog posts and social media for an in-depth analysis of your consumers and their online behaviour.
The first example that comes to mind when someone talks about AI is chatbots. Imagine having a bot that can decipher what a customer wants and respond to them as if it were a real person.
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Automated Bidding on Google Ads
Google Ads marketers are constantly tweaking and adjusting campaigns, bids, and keywords to get the most out of your marketing dollars. This tweaking usually comes at a cost – higher management fees and more hours.
But with automated bidding, Google can automate some of these moves and automatically adjust your bids in real-time.
Automated bidding isn’t exactly new. It was first introduced in 2016 and has since been subjected to continuous improvement, especially in 2020. If the trend is anything to go by, this might be the year when the technology finally breaks out.
Increased reliance on automated bidding means PPC marketers can now use the spare time to optimise other aspects of their PPC campaigns. This will ensure that they’re able to deliver even better results at a reduced cost.
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Voice Search to Become a Hot Topic
Voice search has yet to be adopted as one of Google’s ranking factors. Still, its impact on current search results isn’t one to be ignored.
One thing to note is that voices queries don’t yield the same results as text-based ones. So, when working on SEO, you should be equally concerned about voice search components.
It’s simple. Just make sure every piece of content you produce is optimised for voice search.
Make sure it’s addressing the user directly as if you were having a real, face-to-face conversation. This will allow your content to accurately sync up with queried voice searches.
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Programmatic Display Advertising
Programmatic advertising is a difficult subject to wrap your head around, but we’ll try to keep it simple.
In its simplest form, it’s a way of automating the process of buying and selling online ads. Thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence, you can now buy advertising in real-time, without necessarily negotiating with advertisers.
Before programmatic advertising, salespeople would contact advertisers directly and ask them if they could place a banner on their website. A negotiation would ensue. More interesting, the same banner would show despite who had visited the website.
But all this would change with the introduction of programmatic advertising.
And now the automation just got better – it’s efficient and fast, and more capable of lowering customer acquisition costs and increasing conversions.
About 69% of digital media is now traded programmatically.
Search-driven manual advertising campaigns only target three to four things: time of the day, keywords, and location. But with an in-demand programmatic platform, you can target hundreds of signals and even individualise your ad to start targeting prospective customers according to their lifestyles and habits.
Here’s how programmatic advertising works:
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Chatbots
Before the covid-19 pandemic, chatbots were already glowing. The pandemic only made them popular.
Come 2021, and it’s all clear the trend will still dominate the digital marketing space for the most part.
This AI-based technology utilises instant messaging to chat with your site’s visitors in real-time, day and night.
As it turns out, chatbots now power 85% of customer support.
Their benefits include:
- 24-hour customer support services
- Canned answer to simple or frequently asked questions
- Instant responses to customer inquiries
Chatbots are not only preferred by marketers but customers as well – and mostly because:
- They’re responsive, 24/7 response
- Give prompt answers
- Accurately recall buying histories
- They never lose patience with you
Chatbots offer outstanding customer support services. They can automate repetitive tasks and meet customers’ expectations, leaving you with enough time to focus on important tasks.
Chatbots are common with big brands, including the likes of Sephora, Lyft, Fandango, Pizza Hut, and Whole Food Market.
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Improved Retention through Segmentation
Retaining existing customers is a lot cheaper than targeting new ones. It takes five times more effort to convince a new customer to buy from you than it takes to convince an existing one.
That’s why marketing experts are always suggesting you direct more of your marketing effort into the later stages of a buyer’s journey.
The point is to try and make your customers happy. Succeed in that and you’d have made yourself loyal brand advocates – customers who won’t hesitate to put out a positive word for your business or product.
They’ll refer their friends and families to your brand – which translates to more revenue for you. They’ll also provide an honest review of your products and services.
By collecting data on your customers and prospects, and using this data to segment them, you have the opportunity to deliver personalised experiences to them.
It’s also a great opportunity to cut on cost and stretch out your marketing dollar.
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Conversation Marketing
Modern marketing demands that you loosen up. Drop that stiff, clunky or professional attitude some marketers still carry themselves with for something more informal and casual.
Modern customers want to make a friend off you as a brand. They’re only interested in doing business with brands they can connect with emotionally.
They’re not looking for perfection, but someone they can trust.
When a consumer has a question, most of the time they’ll be looking for an immediate answer.
Conversational marketing allows for real-time, one-to-one interaction between marketers and customers.
It’s a form of marketing that works across multiple channels, allowing you to meet your customers on their own terms – on their preferred platform, device, and schedule.
Ultimately, the goal is to try and reinforce a feedback-driven marketing model that fosters higher engagement and encourages brand loyalty.
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Interactive Content Marketing
Creating interactive content for your website and social media is an excellent way to provide value to your visitors and followers.
It also an excellent opportunity for them to engage with you, as you get to learn about them.
For example, suppose you run a real estate agency, you can add a simple mortgage calculator to your site. That way, you’ll be offering value to your site visitors, and based on the information they provide, get to learn more about them.
This information can, in turn, help you fine-tune your offerings and personas.
Other exciting examples of interactive content you can exploit include quizzes, assessments, games, contests, polls, interactive videos, and surveys.
Interactive content works great when you’re looking to exponentially increase your visibility and reach. Just figure out how to get your current customers to share your contest, game, or quiz on their social media profile.
You can even take it a step further by creating a referral contest, where you’ll be rewarding the contestants who manages to get the highest number of their friends to sign up.
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Video Marketing
If we were to re-order these trends in order of importance, video marketing would feature at the top of the pile.
Suffice it to say it’s one of the most important (if not the most important) trend on the list, and possibly for the next 5 to 10 years.
Here’s what stats have to show about the importance of incorporating videos into your marketing strategy:
- 70% of consumers have ever shared a brand video
- 72% of businesses say they managed to significantly improve their conversion rate by incorporating videos into the content marketing strategy
- 52% of consumers agree watching videos enhances their confidence when making purchase decisions
- 65% of business executives check out marketer’s website after watching a video while 39% will straight away call the vendor
Also, videos are many customers’ preferred way to learn about a product.
Simple. Isn’t YouTube the first platform that comes to mind when you want to learn about a new product?
As a video marketer, there’re plenty of ways to increase the engagement on your video. A common strategy would be to start a live broadcast on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Things have changed over the years. A majority of users no longer access the internet using their laptops and desktops, but their mobile devices.
The long-form emails and sales pages are now phased out, and it’s all because they’re difficult to read on a mobile device.
However, videos are naturally responsive. They can still present information in a format that can be accessed on almost any device.
Here’s some fun fact about videos:
- By including a video, you’re more likely to drive 50 times more organic search results than text. The reason being users tend to gravitate more towards video content. They find them more compelling and detailed.
It’s for this reason that Google started to push pages with video content higher in their rankings.
- Videos also make your content easy to reformat. They’re not just limited to YouTube.
Other than publishing them on YouTube, here’s what else you could do:
- Transcribe the video to get a text version of it
- Publish the transcribed video under an embedded YouTube video to get ranked for it
- Upload the video on Facebook with the transcriptions as the subtitles
- Rewrite the transcription and turn it into a standalone blog post. Remember to add images and more stats to the video.
- Rip the video’s audio and upload it as a podcast
- Use the video’s thumbnail in your email marketing campaign. Remember to add the word video in the subject line, and increase its open rate by 19%.
Other Video Marketing Trends You Might Want to Look into:
Live Videos: Live videos work great with interviews, product demos, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your brand. For instance, you can make a live video about your life in the office, how you make your products, a company event, and so on.
1:1 Video: This is a common trend. Instead of sending an email or making a phone call, you can make a personalised video responding to a customer’s query. You can do it using your smartphone or if it’s something you want to dive in deep, then consider investing in filming equipment.
Video SEO: YouTube and videos from other platforms are also displayed in the search engine result pages. That’s to say, they can also be optimised for a higher ranking in the SERPs. Among the things you can do is:
- Add closed captions and text overlays
- Add your keyword to the description, title, and file name
360 Degrees Video: These are spherical or immersive video formats, which when viewed on a virtual reality (VR) headsets, gives the viewer the illusion of being there. It’s a trend that’s picking up steam fast.
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Social Media Messaging
Almost every social media platform out there supports messaging (both direct and group messaging). And then there are dedicated messaging apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.
All these apps offer great opportunities to reach your target audience. All you have to do is tailor your marketing message for each platform and make sure you’re everywhere your prospective customers can be found.
The point is to try and use these messaging apps to connect with your target audience and promote your brand.
- On average, businesses send about 10 billion Facebook messages to people in a month.
- Over 1.6 billion people actively use WhatsApp. In total, these people send way over 55 billion WhatsApp messages in a day
- The three most popular messaging apps — WhatsApp, Messenger, and WeChat – when combined have more users than Facebook and YouTube combined.
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Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that involves using a key leader or any influential figure in your industry to amplify your marketing message by echoing or endorsing it to a larger following.
Influencers range from well-known celebrities to industry experts or personalities with a huge following and who can help you spread your marketing message by sharing it on their social media channels.
Working with an influencer goes beyond having an influential figure share your brand message, but having a content creator you can collaborate with to grow your brand.
Since customers trust influencers, they’re more likely to take their words for it and take action:
Here’s what stats have to say about this:
- 63% of consumers say they trust influencers’ opinion more than they trust self-promoting messages from brands.
- 58% of consumers say they have bought a product in the last six months simply because it was recommended to them by an influencer.
This should explain why a popular supermarket chain decided to switch from running ads with celebrities in them to running campaigns with real-life moms. Remember, the influencers have spent years building a relationship with their audience – and people follow them because they can relate to their situation in every sense.
They have a lot to lose by endorsing the wrong product, and their followers are well aware of that. So, any positive word they put out about your business is more likely to be trusted than any corporate message they hear from you.
Influencer marketing is a trend that’s here to stay. Confirming this is a recent study by Mediakix, which seem to suggest influencer marketing has the potential to hit $10 billion by the end of the year.
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Visual Search
Search engines are entirely text or voice-based. Today, you can search for more specific search results by just uploading an image – works with almost any search engine out there.
For instance, with Google, all you have to do is visit the Google platform (google.com) and click “images” at the top-right corner, and you’ll be provided with an option to search online by uploading an image.
Just click on the camera icon to upload the image.
Pinterest Lens: Pinterest Lens is one of the most advanced visual search platforms out there.
It’s a simple feature that allows users to take a picture of any item they come across and upload it on the platform to find similar products or an online store that sells it.
What Pinterest does is that it converts your phone camera into a search bar.
Say you’re visiting a friend and you spot a torchiere floor lamp. All you have to do is use your phone to snap it and upload the image on Pinterest. You’ll be provided with similar images and nearby places to buy it.
Ever since they launched it, Pinterest has been continuously updating this functionality.
- They recently introduced Pincodes, a QR-code type of technology that lets you find inspiration while you’re flipping through a magazine or while you’re doing your shopping.
- Lens Your Look: Finding it hard to plan your outfit? Well, Pinterest introduced the Lens Your Look feature back in 2017. It’s a feature that allows you to take a photo of an outfit you have for some ideas on how to wear them.
- Shop the Look: With this feature, consumers can directly buy a product they see from one of the companies signed with Pinterest.
- Pinterest Catalogs: Pinterest launched this tool for merchants that want to sell their products. With this tool, merchants can upload their products and convert their catalogues into shoppable pins.
Google Lens: Rivalling Pinterest lens is Google’s version of Visual Search, Google lens. It’s another visual search tool that converts the camera app into a search bar. Meaning, you can snap objects and landmarks using your phone camera, and use the image to search online for more information about them.
Here’s what you can do with the pictures you take through the app:
- Apparel and household goods: Find similar products and a list of online sites nearby that sell them.
- Barcodes: Use a product’s barcode to find out more about it, like a list of all the place you can buy it.
- Business card: Automatically scan a business card and save the phone number and address to your contact list.
- Book: Read books summary and reviews.
- Billboard and event flyer: Scan events and add them to your Google calendar automatically.
- Landmarks and Buildings: Learn their history, find out what time they open, and so on.
- Plants and animals: find out what species or breed they are.
- Museum painting: Find out more about the artist who drew it, when was it drawn, and so forth.
CamFind:
Camfind is another popular visual search app that allows you to search the web by taking a picture of an object or landmark.
Instead of typing your search query, you can search using an image to find other similar images, compare prices, find local shopping sites, and so on.
For example, you can take a picture of an event or movie poster, and upload it on CamFind to find more information about the event or movie.
Bing Visual Search:
Bing’s visual search tools allows you to search for specific elements within an image. For example, suppose you’re searching for ideas on kitchen decoration and then you spot an image you like. You click on the thumbnail to get a detailed view of the image. Overall, the image looks great, but you’re particularly interested in the kitchen flower vase.
How would you proceed to search for the vase only and ignore the rest of the items?
Well, that’s where Bing Visual Search comes in.
Marketers have a perfect opportunity to gain an edge over their competition by capitalising on visual search.
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Micro Moments
A micro-moment refers to that exact moment when an online user reflexively turns to their device to act on the need they have – to learn, discover, watch something, do something, or purchase something.
They’re the intent-rich moment when preferences are shaped and decisions are made.
As a marketer, you only have a small window of opportunity to capitalise on this moment. During these moments, consumers tend to have higher expectations.
They expect brands to deliver exactly what they’re looking for when they want them. They have already visualised what they want, and they want it to be delivered exactly the way they see it. More importantly, they want it right away.
People make instant decisions during these four micro-moments:
It bears repeating that you only have a small window of opportunity to act on these micro-moments. The point is to try and make sure you’re where your users are searching for this information – or, using Google’s own words, “be there, be useful, be quick.”
Micro-moments are increasingly growing in popularity – and for a marketer, that means you should rethink the linear customer journey: awareness, interest, consideration, and decision.
From 2021 and beyond, we expect to see a more dynamic customer’s journey, almost unpredictable. Consumer desires change rapidly. What they’re looking for today is instant gratification.
When you talk about something or think about it, they’ll want to see more, learn more, or buy more, with a simple click of a button.
Here’s what you should do to take advantage of micro-moments:
- Be keen on identifying your consumers’ “I-want-to-buy” moments
- Make sure you’re there at any of these moments
- Deliver valuable content
- Simplify the purchase process. Make sure it’s easy and intuitive to them.
- Track all the four elements and measure results
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Push Notifications
85% of e-commerce stores use push notifications.
Here’re more stats on this:
- The number of people that sign up for push notifications is twice as much as those who sign up for newsletters.
- Only 10% of email marketers have a newsletter sign-up rate that could match the performance of push notifications.
- It takes an average of 6.4 hours before a newsletter recipient opens it. However, with push notifications, the message is usually seen immediately.
Stats show that more and more brands will be adopting push notification in 2021. It’s also expected that they’ll get more sophisticated and personalised.
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Shoppable Posts and Social Commerce
Social media and e-commerce are becoming almost inseparable. It’s no wonder social media is the first thing that comes to mind when e-commerce brands think about marketing their products or services on social media.
It started with Instagram unveiling Instagram checkout in 2019. That’s to say Instagram users can now complete a purchase within the Instagram platform, without necessarily hoping to an e-commerce site.
The main reason for integrating e-commerce is to reduce the risk of customers abandoning their purchase midway because they have to switch between apps or log into a platform they barely know.
Instagram has been hiding likes. But that’s not to say the photo-sharing app is on a sharp decline.
Social media still plays a critical role in digital marketing, and a visual platform such as Instagram is like gold to marketers.
It’s safe to say that Instagram has been regrouping and rebranding itself not just as a photo-sharing app but as a visual e-commerce platform.
Consumers want to buy directly off the ads they see on their feeds – a plea that Instagram heard and responded to by introducing shoppable Ads and posts. And now it’s just a matter of time before the whole thing blows up.
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Geo-fencing
You know you can target customers based on their physical location, right?
This is nothing new – we just expect to see many marketers using it in 2021. And if the current trend is anything to go by, the market will have grown to $2.4 billion come 2023.
Geo-fencing has advanced a great deal to a point that it’s even possible to target users in real-time based on their current location.
A target audience can be defined as, say, when a user is within a mile radius of your restaurant or shop, or when they leave or enter a particular location. You’ll be notified by a web push notification or text message when any of these happens.
According to a recent study, 54% of users who open push notifications convert from a segmented push. Moreover. 15% of users have enabled push messaging.
Here’s a real-time example of geo-fencing:
A gas company going by the name 76 has been using geofencing to target drivers. They started by using Waze to mark the location of their gas station on the map. Any driver who approached their target area would receive a push notification with the company’s logo showing them where they could fill their tank. The company also organised a competition and would offer free entry to any driver who fills up their tank with them.
By running this campaign, the navigation rate to their fuel stations swelled up by 6.5%.
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Progressive Web Apps
PWAs are essentially websites that operate like mobile applications.
They’re mobile apps, only that they’re not limited to one particular platform (iOS and Android).
Web apps have all the functionalities of a native mobile app – works offline, push notifications, loads faster, utilises your device hardware, and so on.
There are over 2.87 billion smartphone users in the world. With the number of mobile users increasing over the years, PWAs have become a crucial segment of any digital strategy that no serious digital marketer would want to ignore.
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Blockchain Technology
Blockchain can be defined as a series of time-stamped immutable data records managed by all the computers within the network and not owned by a single entity.
You’ve probably heard of the term blockchain and its strong connection to cryptocurrencies.
What you don’t know is that their use stretches far beyond the financial world.
It’s a technology that’s also been making waves in the world of marketing.
It builds trust by enhancing transparency. It also eliminates intermediaries, thus driving public accountability and offering the benefits of branding.
That said, here are the blockchain trends we’ll be seeing in 2021:
- Pinpoint targeting
- Verifying online identities
- Handling social impressions
- Elevate transparency
- Provenance and authentication
- Personal data protection
Digital Advertising Market Size in Singapore
- In Singapore, Ad spending in the Digital Advertising market is projected to reach US$720m in 2020.
- The market’s largest segment is Search Advertising with a projected market volume of US$293m in 2020.
- Ad spending in the Classifieds segment is projected to reach US$86m in 2020.
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 3.6%, resulting in a market volume of US$103m by 2025.
- In the Classifieds segment, 46% of total ad spending
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 3.7%, resulting in a market volume of US$351m by 2025.
g will be generated through mobile in 2025. - The average ad spending per internet user in the Search Advertising segment is projected to amount to US$60.69 in 2020.
- Ad spending in the Banner Advertising segment is projected to reach US$179m in 2020.
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 5.4%, resulting in a market volume of US$232m by 2025.
- The average ad spending per internet user in the Banner Advertising segment is projected to amount to US$37.05 in 2020.
Statistics of Ad Spending Costs on Digital Marketing in Singapore
- Ad spending in the Search Advertising segment is projected to reach US$293m in 2020.
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 3.7%, resulting in a market volume of US$351m by 2025.
- In the Digital Advertising market, 39% of total ad spending will be generated through mobile in 2025.
- In the Digital Advertising market, 21.0% of the digital ad spending will be accounted by the retail industry in 2020.
- The average ad spending per internet user in the Classifieds segment is projected to amount to US$17.86 in 2020.
- In the Digital Advertising market, 65% of the Digital Advertising revenue will be generated through programmatic advertising in 2025.
- Initial suggestions after the onset of the pandemic indicated a decline of 4.9%, suggesting businesses reacted better than expected to the economic effects of the pandemic.
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 5.5%, resulting in a market volume of US$126m by 2025.
- Email marketing (66%), websites (63%), and social media marketing (52%) top the list of tactics that brands handled internally this year.
Cost of Digital Marketing in Singapore
SEM Cost in Singapore
- Ad spending in the Search Advertising segment is projected to reach US$293m in 2020.
- To run a Google AdWords campaign, you need a budget of SGD 500 to SGD 5,000. The cost per click in these advertising campaigns is between S$ 2 and S$15
- Search engine ads in Singapore forecasted to grow 5.9% this year
- CRO Cost
- The average conversion rate is around 2.5%, but the top 10% of businesses are seeing rates of 10-15%.
Social Media Marketing Cost
- Ad spending in the Social Media Advertising segment is projected to reach US$67m in 2020.
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 7.5%, resulting in a market volume of US$96m by 2025.
Video Marketing Cost
- Ad spending in the Video Advertising segment is projected to reach US$96m in 2020.
- During this pandemic, 23% of consumers plan to continue watching more livestreaming videos post-outbreak.
- Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 5.5%, resulting in a market volume of US$126m by 2025.
- The average ad spending per internet user in the Video Advertising segment is projected to amount to US$20.01 in 2020.
- In the year 2020 a share of 24.0% of users is 25-34 years old.
Email Marketing Cost
- Generally cost per lead is $1 and the cost for email marketing for each month varies from $200 to $5000 in Singapore in 2020.
Top Digital Marketing Issues Marketers Should Be Aware Of
- Singapore’s millennials dominate social media: With millennials currently making up the majority of the Asia-Pacific workforce, marketers need to adapt their social media marketing activities to this consumer group. Find out to how to market to Singapore’s millennials here.
- The most active social media networks in the country are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: With 68% of internet users in Singapore watching online video every day, ignoring video content could place you at a disadvantage.
- 4.3 million Facebook users in Singapore are reached by ads: 94% of businesses on Facebook have invested in paid ads or sponsored posts at some point. Clearly, it‘s a saturated market out there.
- The most popular social messaging services are WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype, WeChat, and LINE: WhatsApp takes the lion’s share (87 percent) of Singapore’s social messaging market, followed by Facebook Messenger at 52 percent.
- Instagram and Snapchat see a dip in ad reach: Given Instagram’s popularity with millennials, it’s no surprise why it’s the preferred social media platform for influencer marketing. The rise in the number of COVID-19 cases is impacting most businesses so it should keep calm and understand your customer mindset.
- Be sensitive to the environment: There is nothing worse than a marketing strategy that cashes upon a crisis. So while puns and memes might be tempting, this is not the right time for F&B outlets to run one-for-one Corona beer campaigns. This is probably a good time to earn brand equity from your customers.
Impact of Digital Marketing on the Business Scenario in Singapore
- The maximum rate of customers compares the price and feature benefits of the needed gadget or object available online.
- Digital marketing enables using different strategies as per the change in requirement and marketing trend.
- Enterprises are using digital marketing to improve their services
- It allows the companies to keep transparency between the customers and brand
- Enterprise can collect data for company success and customer channels that pay off.
- It provides enormous space for the content of an advertisement.
Some Stats and Facts about Digital Marketing in the Time of Covid-19
- During COVID-19, 63% of businesses reallocate their digital marketing budgets to activities that bring results in the short term.
- Although three-quarters 73% of advertisers have held back campaign launches, most (52%) are expected to resume or ramp up their advertising spending this summer
- Marketers expect a 66% increase in social media content creation during the pandemic, followed by blog content at 57% and video production at 50%.
- Of the 79% who have a content marketing strategy, 70% made major or moderate adjustments to their strategy because of the pandemic 42% of marketers mentioned that their marketing teams lacked the bandwidth to quickly adapt to shifting priorities and creating new content.
- Only 22% of marketing professionals noted the ability to effectively collaborate in real-time as a notable challenge.
- Search engine ads forecast to grow 5.9% this year
- Only 18% of businesses experienced an increase in sales, 27% reported an increase in traffic, and 12% received new customers.
- In 60% of digital marketing companies, no employees were dismissed from their positions
- 64% of respondents confirmed they worked from home, while as few as 6% of Marketing Managers kept working in offices.
- To avoid losses in online sales, 63% of companies opted for diverting SEO budgets to PPC.
- 46% of businesses lost essential customers for the last several months, while 12% claimed they enjoyed a surge in new ones.
- 40% of respondents confirmed their salaries were cut, while 9% of businesses had plans to turn such changes to reality.
- 28% observed a decrease in traffic compared to 27% that experienced the opposite.
The actions companies have taken to adopt during this pandemic:
- Offer discounts (23%)
- Provide anti-crisis deals (19%)
- Make specific products or services free (18%)
- Adapt products/services costs to local currencies (8%)
Digital Marketing Strategies in the Time of Covid-19 Pandemic
- Digital sales are becoming more active during Covid-19 period than the holiday period: Digital sales grew by 18% in 2020 compared to 2019. We see traffic growth by 13% in 2020 compared to 2019.
- Covid-19 Pandemic forces Singaporean digital marketers to redefine their business goals: In 2019, desktop traffic declined by 9%, but grew by 9% in 2020. With people stuck inside and not on the move, there’s a pronounced switch to desktop traffic and purchases. In 2019, the share of traffic coming from social media was 6%. This jumped to 8% for 2020.
- Truth in advertising has become a big deal during the Covid-29 pandemic time.
- Advertisers have to adjust their messaging for the new way the world operates
- Shoppers use a mix of digital touchpoints along the buying journey.
- During this pandemic, new search trends have emerged almost daily. That’s why data analysis and reporting are crucial for marketers.
The Future of the Digital Marketing Industry of Singapore
- The role of the digital consumer will continue to rise in Singapore
- By 2025, the digital market in South East Asia will be worth approximately $197 billion. As a rising star of Southeast Asia, Singapore has been performing really well in its digital sector.
- Mobile commerce will rise to 44 percent of digital commerce by 2024
- Artificial intelligence looks to double Singaporean economic growth by 2035
- Digital marketing in Singapore will become fast-paced and super competitive as there are over 4.92 million active Internet users amongst a population of 5.83 million.
- Personalized marketing powered by big data, AI, and innovative tech will define the way brands communicate with customers.
The Future of Content Marketing Agency in Singapore
- In 2020, content marketing will continue to become more personal.
- Most brands in Singapore spend 25%-43% of their marketing budget on content. And in the future, it will be increased.
- Brand marketers will take more time to create super personalized content for niche audiences
- Currently, around 49% of companies outsource their content marketing. In the future, it will be increased.
- Companies in Singapore that will have good content marketing strategies can easily make sales.
- Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing strategies and creates three times more leads than the latter.
- According to a study of Marketing Profs, 72% of digital marketers said that relevant content creation is the most effective and reliable SEO tactic today in Singapore.
- Content marketers will act even more like journalists, shifting the focus to real people.
- In the future, we will see an increase in branded content being delivered by “stories” on Facebook and Instagram as paid initiatives.
Digital Marketing Statistics in 2020
General SEO Statistics
- Good content can increase your blog traffic by up to 2000%.
- As of May 2020, Google generated about 67% of smartphone search traffic and 94% of online organic traffic.
- A majority of SMEs in Singapore rely on content marketing and technical SEO to drive and increase search traffic.
- Search engines drive 93% of web traffic.
- The standard load time is 2 seconds. Anything longer than that attracts a 50% bounce rate.
- 18% of local searches translate to a same-day sale. 72% of online users who visit a physical store will choose one within a 5-mile radius of the current location.
- In a recent Go Forester publication, just having a video thumbnail in your search results will more than double your organic search traffic.
- 90% of people who run their queries into search engines have yet to make up their minds about any brand, which leaves plenty of room for new entrants to leave an impression.
- 69% of searchers use their phones to research an in-store purchase before deciding on anything.
- More than half of the websites that appear on Google’s front page use a secure HTTPs protocol.
- 85% of online shoppers will abandon an unsecured website.
- 50% of online users are more likely to click on a link or brand if it appears more than once in the search engine result pages.
- 87% of video marketers agree that videos have helped them increase their website traffic.
- Google handles an average of 83787 searches every second.
- Promotional links or ads on your website shouldn’t take up more than 15% of space. Otherwise, you might be subjected to a Google penalty.
- The first search result on Google receives an average of 31.7% Click Through Rate. That translates to about a third of the clicks that SERP links get.
- SEO is still 5.66 times better than paid search. But even with this, web experts still recommend PPC, especially if you have no time for SEO.
Overall, organic searches generate 33% of search traffic, while paid searches generate 32% of the traffic.
Search Marketing Stats in Singapore
Singaporeans use the internet to decide on what to buy, with a majority of them using it to weigh in on the various choices.
- About 42% of online shoppers use the internet to compare choices.
- About 26% use it for immediate purchases
- While 25% use it to find inspiration
- 25% use it to read reviews and check out other people’s opinion
Top 10 Most Visited Websites and Social Media Sites in Singapore, in their right order (According to Alexa 2020 report):
Top Site | Average Time Spent on Site | Number of Links to the Site |
1. Google.com | 15:19 | 1, 322, 749 |
2. YouTube.com | 16:36 | 1, 007, 744 |
3. Facebook.com | 18:51 | 2, 244, 379 |
4. Yahoo.com | 4:51 | 323, 227 |
5. Zoom.us | 8:42 | 3, 068 |
6. Myshopify.com | 21:34 | 127 |
7. Wikipedia.org | 3:45 | 773, 237 |
8. Amazon.com | 10:08 | 367, 286 |
9. Netflix.com | 4:17 | 10,968 |
10. Reddit.com | 5:31 | 168,763 |
Singaporeans use their smartphones mostly to browse the internet, with 95% of them using mobile phones and 91% using smartphones (Singapore Business Review of 2018).
The Market Share of the Leading Search Engines in Singapore in 2020 (Statista 2020)
- Google: 95.81% market share
- Yahoo: 1.78% market share
- Bing: 1.56 market share
- Baidu: 0.31% market share
- DuckDuckGo: 0.24% market share
- Naver: 0.07% market share
Ecommerce Stats in Singapore 2020
Leading Ecommerce Players in Singapore 2020 (source: iPrice 2020)
This data was last updated on 21st July 2020
Merchant | Monthly website visits | Appstore Rank in Singapore | PlayStore Rank in Singapore | Number of Employees |
Shopee | 10, 879, 900 | 1 | 1 | 2, 100 |
Lazada | 8, 570, 000 | 2 | 2 | 1, 000 |
Qoo10 | 7, 447, 400 | 3 | 3 | 185 |
Amazon | 3, 653, 300 | 4 | 4 | n/a |
EZBuy | 1, 681, 800 | 5 | 5 | 49 |
Courts Singapore | 1, 174, 600 | 8 | 8 | n/a |
Zalora | 935, 100 | 6 | 6 | 282 |
eBay | 866, 700 | 7 | 7 | 73 |
FortyTwo | 332, 500 | n/a | n/a | 20 |
Reebonz | 331, 000 | 10 | 10 | 112 |
Digital Marketing Revenue and Ad Spending
Digital Advertising in Singapore spending is expected to hit $720 million by the end of 2020 (Statista 2020)
The Individual components of Digital Advertising and their projected spending in 2020:
- Classifieds: $84.3 million
- Video Advertising: $96.5 million
- Banner Advertising: $178.6 million
- Social Media Advertising: $66.7 million
- Search Advertising: $292.6 million
Social Media Marketing Statistics in Singapore
Most Popular Facebook Pages in Singapore (Social Bakers, 2020:
- Ministry of Villa (https://web.facebook.com/MinistryofVillas/): 1, 029, 596 Page Likes
- BMW Singapore (https://web.facebook.com/BMWSingapore/): 971, 815 Page Likes
- Pioneer Car Entertainment (https://web.facebook.com/PioneerCarEntertainment): 816,511 Page Likes
- Marina Bays Sand: 809, 488 Page Likes
- Halal Trip: 797, 780 Page Likes
- MDS Collection: 618, 507 Page Likes
- Singtel Singapore: 556 284 Page Likes
- Limited EDT Singapore: 539, 997 Page Likes
- Armageddon Singapore: 538, 134 Page Likes
- Brandsfever Singapore: 492, 258 Page Likes
Facebook Users in Singapore
As of March 2020, Singapore has about 4.45 million active Facebook users. This accounts for about 74.4% of the country’s population (Cloud Rock Asia).
Gender Breakdown of Facebook Users in Singapore
51% of active Facebook users in Singapore are men, while 49% are women.
The majority of Facebook users in Singapore are between 25 and 34 (1.53 million people). 18% of the people in this group are men, with women making up about 16.4%.
Instagram Users in Singapore
- As of March 2020, Singapore had about 2 113 000 active Instagram users. That accounts for about 34.4% of the total Singaporean population.
Gender Breakdown of Active Instagram Users in Singapore
- Of this count, 55.9% of the users were women, with men accounting for the remaining 44.1%.
- There were more women users in all age groups.
- Again, the highest number of active Instagram users is between 25 and 34 (where they account for about 40.2% of active Instagram users).
LinkedIn Users in Singapore
- LinkedIn has about 2 828 000 active users in Singapore. That accounts for roughly 47.3% of the country’s population.
- Again, many LinkedIn users in Singapore are between 25 and 34, accounting for about 60.1% of the total Instagram usage.
More Key Facts About Social Media Usage in Singapore (web fx 2020)
- Overall, millennials continue to dominate social media. They account for the majority of the users on almost all social media platforms.
- Since they also make the biggest segment of Singapore’s workforce, marketers are adapting their social media marketing strategies to account for this particular group of consumers.
- The most popular social media sites in Singapore are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Most users visit these platforms to stream video content, another reason marketers shouldn’t ignore video content.
- About 4.45 million Singapore users use mobile devices to access these social media sites, where they can easily be reached by ads. The most effective marketing strategy on social media would be to create a social media account, and use paid ads and sponsored posts to reach your target audience. Remember to also maintain an active social media presence.
- The most dominant features on Facebook are photos and videos. They have the best engagement rate compared to other types of posts.
- The most popular messaging platforms globally are WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat, Line, and Skype.
- WhatsApp is the leading social messaging platform in Singapore. Facebook Messenger comes in second, with WeChat, Line, and Skype following.
Web Design and Development Statistics in Singapore in 2020
- Your site’s design is responsible for 94% of first impressions.
- 75% of your online credibility will come from your site’s design
- 89% of consumers will hop to one of your competitors’ sites in case of poor user experience on your site.
- 75% of users are likely to return to your website if it’s mobile-friendly.
- 66% of online users prefer a beautifully designed website, especially if it means they have to consume more than 15 minutes of content.
- Slow-loading websites account for about 2.6 billion of loss per year.
Website Statistics: Statistics to Help You Out with Website Optimisation
- Users are more likely to spend 88% more time on a website with videos.
- 34% are open to making an unplanned purchase after they receive personalised content.
- 83% of customers expect your website to load in under 3 seconds, preferably 2.
Email Marketing Statistics in Singapore (in 2020)
- 3.9 billion people use emails (Statista, 2020). The number is expected to grow to 4.3 billion users by 2023. From these stats, email marketing is an opportunity that no serious marketer or business owner can afford to miss.
- In 2019, people were sending and receiving an average of 293.6 billion emails per day. The number is expected to grow to 347.3 billion emails by the end of 2022.
- Email marketing has one of the highest ROI. With every $1 that you spend, you’re likely to make about $42 in returns.
Digital Marketing Statistics in 2019
There are about 4.92 million internet users in Singapore in which 4.30 million are active social media users. In addition, the penetration rate for social network and social media users is 72% and 79% respectively (source: We Are Social’s annual The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Eight in ten Singaporeans are active social media users, and this amount is almost double the global average of 45%.
Furthermore, Singaporeans spend at least 7 hours and 2 minutes every day online with 2 hours and 8 minutes for social media platforms.
Over 80% of Singapore’s population use smartphones, resulting to the city-state having one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world, among other mobile devices such as tablets and wearable devices.
- Average daily time spent using the internet on any device: 7 hours 02 minutes.
- Average daily time spent using social media via any device: 2 hours 08 minutes.
- Average daily TV viewing time (broadcast, streaming and video on Demand): 2 hours 26 minutes.
- Average daily time spent listing to streaming music: 1 hour 01 minute.
Internet use: Device perspective based on active internet user data, and active use of internet-powered mobile services
- Total number of active internet users: 92 million
- Internet users as a percentage of total population: 84%
- Total number of active mobile internet users: 58 million
- Mobile internet users as a percentage of total population: 79%
Internet users by different perspectives
- Internet world stats: 84 million
- ITU (International Telecommunication Union): 92 million
- World Bank: 92 million
- CIA world Factbook: 68 million
Internet users on different perspectives
- Internet world stats: 4.84 million
- ITU (International Telecommunication Union): 4.92 million
- World Bank: 4.92 million
- CIA World Factbook: 4.68 million
Frequency of internet user
(How often internet users access the internet for personal reasons with any device)
- Every day: 93%
- At least once per week: 5%
- At least once per month: 1%
- Less than once per month: 1%
Device usage
- Mobile phone (any type): 95%
- Smart phone: 91%
- Laptop or Desktop computer: 71%
- Tablet device: 42%
- Television (any kind): 86%
- Device for streaming internet content to tv: 15%
- E-reader device: 4%
- Wearable tech device: 7%
Mobile connection by type
Based on the number of cellular connections
What Mobile Connections by Type Did Singaporeans Use
- Total number of mobile connections: 37 million
- Mobile connection as percentage of total population: 144%
- Percentage of mobile connections that are pre-paid: 36%
- Percentage of mobile connections that are Post-paid: 64%
- Percentage of mobile connections that are Broadband (3G&4G): 99% (The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Social Media Marketing
- Mobile subscriptions: 37 million. Percentage of total population is 144%
- Internet users: 92 million; penetration: 84%
- Active social media users: 60 million; penetration: 79%
- Mobile social media users: 20 million with penetration 72%(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Annual digital growth (from Jan 2018-Jan 2019)
Statistics of Annual Digital Usage in Singapore
- Internet users: increased by 1.9% which is +93 thousand
- Active social media users: decreased by 4.2% which is -200 thousand
- Mobile social media users: decreased by 2.3% which is -100 thousand
Most Popular Social Media Platforms
Facebook users in Singapore
- There were 4 430 000 Facebook users in Singapore in September 2019, which accounted for 6% of its entire population.
- The majority of them were men – 51.1%.
- People aged 25 to 34 were the largest user group (1 540 000).
- The highest difference between men and women occurs for people aged 25 to 34, where men lead by 80 000 (Com, September, 2019).
Instagram users in Singapore
Statistics of the Number of Instagram Users in Singapore
- There were 2 005 000 Instagram users in Singapore in September 2019, which accounted for 8% of its entire population.
- Women: 2%
- Men: 8%
- The majority of them were women – 56.2%.
- People aged 25 to 34were the largest user group (810 000).
- The highest difference between men and women occurs within people aged 35 to 44, where women lead by 80 000 (Com, September, 2019).
Messenger users in Singapore
- There were 2 285 600 Messenger users in Singapore in September 2019, which accounted for 5% of its entire population.
- Women: 49.8%
- Men: 50.2%.
- The slight majority of them were men – 50.2%.
- People aged 25 to 34were the largest user group (870 000).
- The highest difference between men and women occurs within people aged 25 to 34, where men lead by 50 000 (Com, September, 2019).
Linkedin users in Singapore
- There were 2 691 000 Linkedin users in Singapore in September 2019, which accounted for 3% of its entire population.
- People aged 25 to 34were the largest user group (1 600 000) (NapoleonCat.Com, September, 2019).
Twitter audience overview
Based on twitter’s total addressable advertising audience
- Number of people that Twitter reports can be reached with adverts on Twitter: 1 million
- Percentage of adults aged 13+ that can be reached with adverts on Twitter: 19%
- Quarter on quarter growth in twitter advertising reach: -0.05%
- Percentage of Its ad audience that twitter reports is Female: 38%
- Percentage of Its ad audience that twitter reports is male: 62%(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Snapchat Audience overview
Based on Snapchat’s total addressable advertising audience
- Number of people that Snapchat reports can be reached with adverts on twitter: 0 thousand
- Percentage of adults aged 13+ that can be reached with adverts on Snapchat: 11%
- Quarter on quarter growth in Snapchat advertising reach: -21%
- Percentage of Its ad audience that Snapchat reports is Female: 59%
- Percentage of Its ad audience that Snapchat reports is male: 40%(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Search Marketing
Top 10 websites in Singapore 2019
Rank Website
- google.com
- youtube.com
- facebook.com
- instagram.com
- google.com.sg
- wikipedia.org
- twitter.com
- yahoo.com
- reddit.com
- xhamster2.com
Top 10 websites Singaporeans visit comprise mostly search engines and social media sites:
- Google.com.sg
- YouTube
- Google.com
- Facebook.com
- Yahoo.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Reddit.com
- Live.com
- Qoo10.sg
Top YouTube Search Queries
Search query-index
- Song-100
- Movie-91
- Songs-83
- Full movie-53
- Live-47
- Dance-39
- Singapore-32
- Music-29
- Baby-28
- BTS-26
Trending Searches in Google Last Year (2019 results not out yet)
- World Cup
- Malaysia Elections
- Australian Open 2018
- Najib Razak
- Stan Lee
- Thai Cave Rescue
- Black Panther
- Trump-Kim Summit
- Meghan Markle
- Avengers: Infinity War
The Malaysia elections, which saw the Pakatan Harapan coalition ending the 61-year rule of Barisan Nasional, also came in second on the trending international news list. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak came in fourth among trending searches and international news.
The Trump-Kim summit was also on Singaporeans’ minds, as it topped the Singapore news trends. The summit, which was held at the Capella Hotel in Sentosa, was the first-ever meeting between a sitting United States president and a North Korean leader. Tech and electronics exhibitions were also popular among locals, with the Singapore Comex 2018 and IT Show 2018 being the top trending events in Singapore this year. Apple’s new flagship smartphone, the iPhone XS, was No. 1 among trending gadgets.
Singaporeans also had their eyes on superhero movies this year, with Marvel blockbusters Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War featuring on the list of trending searches (source: straitstimes.com, 2019).
Trending Singapore News searched in Google Last Year (2019 results not out yet)
- Trump-Kim Summit
- Crazy Rich Asians
- GST Voucher
- Polar Bear Inuka
- SG Bonus
- Daryl Aiden Yow
- Budget 2018 Singapore
- Ben Davis
- Asean Summit 2018
- Habitat by Honestbee
Singaporeans prefer to shop online using desktop rather than a mobile device, according to the Picodi survey 2019
Based on a survey released by Picodi, Singaporeans prefer to shop online using their desktops (62%) compared to their smartphones (35%). Despite the global blooming of mobile commerce, only 1 out 3 transactions was made with the use of a mobile device in 2018.
On top of that, when Singaporeans do use their phone for shopping, the average order value was only S$96, which is about S$8 lesser than when they use desktops (S$104) and S$25 lesser when using tablets.
Apart from Singapore, other Asian countries that do more desktop shopping compared to mobile shopping are Malaysia (68%) and Indonesia (57%).
However, if we look at countries that have the highest online purchases made with smartphones, Peru tops the chart with 76%, followed by Nigeria (62%) and Thailand (56%). (source: https://www.theonlinecitizen.com)
Web Design and Optimization
Desktop Windows Version Market Share in Singapore – September 2019
- Win10 —72.47%
- Win7—18.31%
- Win8.1—5.07%
- Win8—2.96%
- WinXP —0.47%
- Win98—0.38%
Mobile & Tablet Android Version Market Share in Singapore – September 2019
- 9.0 Pie58.–77%
- 8.1 Oreo9.–85%
- 8.0 Oreo8.–14%
- 6.0 Marshmallow6.–13%
- 7.0 Nougat5.–45%
- 7.1 Nougat5.–36%
Being mobile optimised is more important than ever as Singaporeans are switching from PC to mobile platforms.
Mobile Operating Systems | Percentage Market Share |
Mobile Operating System Market Share in Singapore – September 2019 | |
Android | 62.95% |
iOS | 36.3% |
Samsung | 0.39% |
Unknown | 0.18% |
BlackBerry OS | 0.15% |
Windows | 0.02% |
Source: https://gs.statcounter.com
96% of marketers agree that mobile marketing works, with two thirds already incorporating mobile as a regular marketing channel (Experian, 2019)
Email Marketing
In 2019, many Singaporeans who do manage to go on a holiday still stay connected to work, the survey found. About five in 10 admitted that they tend to stay connected to work during their holidays.
Almost 80 per cent checked their emails or voicemail at least once. Of these, 27 per cent do so at least once a day.
One in three said that they are expected to be available constantly by their supervisors. This is the third highest percentage across the globe, behind India and Malaysia. Source: https://www.todayonline.com
Here’s a summary of the email marketing statistics for 2019:
- The number of active email users is forecasted to reach 4.3 billion in 2022.
- 269 billion emails were sent and received each day.
- Average expected ROI is $32 for every $1 you spend on email marketing.
- 81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% for retention.
- The average open rate for a welcome email is 82%.
- Emails with personalised subject lines generate 50% higher open rates.
- Sending 3 abandoned cart emails results in 69% more orders than a single email.
- Videos added to your email increase click rates by 300%.
- 49% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from their favourite brands.
- 49% of all emails are opened on mobile devices.
Source: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/email-marketing-statistics
E-commerce & M-commerce
Financial inclusion factors
- Has an account with a financial insituation: 98%
- Has a credit card: 49%
- Has a mobile money account: 5%
- Makes online purchases and/or pay bills online: 57%
- Percentage of women with a credit card: 49%
- Percentage of men with credit card: 49%
- Percentage of women making online transactions: 57%
- Percentage of men making online transactions: 56%(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
E-commerce activities:
Percentage of internet users who report performing each activities in the past month [survey based]
- Seared online for product or service to buy: 89%
- Visited an online retail store on the web (any device): 87%
- Purchased product or service online 9any device): 73%
- Make an online purchase via a laptop or desktop computer: 47%
- Make an online purchase via a mobile device: 54%(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
E-commerce spend by category
The total annual amount spend on consumer e-commerce categories, in US. Dollars
- Fashion and beauty: $999.0 million
- Electronics and physical media: $1. 080 billion
- Food and Personal care: $647.0 million
- Furniture and appliances: $726.0million
- Toy, Diy & Hobbies: $658.0 million
- Travel (Including accommodation): $3.641 billion
- Digital music: 26.0 million
- Video games: $85 million(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
E-commerce growth by category
Annual Change in the total amount spend on consumer e-commerce categories
- Fashion & beauty: +30%
- Electronics and physical media: +31%
- Food and Personal care: +47%
- Furniture and appliances: +35%
- Toy, DIY & Hobbies: +40%
- Travel (Including accommodation): +7.9%
- Digital music: +11%
- Video games: +16%
E-commerce for consumer goods
- Total number of people purchasing consumer goods via E-commerce: 4 million within +5.3% year on year change
- Penetration of consumer goods e-commerce (total population): 69%
- Value of the consumer goods e-commerce market (total annual sales revenue): $4.110 billion with +35% year on year change.
- Average annual revenue per user of consumer goods e-commerce (Arpu): $1,037 with +31% year on year change. (The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
E-commerce spending in context:
Comparing e-commerce spend to point of sale spends, with e-wallet details
- E-commerce spend per capital: $889 US dollar
- Point of sale spend per capital in US dollars: $21,481
- E-commerce spend as a share of retail spend: 4%
- E-wallets’ share of e-commerce spend: 10%
- E-wallets’ share of point of sale spend: 4%
Top Google Shopping Queries: Based on searches
- Adidas: 100 index
- Lazada: 80 index
- Amazon: 60 index
- Ikea: 48 index
- Qoo10: 45 index
- Google: 31 index
- YouTube: 26 index
- Ebay: 19 index
- Q10: 12 index
- Lazada Singapore: 10 index
Connected money
Understanding internet users’ online financial activities
- Use money banking: 64%
- Make mobile payments: 36%
- Purchase Items online using a mobile phone: 54%
- Own some Form of Cryptocurrency: 6.4%
E-publishing
One of the main trends within Social Media Advertising is the progressing monetisation of social networks and messenger apps. The integration of shopping and payment solutions into social networks combined with exact localisation will increase user engagement, conversions and performance of advanced targeting. Besides the growth potential in the field of social networks, an integration or proliferation of advertising spaces within messenger apps such as WhatsApp or Instagram will rapidly increase the revenue potential of current market key players like Facebook.
Ad spending in the Social Media Advertising segment amounts to US$63m in 2019.
Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2019-2023) of 19.0%, resulting in a market volume of US$126m by 2023.
68% of Singaporeans watch videos online not only on YouTube but also on special media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. This makes video ads one of the best ways to reach out Singapore customers (MediaOne, 2019)
Social media has revolutionised the way Singaporeans communicate with each other and across borders. It has diversified and bettered the approach marketers use on both potential and current clients. For years now, here in Singapore, social media continues to be the best tool for marketers. You can testify to this if you were ‘online’ in the days of Friendster and Myspace.
Having been ranked with the 3rd highest GDP per capita by the UN Human Development Index, this is a clear indication that the economy of Singapore is prospering at a high rate. And, social media sites play an integral role in Singapore’s flourishing economy.
The primary reasons behind the penetration of social media into Singapore’s society include; the prevalence of internet and smartphone use as well as an increase in literacy levels. Currently, the number of internet users in Singapore is 4.83 million. Out of this enormous number, at least 4.71 million of them would rather access social media sites via mobile gadgets such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones. From early last year to date, Singapore has gained a 9% increment in the number of active social media users. Here is an analysis of the social media in 2019 for digital marketers in Singapore.
Additional Info
Over 80% of Singapore’s population use smartphones, resulting to the city-state having one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world, among other mobile devices such as tablets and wearable devices.
- Mobile subscriptions: 37 million. Percentage of total population is 144%
- Internet users: 92 million; penetration: 84%
- Active social media users: 60 million; penetration: 79%
- Mobile social media users: 20 million with penetration 72%
Based on a survey released by Picodi, Singaporeans prefer to shop online using their desktops (62%) compared to their smartphones (35%). Despite the global blooming of mobile commerce, only 1 out 3 transactions was made with the use of a mobile device in 2018.
Mobile connection by type
Based on the number of cellular connections
- Total number of mobile connections: 37 million
- Mobile connection as percentage of total population: 144%
- Percentage of mobile connections that are pre-paid: 36%
- Percentage of mobile connections that are Post-paid: 64%
- Percentage of mobile connections that are Broadband (3G&4G): 99%
Mobile connectivity index
GSMA Intelligence’s assessment of key enablers and drivers of mobile connectivity; Out of the maximum possible score of 100
- Overall country index score: 55, out of the maximum possible score of 100
- Mobile network infrastructure: 63, out of the maximum possible score of 100
- Affordability of devices and services: 03, out of the maximum possible score of 100
- Consumer readiness: 40, out of the maximum possible score of 100
- Availability of relevant content and services: 86, out of the maximum possible score of 100(The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Mobile activities
- Percentage of internet users using mobile messengers: 92%
- Percentage of internet users watching videos on mobile: 89%
- Percentage of internet users playing games on mobile: 66%
- Percentage of internet users using mobile banking: 64%
- Percentage of internet users using mobile map services: 83% (The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Mobile apps
Installs vs. usage: A closer look at the number of apps downloaded and installed, compared to the number of apps usage
- Number of mobile apps download during fall year 2018: 4 million
- Total consumer spending on mobile apps during 2018 (US dollars): $399.3 million
Rankings of top mobile apps and games by average monthly active user throughout 2019
Ranking of mobile apps by monthly active users
- Whatsapp messenger
- Facebook Messenger
- Grab
- Carousell
- Spotify
- Telegram
- DBS Digibank
Ranking of mobile games by monthly active users
- Pokemon GO
- Mobile legends: Bang Bang
- PUBG Mobile
- Clash Royale
- Candy Crush Saga
- Rules of Survival
- MapleStory M
- Brawl Stars
- Clash of Clans
- Candy Crush Soda Saga
Mobile app rankings: Downloads: Rankings of top mobile apps and games by the number of downloads
Rankings of mobile games by downloads
- PUBG Mobile
- Jump
- Mobile legends: Bang Bang
- Rules of Survival
- Word Link
- Love Balls
- Brawl Stars
- Toon Blast
- Hole.io
- Happy Glass
Ranking of mobile apps by downloads
- Facebook Messenger
- Grabfood
- Grab
- TikTok
- OFO
- DBS Paylah
- Lazada
Mobile app rankings: Revenue
Ranking of mobile apps by revenue
- Netflix
- BIGO LIVE
- Tinder
- Smule
- Carousell
- Viu
- 17-Your Life’s Moments
- Google Drive
- Coffee Meets Bagel
Ranking of mobile games by revenue
- Mobile legends: Bang Bang
- Slotomania
- Lords Mobile
- Pokemon GO
- Be the King
- MapleStory M
- Summoners war
- Lineage 2: Revolution
- Dragon Nest
- Clash Royale
In 2019, many Singaporeans who do manage to go on a holiday still stay connected to work, the survey found. About five in 10 admitted that they tend to stay connected to work during their holidays (The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report).
Almost 80 per cent checked their emails or voicemail at least once. Of these, 27 per cent do so at least once a day.
The total annual amount spend on consumer e-commerce categories, in US. Dollar fashion and beauty: $999 million, electronics and physical media: $1.080 billion, food and Personal care: $647 million, furniture and appliances: $726 million
Average daily Time spend using the internet via any device: 7 hours 02 minutes. Average daily Time spend using social media via any device: 2 hours 08 minutes. Average daily TV viewing time (Broadcast, Streaming and Video on Demand): 2 hours 26 minutes. Average daily time spend listing to streaming music: 1 hour 01 minute.
Average Salary for Digital Marketing Specialist in Singapore
Digital marketing is essential for Yoast optimisation. The salary of a digital marketing specialist in Singapore is pretty decent to support the person and his family. Although the exact pay of every job is based on the level of experience and education, there are general figures for the salary that can be used in determining if the field is a good match.
The average salary for digital marketing specialists in Singapore is S$41,914.This is the average total compensation including salary, bonus profit sharing ,commission and overtime pay. The specialist earns an average of S$20.00 every hour. Ten percent of the digital marketing specialist in Singapore earn about S$28,000; ten percent earn about S$59,000 while the rest make an average of S$42,000.
Where to Get Digital Marketing Jobs in Singapore
With the field of digital marketing growing tremendously in Singapore, there is a high demand for digital marketers. Lots of companies in Singapore, both large and small, are seeking to have an online presence. This provides endless career opportunities in this field. Job seekers can use the internet to access various job hosting sites such as; Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor, Jobs Central, and LinkedIn. Some of the companies seeking digital marketing specialists currently include; BOLD Worldwide, iPourlt, Inc., and Clarity LLC.
Pay by Experience Level
Singaporeans with an early career in digital marketing with one to four years of experience make an average of S$41,448. The salary includes tips, overtime pay, and bonus and is based on 78 salaries. Based on fourteen salaries, a mid-career digital marketing specialist with five to nine years of experience makes an approximate of S$51,800.
Popular Skills for Digital Marketing Specialist
• Digital marketing- S$42, 809
• Social media marketing- S$40657
• Search engine optimization (SEO) – S$ 40,256
• Search engine marketing (SEM) – S$42,134
• Email marketing- S$52000
Digital marketing skills are associated with a salary that is above average. Skills that pay less salary than the market rate include Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Marketing, Google Analytics and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Related Job Salaries
• Digital Marketing Manager- S$30000- S$113000
• Marketing Executive- S$4000 – S$50000
• Interior Designer- S$5000- S$69000
• Graphic Designer- S$3000 – S$48000
• Marketing Associate- S$9000 – S$58000
• Content Manager -S$20000 – S$99000
• Marketing Manager -S$30000 – S$131000
• Social Media Manager- S$18000 – S$79000
• Assistant Marketing Manager -S$34000 – S$65000
• Senior Marketing Manager -S$66000- S$185000
The years of experience in digital marketing specialists affect their salaries. Early career has a ten percent influence on the payroll. The mid carrier has a twenty-seven percent effect on the digital marketing specialist salaries in Singapore.
Skills That Affect Digital Marketing Specialist Salaries in Singapore
Possession of different skills by digital marketing specialists in Singapore can affect your salary. Some of the most marketable and their influence on salary include;
• Email Marketing- 30%
• Adobe Photoshop- 23%
• Web Content Management- 3%
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)- 5%
• Lead Generation- 15%
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- 2%
• Digital Marketing- 7%
• Content Management- 5%
• Social Media Marketing- 3%
• Online Marketing- 6%
Common Health Benefits
Other than receiving a decent salary, Singaporeans who are specialists in digital marketing enjoy some common health benefits. 64 % of digital marketing career offer medical coverage, 36% offer dental coverage, 9% offer vision coverage, while 27% offers no type of medical care coverage.
Get in touch with us for comprehensive digital marketing courses in Singapore. We also offer digital marketing services to businesses large and small. Call us today on +65 6789 9852 or contact us here.