With the high speed internet provided in the small yet advanced country of Singapore, digital marketing is becoming more and more important. In fact, it is found that Singaporeans spend approximately 4.42 hours a day on the internet, and that 60% of Singaporean consumers prefers to research online before making a purchasing decision. This is probably great news for SMEs since digital marketing, such as SEO and Facebook advertising, is financially-friendlier than traditional marketing, such as radio and television appearance.
However, the increase in popularity of digital marketing also gives rise to a few issues that marketers can/should take note of. Below is a list of tips that may interest marketers and entrepreneurs:
Tip 1: Have a Social Media Crisis Plan in Place
In 2016, a newly-wed couple in Singapore complained about the poor photography service they received on their wedding day. A poor quality photo was shared on social media and soon it became viral. This issue progressed to the point where it made to the national news, which could only be described as a disaster for the wedding photography agency. Even though the couple in question were not an influencer and that the bride had not intended to cause that much damage, the impact on the reputation of the wedding photography agency is phenomenal.
This goes to show how important a social media crisis plan is.
Not only does a social media plan put in place a system that monitors social media activities and raise flags when potential social media issue arises, it also informs each member of the digital marketing team what their role is in the event of a crisis and how to respond and/or report the issue. This saves precious time and allows the digital marketing team to respond to a crisis in a timely manner which would, in turn, help nip the crisis in the bud.
Tip 2: Understand Your Target Audience
According to an article by Yoursite.sg, over 3.2 million Singaporeans use their mobile devices to access social media sites. This means that in Singapore, it is more crucial that one’s digital marketing efforts – be it Facebook ads or website design – are visible on mobile devices.
But the advancement of technology is only one of the many things about target audiences that one needs to take note of.
The content written to engage a young woman in her early 20s looking to buy a new phone is wildly different from the content written to engage an elderly woman in her late 50s looking to buy the same product. To engage the former group, a professional from a digital marketing agency in Singapore may boast the camera specs of the phone but to engage the latter group, the same agency may propose putting more emphasis on the font size of the phone.
There are, of course, a number of other elements to take note of when preparing for a marketing campaign such as the preferred social media platform of the target audience, the preferred colour and design for the website, the preferred medium to receive the marketing message, etc.
Tip 3: Understand Your Digital Marketing Objective
Understanding the objective for marketing can have a huge impact on the digital marketing process. For example, if an agency is hired to connect with and/or reach their customers’ target audience, the marketers in the agency may send promotional messages via casual social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Since viewers on Facebook are in a relaxed mood, they are more susceptible to marketing messages about sales and promotions.
The same viewers who are relaxed in Facebook will be in a more serious mood when they are browsing LinkedIn because LinkedIn is a professional platform. As such, if the same marketer’s objective is to help the CEO or manager network with industry peers or possible business partners, he/she may post thought leadership articles on professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
Tip 4: Be SEO-Friendly
The two biggest platforms in Singapore for online advertising are Facebook and Google, and as mentioned earlier, a majority of Singaporean buyer research online before making a decision to purchase a product. Hence, it is rather important for businesses operating in Singapore to be visible on Google.
There are quite a number of methods for increasing the SEO ranking of a website – creating SEO-friendly content, embedding images with SEO-friendly alt-text, writing blogs optimized with keywords, etc. Therefore, managers and/or business owners who wish to enhance the SEO ranking of their website may benefit from signing up for SEO seminars conducted by digital marketing agencies in Singapore. They may also be interested in hiring a marketing agency with website development capabilities to help boost the SEO rankings of their website.
In conclusion…
In short, there are a number of changes business owners in Singapore can make to keep up with the changing marketing environment and/or gain a competitive edge. These changes include having a social media crisis plan in place, understanding your target audience, understanding your digital marketing objective and being SEO-friendly. Note that while all care is taken to ensure the effectiveness of these tips, individual companies may have different target audiences and may require more comprehensive guidelines. Hence, it is advisable to engage a digital marketing agency in Singapore to maximise the effectiveness of the company’s digital marketing efforts.
