The Covid-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for marketers, especially those in Asia who relied heavily on offline marketing and advertising. As the world adjusted to a new normal, marketers scrambled to understand the new digital landscape and how to reach consumers in a meaningful way.
What emerged from the pandemic was Project Baseline – a coordinated effort by the marketing community in Singapore to benchmark the effectiveness of their strategies and operations, and to proactively shape the future of digital marketing.
Herein, we’ll explore how Project Baseline can help marketers in Singapore harness the power of digital marketing to drive business and revenue growth. From audience analysis and benchmarking to campaign measurement and reporting, marketers can gain actionable insight from every aspect of their strategy and operation.
When it comes to expanding your digital marketing strategy, there are several options available to you. You can continue to grow your audience and engagement with loyal fans, you can branch into new industries, or you can explore overseas markets. Wisely choosing one or two of these options would depend on your specific needs and goals. When it comes to expanding your digital marketing strategy, there are several options available to you. You can continue to grow your audience and engagement with loyal fans, you can branch into new industries, or you can explore overseas markets.
What is Project Baseline?
Project Baseline is a free tool for market researchers, data scientists, and business analysts to collaborate on creating marketing analytics projects. These projects typically involve several people, including a project manager, a researcher, and a data scientist. Working together, they can create project workflows that will carry out the steps necessary to compile and analyze data. These steps include getting the data, setting up an analysis, and creating dashboards – all with a minimal amount of fuss.
How Does It Work?
You create a project using the Project Baseline dashboard, which is how you’ll interact with the tool throughout the process. From a marketing analytics project perspective, you’ll want to consider what questions you have about your target audience, marketing channels, and previous marketing campaigns before you begin.
The beauty of Project Baseline is that you can begin creating your workflow project without having to worry about any of the tech or data-related aspects. You’ll need to consider your top-level questions and the sort of analysis you need to carry out to answer them. When you’re finished, you can then dive into the data and take your marketing research to the next level. Your marketing analytics project will be exactly what you need – no more, no less.
What To Keep In Mind
You might be wondering how you’ll keep track of all of this data you’re collecting, and that’s a good question. The answer is that you’ll want to use a tool like Google Sheets or Excel to organize all of the information as you go. You can also use dedicated software, like Hootsuite or Marketo, to manage your social media and email marketing campaigns.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that your project is not necessarily complete once you’ve exited the dashboard. You’ll want to come back frequently to add more steps, reassess your objectives, or modify your workflow depending on the answers you get from your target audience.
With that being said, let’s get to the good stuff – what you’ll need to know and what you can take away from this article.
Key Project Baseline leaders who can guide you in your digital transformation journey:
The C-Suite
It’s no secret that managing a business in today’s world is challenging. Between staying on top of technology and constantly monitoring the performance of your organization, it’s imperative that you have someone at the top who can keep you focused while also enabling you to dream big.
In today’s world, the C-suite pertains to the senior level of an organization’s management team, typically comprising the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Chief Operating Officer (COO). However, this is a constantly evolving title and the responsibilities of the C-suite will vary from company to company. For example, in some cases, the COO may become the C-suite under certain circumstances.
The Branded Entertainment Complex
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a marketer or someone who’s aware of marketing. If not, maybe it’s time for you to become more familiar with the field. In today’s world, marketing is a form of entertainment where you entertain audiences with ads that are tied to a brand or product.
The branded entertainment complex is a term used to describe the symbiotic relationship between entertainment and marketing, where events like concerts, comedy shows, and sports games are used to promote brands and products. These events are often called marketing events because they’re used to educate consumers about your products and enable them to discover new things.
The Influencer
Forbes once again nailed it when they named YouTube stars, influencers, and bloggers as one of the 25 most powerful people in the world. The ability of creators to influence an audience, often without paid advertising, makes them a crucial part of any marketer’s digital strategy.
In today’s world, an influencer is a person, usually, a celebrity, who has an audience (typically, thousands or millions of people) that can be influenced by his or her actions, lifestyle, and choices of products or services.
The Data-driven Marketer
If you’re a data-driven marketer, you rely on market research, analysis of competitors’ websites, and customer engagement to guide your digital marketing strategy and to continually improve its effectiveness. Analytics, in particular, allows you to pinpoint the effectiveness of your campaigns and digital content, discover patterns, and predict future behavior.
A data-driven marketer won’t just rely on blind guessing when it comes to marketing. Rather, he or she will approach every aspect of digital marketing with an educated guess formed from hard facts and figures.
The Content Creator
If you’re a content creator, you may produce written or digital content (e.g., blogs, articles, white papers, etc.) to attract, engage, and educate audiences about your brand or viewpoint. In today’s world, content creators can be both traditional and digital journalists, writers, and bloggers who produce in-depth articles and videos about your industry.
While the content creator’s role has changed somewhat from that of a traditional journalist to include content strategy, editorial planning, and creating compelling content, the fundamental task of educating and entertaining audiences still defines his or her work.
The Digital Marketer
If you’re a digital marketer, you may plan, create, and optimize online campaigns, from website design and development to advertising and content marketing. For this role, you’ll typically need a blend of skills, including technical know-how, creative thinking, and an understanding of both online and offline marketing channels. In today’s world, digital marketers may also participate in the analysis of consumer behavior as they interact with digital content.
While the responsibilities of a digital marketer can vary, the tasks listed above represent the essential elements of any strategy or campaign. With this in mind, it’s time for you to consider what your ideal role would be within a marketing organization, and how you can begin your journey to becoming a digital marketer.
The Advantage of Singapore
If you’re looking to grow your business in the digital marketplace, Singapore is surely a favored place to do so. Not only is it close to the larger markets of Malaysia and Indonesia, which are just a couple of hours away by air. But, it also has the perfect balance of tradition and progress. You’ll appreciate the blend of the two when you visit the country. One of its most recognizable landmarks is the fantastic Marina Bay, which serves as the city’s focal point. The bay is lined with famous skyscrapers, making it the ultimate symbol of modern Singapore. You’ll enjoy exploring the waterfront, which is lined with luxury boutiques, world-class eateries, and flashy bars.
In the not-too-distant past, Singapore wasn’t quite as open to new ideas and technologies as it is today. That being said, as a business owner or marketer, you’ll still experience some perks that make your job a little easier. Shopping in Singapore is exceptionally convenient as well, thanks to the ubiquity of online marketplaces and the fact that credit card companies have the city’s street scene mostly to themselves. You won’t find many retailers that don’t take credit cards.
Where to Begin
If you’re new to the world of digital marketing, starting small and gradually expanding your horizons is the ideal way to go. Working your way up to a medium-sized business or organization, you can test out various marketing techniques without committing to a complete rebranding of your company. When expanding your business abroad, you won’t want to overload yourself with new responsibilities or leave key personnel unfunded.
Having a project manager or executive assistant to help navigate your way through the various legal and fiscal intricacies of setting up a shop in a foreign country is a good idea. Even still, you must keep in mind that doing business in Singapore is quite different from operating under the law of your home country. It’s always a good idea to research the appropriate formalities required for your line of business. Not knowing what these might lead to costly mistakes. For instance, you might want to consider setting up a Singaporean company or partnering with an established company in the country.
The advantage of having a company with local roots is that you’ll be able to take advantage of the significant economic, legal, and political ties that bind Singapore with its home country. These advantages will no doubt please your shareholders as well as prospective employees. Your research will pay off in spades once you do decide to expand into Singapore. The country is well known for its stable economic environment, strong economy, and business-friendly laws. All of which makes it an excellent choice for foreign entrepreneurs.
The Disadvantages
While there are many advantages to doing business in Singapore, it also has its fair share of disadvantages. For one, the cost of living is high. Even basic necessities, such as housing and transportation, are quite expensive. Depending on where you decide to set up base, you’ll either need to shell out a significant amount of cash or look for government assistance. The good news is that many companies have sprung up to help make living in Singapore easier for foreign entrepreneurs and those looking to invest there.
One such company is BlueBay Group, which offers a range of services from accounting to legal assistance and financial planning. Additionally, there are a lot of unfamiliar rules and regulations that you’ll have to get used to. For instance, you won’t be able to just walk into a bank and establish a business account. You’ll need to go through a cumbersome form-filling process. Not all banks support all types of business, so you might have to look elsewhere for financial help. As for rules and regulations, there are certain behaviors that you’ll want to avoid, such as hiring unlicensed labor and shipping goods without proper documentation. Knowing what these are will help you avoid potential trouble. For instance, you might want to steer clear of hiring unlicensed laborers or selling goods that you haven’t legally imported. Doing so can easily lead to trouble and significant penalties.
At the end of the day, being an entrepreneur or investor in Singapore comes with its own set of responsibilities and legal obligations. This is in stark contrast to the freedom of action you’ll enjoy as a small business owner or marketer in the United States or the United Kingdom. Be sure to read the small print if you decide to set up shop in Singapore.
Getting Inspired
One of the best things about being a digital marketer is that no two days are the same. You’ll constantly be inspired by new trends, technologies, and methods that can be adapted to fit your own unique style and approach. For instance, clickbait headlines and flashy graphics used to be the exclusive preserve of digital marketers in Singapore. But, with the rise of TikTok, which is hugely popular in the country, this type of content no longer remains unique to the island. Seeing the success of this “video game changer”, other businesses have now started incorporating clickbait headlines and flashy graphics into their content as well. This constant stream of creative inspiration is what makes the job so interesting and worthwhile. It’s also what will keep you motivated and engaged as a digital marketer in Singapore.
If you’re looking to grow your business in the digital marketplace, Singapore is surely a favored place to do so. Not only is it close to the larger markets of Malaysia and Indonesia, which are just a couple of hours away by air. But, it also has the perfect balance of tradition and progress. You’ll appreciate the blend of the two when you visit the country. One of its most recognizable landmarks is the fantastic Marina Bay, which serves as the city’s focal point. The bay is lined with famous skyscrapers, making it the ultimate symbol of modern Singapore. You’ll enjoy exploring the waterfront, which is lined with luxury boutiques, world-class eateries, and flashy bars.
In the not-too-distant past, Singapore wasn’t quite as open to new ideas and technologies as it is today. That being said, as a business owner or marketer, you’ll still experience some perks that make your job a little easier. For example, almost all banks in Singapore are on board with accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. So, if you have a sizable chunk of change to spare, you can keep your cash in bitcoin or ether, or any other cryptocurrency for that matter, and not have to worry about bank fees. Shopping in Singapore is exceptionally convenient as well, thanks to the ubiquity of online marketplaces and the fact that credit card companies have the city’s street scene mostly to themselves. You won’t find many retailers that don’t take credit cards.
