5 Tips for Digital Marketing – Singaporean Style

As residents of one of the most expensive cities, Singaporeans are a discerning crowd when it comes to making their buying decisions. Digital Marketer (or any marketer for that matter) in Singapore know that there are some nuances of how to market their product digitally. See the top 5 Singaporean digital marketing tips.

Throw in the complications of COVID-19 and the post-pandemic economic conditions; marketers will need to be savvier than ever to run their digital marketing campaigns successfully.

In this article, we have put together five tips to do digital marketing – Singaporean style – something Digitrio.com.sg has mastered!

TIP#1 – Pick the Right Channels: Singaporean Digital Marketing Tips

A savvy marketer knows digital marketing is still marketing, with digital being the medium.  To that point, it is crucial to pick the right channels on social media to market your campaign. Singaporeans are sophisticated digital consumers. We also have the advantage of being a highly urbanized nation – our description says we are a city-state after all.

So, we have to use social channels to amplify advertising – and it is essential to pick the right channels.  Although Twitter, Snapchat, WeChat, Vine are also popular, Facebook and Google are the most popular social media channel in Singapore.  Here are some of the reasons to pick Google and Facebook as channels for your digital marketing campaign:

Singaporean Digital Marketing Tips

• Users: Facebook and Google register over 4 million users in Singapore.  Singapore has 5.8 million people, so practically almost every adult uses these platforms.  This type of reach is unparalleled!
• The platform for Ads: Google and Facebook have a very sophisticated advertising platform compared to other social media channels. Facebook started their Ad platform in 2009, and since then, they have amped up their game in targeting and reaching the right audience. Better targeting = higher return on your advertising spend!
• Scalability and Reliability:  Your campaign may not need to reach all four million users in Singapore.  Facebook and Google allow you to scale your campaign and content according to your target audience and your goals.  Their tried and tested algorithms are also very reliable.
• Cost-Efficient: While a platform like Facebook can be costly for some marketers, their rates in Singapore are relatively reasonable still.  In the US, Facebook would cost marketers $47 per click, while in Singapore, they can be anywhere from $2 to $17 per click. This makes these platforms attainable by the average marketing budgets.  If you are spending anywhere from $1-$4k/month on advertising, you will be able to gain access to these platforms and harness their power to reach and targeting without breaking the bank.

TIP#2 – Rely on Facebook and Google targetting

Many of our digital marketing strategies involved spending much of our energy and time into figuring out how to target our perfect audience to turn them into our customers.  The good news is Facebook, and Google focusing has become so sophisticated that they offer high precision aiming that we digital marketers can depend on.

Our advice is to harness these strengths of these platforms and let them do the targeting.  Facebook will use your copy and its algorithm and the massive data on its users to find your customers and send them to your sales funnels.  So, make use of it – this is part of the value proposition these channels offer!

TIP#3 – Be Authentic in your Copy: Singaporean Digital Marketing Tips

It may seem that the world of the internet has no boundaries when it comes to making any claim regardless of the truth.  However, Singaporeans – the public and the government both – are highly sensitive to deceptive marketing practices.

Singapore is one of the first few countries clamping down on fake news and false claims on the internet.  The government has legislation against fake news and misleading advertising.  There are specific guidelines set out for regulated industries where the words “best” and “discount” in advertising for healthcare services. The population also has a very low tolerance for false claims.  Once the trust is broken, a brand can’t recover.

So, our advice will be to be authentic and truthful in your content.  There is nothing wrong with highlighting the benefits of your offerings, but keep it real. Singaporeans are a savvy and discerning bunch.  Appeal to that sentiment.

TIP#4 – The Uniquely Singaporean Offline Funnel

Typically, a digital marketing campaign will bring in the leads into an online funnel to convert the leads into sales. That approach will not work in Singapore.  Singaporean culture values interpersonal connections, and they prefer to do business face to face.

Perhaps because of the small population size and the strong sense of community of the city-state has something to do with this need for in-person transactions. As a result, great Singaporean digital marketing tips.

Design your campaign to tie in an in-person interaction to maximize your lead conversions.  Instead of offering a digital transaction, provide a free consultation, and watch the leads convert!

TIP#5 – Offer Value and Don’t Ask for Commitment

Our final tip has to do with the discerning and non-committal side of the Singaporean consumer.  The telecom industry has some valuable lessons for marketers.  When the first telecom companies SingTel and Starhub started rolling out mobile plans – consumers had to make a 2-year commitment.  Then came the other more nimble smaller players and offered mobile ideas without commitments.  Their market share took off like wildfire at the expense of the commitment-oriented providers.

Singaporeans love value for money but will shy away from commitments.

So, offer value without commitment and watch the campaign bring in impressive clicks and leads.

Singaporean Digital Marketing Tips Final Thoughts

If you are marketing in Singapore, you have the great advantage of marketing to a population with the highest social media penetration – a whopping 93%.  Almost all Singaporeans are users of Facebook and Google. Singaporeans are also tech-savvy deal seekers.  However, they do like their in-person transactions and will not be too keen to commit.

Keep these traits of Singaporeans and utilize the channels they use to launch your digital marketing campaign.  Good luck and go to Singaporean!