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Marketing

SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES FOR THE PHILIPPINES

The Hootsuite and WeareSocial report for 2020 was just released, and there’s a lot to digest on how social media continues to develop and influence behavior in the Philippines. Here are a few highlights:

Despite the fact that the data is confined to headlines, it might still feel overwhelming, leaving you wondering: which of these are actionable for me? You’ve arrived at the correct location. Here are some excellent practices to remember when putting your Social Media Strategy for 2021 into action.

Recognize your target market

The year 2020 has brought more Filipinos online than ever before. But, because that’s where the attention is, you can be sure that’s where all the money is being spent by corporations and brands. Many firms are pondering how they might differentiate themselves. That, however, is the incorrect question. “Who are my competitors not talking to?” is the question that businesses and brands should be asking.

It’s never been more crucial to create well-defined personas and then construct a message that those personas will respond to. If you’ve built a product or service that adds value, the first step is to figure out “who” you’re adding the most value to. There is no such thing as a product designed for everyone, so why should the target market be everyone?

Not all social media platforms are created equal. According to Facebook’s self-service reporting, women receive nearly 65 percent of ad targeting on Instagram, while males receive only 35 percent. If your target market is Filipinas, Instagram is likely to be more congested in terms of brand messages, and a more niched and targeted medium for men.

Is your product more likely to be purchased on the spur of the moment? In terms of online purchases, Filipino women outperform men, with 11.5 percent of women making a purchase within 30 days compared to only 8.2 percent of males (based on World Bank Data for Financial Inclusion). Is it possible for you to carve yourself a niche in this market?

According to data from Weare Social and Hootsuite, the 18 to 24-year-old age group is the most targeted in the Philippines. This age group accounts for less than 18% of the entire population yet nearly 32% of all social media ad spending. Brands target only 7.4 percent of Filipino women and 6.8 percent of Filipino males between the ages of 35 and 44, according to another study. Personally, I find this perplexing because it is the age group with the largest decision-making and spending power, accounting for over 16% of the population. Moms or housewives are more common among women in that age group. Men in that age bracket will be at the pinnacle of their professions. Is it possible for our company to carve out a niche in this market?

Your digital audience’s behaviour has most likely changed. Consider the market to be a football game. You don’t want to take on the field’s biggest and baddest player. You don’t want to be right in the middle of everything. You want to start with the most open portions of the market so you may gently but steadily gain ground.

The term “authentic” refers to a person who has been humanized.

I can’t tell you how many times as a Digital Marketer I’ve rolled my eyes at “emotionally sterile” and “inauthentic” material. You’ve seen what I’m talking about. It’s the boosted image of a computer, a skyline, or another still life scene. There’s no tug to the heartstrings, no appeal to the personal aspirations of your viewers. There’s only your product’s sterile goodness.

I’ll be the first to admit that the Philippine market is dominated by celebrities. However, there are times when using a celebrity endorser is appropriate and times when it is not. Pinoys adore superstars, but they are well aware that they do not, on average, resemble them. This is why micro-influencers are better at motivating audiences to take action. Because there’s a genuineness to it. Celebrities exist just to spread hero messages.

Consider the brands Dove and Uber in terms of humanizing authenticity. They are aware of who their target audience is and how they appear. As a result, when they make marketing materials, they use people who seem like your next-door neighbors to humanize their product (or, in Uber’s case, service).

What does it mean to “humanize” your material, since we’re on the subject? It’s simply that simple. Showing off your stuff is not a good idea. Show a person using your product for the first time. Instead of an automobile on the billboard, show a 20-year-old getting into his first car. Show a young family moving inside their condo instead of the exterior of your development. You see what I mean. Objects do not elicit an emotional response from us. We connect with others – specifically, those who we believe look, sound, and live similarly to us.

Make use of the “Lookalike” feature.

It cannot be emphasized strongly enough. Please gather your user information. You’ll always be at the mercy of ad networks, algorithm tweaks, and e-commerce partners if you don’t have a website that can capture user data.

Take, for example, the recent battle between Facebook and Apple about iOS 14.5’s release. Without going too technical, if you have captive user data, this isn’t an issue. You can unlock Facebook’s capacity to construct a Lookalike audience if you have at least 100 users (at least name and e-mail or name and phone number), with 1000 being the ideal volume.

It’s exactly what it says on the tin. Facebook searches your user information for other users who have similar behaviors, inquiries, interests, or browsing history, making them more likely to do the same action as your current captive audience. It’s a veritable gold mine.

Re-sell Everywhere!

“Should we post our videos on YouTube or Facebook?” I’m frequently asked. I’ve always answered the same way: Is there a reason why you shouldn’t be on both?

Remarketing – an ad distribution method in which adverts for a certain product or service follow users around the Google Display Network or Facebook – has the same mindset. Remarketing is really inexpensive, and unless there’s a compelling need to be only on Google or only on Facebook, why not do both?

Final thoughts

In the year 2020, Facebook’s audience has grown dramatically. The Filipino audience is a gregarious bunch. No, it’s VERY social – and the first law of marketing is to be where the audience is.

Boost your way out of the Boosting. It’s something you’re doing. It’s something your competitors are doing. It’s something that everyone is doing. It doesn’t help you create a distinct niche for your business.

Learn how to use Facebook’s audience optimization and lookalike campaigns to your advantage. Also, don’t be hesitant to test your humanized material (A/B Test).

Talk to us if you need assistance getting started!