In today’s world, data collection and analysis is crucial to the success of a business. Top companies like Facebook and Google live and breathe data. Even local companies like Globe utilize data in order to improve product and service offerings, to enhance the customer experience, and to increase their revenue.
Data will play an important part in 2018, whether you are running your own business, an executive in your company, or one who is planning to venture into entrepreneurship. Below are 5 data findings that will shape 2018.
1. The Philippines is truly becoming a mobile-first country.
We are living in a wonderful period! You can get information in seconds. You can easily communicate with your loved ones halfway across the world. You can even buy stuff without living the comfort of your home and wait for the items to be delivered to you.
The world is truly becoming a mobile-first one. According to research conducted by Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data, there were 37.65 million Filipinos that accessed the internet through their smartphone. This figure is up from 30.91 million and 34.31 million in 2015 and 2016, respectively. This number is projected to rise to 51.61 million by 2022. This upward trend is set to continue, which makes it imperative for businesses to launch more marketing campaigns directed to mobile users.
This represents a very encouraging trend that businesses must capitalize on. With one-third of the Philippine population already accessing the internet on mobile, businesses must be ready to capture a bigger share of the market. One way to tap into this market is with digital marketing, which we will discuss in the next section.
2. Booming years ahead for digital marketing in the Philippines
With more Filipinos adopting mobile-first behavior in almost everything they do, digital marketing is bound to play a major part in addressing their needs.
If the numbers in the US are any indication, the Philippines is on track to be posting a higher revenue in 2018 as far as digital marketing revenues are concerned.
According to a Statista research on revenues in the digital advertising market, digital advertising accounted for close to $96B in revenue in 2017 and is projected to be at $106B this year. Search advertising and social media advertising account for the majority of the revenues.
Even more interesting is the fact that revenue generated through mobile devices has taken the lion’s share compared to desktop. The research projects this revenue gap to grow bigger between mobile and desktop, with revenue through mobile devices hitting 75% compared to 25% for desktop.
Businesses must make sure they push more mobile content and allocate bigger marketing funds for mobile-specific digital marketing campaigns to compete in this lucrative space.
3. Social media marketing is the Holy Grail
Filipinos are at the forefront of social media adoption. You will be hard-pressed to find more than 3 people out of a 100 that does not have a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account.
With this comes an uptick in digital influencers and sponsored posts on these social media platforms.
A Kantar TNS research last year shows 59% of Filipinos trust the reliability and authenticity of the content they see on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This is a big contrast to the rest of the world, where only 35% has a positive perception of the information they see on these platforms.
Take JetBlue’s sponsored post on Victoria Justice’s Instagram account for instance. Their sponsored post led to a 10,200% increase in engagement compared to their average engagement per post in June 2017. Sponsored posts from other companies such as Wendy’s also show higher engagement compared to non-sponsored posts.
4. Adopt mobile advertising to increase competitive advantage
Perhaps due to the increasing number of Filipinos who are adopting a mobile-first behavior, it comes as no surprise that mobile advertising campaigns are hitting the right spots.
Based on a Nielsen report, advertisements served via mobile only consistently posted higher numbers compared to those served through total digital and desktop. This result is consistent across a wide range of demographics. Furthermore, advertisements served via mobile only has a higher success rate of reaching their target audience, across a variety of age groups. This is very telling and businesses must adopt mobile advertising or risk falling behind against their competitors who do.
This result is also consistent across different categories. Mobile advertising posted over 80% success rate in hitting their target audience in Business & Consumer Services, Computers & Electronics, and Consumer Packaged Goods.
5. Filipinos are in a league of its own for social media use
Businesses with a strong presence in social media are bound to reap the benefits of Filipinos’ massive time spent on social media channels.
According to We Are Social and Hootsuite’s report, Filipinos spend an average of 4 hours per day on social media, 9 and a half hours spent on the internet using any device, and 4.2 hours spent online using mobile internet. This is a very good opportunity for businesses. They must establish a strong presence across social media channels and engage with their target audience. Leveraging on this customer behavior can help businesses acquire new customers as well as retain their existing ones.
The Philippines has held the top spot in terms of total time spent on social media in the past 3 years. Smartphone penetration and internet penetration rates are steadily growing. More Filipinos are preferring to consume content on their smartphone and are more open to spending online too. With such a positive set of market conditions, businesses must prioritize digital marketing, especially marketing campaigns served through mobile, in order to ride this perfect wave.
Sources:
Statista (2018). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/558756/number-of-mobile-internet-user-in-the-philippines/
Kantar TNS (2017). Retrieved from http://connectedlife.tnsglobal.com/
Statista (February 2018). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/outlook/216/109/digital-advertising/united-states#market-revenue
Viray, G. (January 23, 2018). The 9 trends that will shape digital marketing in the Philippines in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/technology/features/194338-digital-marketing-in-2018-philippines-trends
Boland, G. (July 26, 2017). How Instagram influencers drive 100x engagement for brands. Retrieved from
http://www.newswhip.com/2017/07/paid-posts-instagram-influencers/
Nielsen (February 13, 2018). Mobile dominates digital ad campaigns in the Philippines. Retrieved from
http://www.nielsen.com/ph/en/insights/reports/2018/mobile-dominates-digital-ad-campaigns-in-the-philippines.html
Subido, L. K. (January 31, 2018). Pinoys Spent the Longest Time on Social Media in the World in 2017, Says Report. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com.ph/news-and-events/pinoys-spent-the-longest-time-on-social-media-in-the-world-in-2017-says-report-a00200-20180131
