Quick fact: Did you know that the first digital ad was published on the internet in 1994? Since then, digital advertising, which leverages the internet for promoting marketing materials to the market using different platforms, has significantly evolved. Developments to digital advertising have been so well-received that the practice has surpassed traditional advertising as the go-to strategy of businesses big and small.
Digital advertising is effective because it can reach people regardless of where they are. However, it can be tricky to pull off because of the saturation of ads everywhere in the dot-com world. It can also be very dynamic—a factor that can serve as both an advantage and a challenge depending on how good your online marketing strategies are for your small businesses.
In this article, we will give you a quick overview of digital advertising and its relevance for businesses here in the Philippines.
What is Online Advertising?
Online advertising (or online marketing) is the use of digital platforms such as social media, email, search engines, mobile apps, and websites to establish profitable relationships with customers over the internet.
The importance of online advertising cannot be stressed enough, especially during a pandemic. With people’s mobility restricted, customers are moving into the internet to look for products to address their needs. This makes it important for businesses to make customers online aware of their brand and create a buzz around their brand so that ultimately, their target audience would want to buy the product or service they’re advertising.
So before launching your online ads, there are 8 things that you should know, and one of them is how they can benefit you.
Traditional vs. Digital Advertising: Which Works Better?
One of the most common questions that marketers often have to answer is which of the two would be better for their business? Instead of a straight answer, this inquiry, we believe, can only be answered by another question: “Where are your customers?”
Traditional advertising
From its name, is a form of advertising that uses traditional and often physical channels to send marketing messages to its customers. This can be in the form of newspaper ads and magazine placements, but it can also be packaged as a TV or radio ad.
For example, if you’re a company that targets motorists or drivers, you wouldn’t want to put your ads on Facebook since these people are not as immersed in the internet for the bulk of their day. Instead, it’s best to put your material as a radio ad placement since your target market often listens to stations during the day.
Digital advertising
Uses digital channels such as websites, social media platforms, and search engines for its strategy. You don’t put a digital marketing course ad in a traditional magazine knowing that your possible customers mostly surf the internet.
As a general strategy, the key to an effective marketing and advertising campaign is to find a good balance between the two if you’re the type of business that has a wider category of consumers. Think of it as a yin and yang. Each side, while drastically different, has its purpose. When used together wisely, they can be powerful in driving conversions to your business.
How Businesses Benefit From Online Ads
Online advertising in the Philippines has benefited a lot of businesses in the past. A few examples of these benefits are the following:
1. They make small and medium businesses more competitive
Before the rise of online ads, advertisements used to be dominated by big brands who can afford to pay millions to get their products or services promoted on TV and other media.
Before the rise of online ads, advertisements used to be dominated by big brands who can afford to pay millions to get their products or services promoted on TV and other media.
But now, even small and medium businesses can get their brands established on the market for as low as $2.50 (P125), the average price of social media ads with a reach of 1,000 people.
They can also now reach a global audience, a feat that seemed impossible to many small and medium businesses before.
2. They allow businesses to improve their campaign performance easily
Online ads removed the need for businesses to pay more to track their campaign performance. With the help of native tools built on platforms such as Facebook and Google Ads, businesses can track their performance easily on their own.
This lets them adjust their ads and optimize them right away to convert as many leads as possible. Campaigns can also be customized and businesses can target the type of people these ads reach.
Facebook, for example, allows you to narrow down the audience for your ads based on age, interests, and geography, among others. Google Ads allows audience targeting and content targeting, where you can target specific demographics (locations, ages, genders, and device types) and limit the web pages where your ads will be shown based on topic selection and content keywords.
3. They allow businesses to interact with customers in real-time
Platforms like Facebook and Google Ads allow businesses to interact with customers in real time. With the comments sections, for example, businesses can see customer feedback and receive valuable inputs to optimize their products and services and even their campaigns.
The interaction itself— replying to customers’ comments, answering queries, and addressing complaints— can help businesses establish more meaningful relationships with customers. This lets them achieve customer loyalty, which is proven to help sales revenues in the long run.
The Top Digital Advertising Strategies in the Philippines
Digital advertising Philippines is not limited to social media. It comes in different forms and strategies. Aside from social media, digital marketing includes search engine marketing, in-app advertising, and more.
If you’re considering implementing digital ads for your business, explore the following digital advertising strategies. According to Statista, the distribution of digital advertising spending in the Philippines can be summarized as follows:
Search Advertising
Also known as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, is the placement of paid ads on search engine result pages (SERPs) like Google, Yahoo, or Bing. These ads usually appear at the top or bottom of the SERPs and are often labeled as “Sponsored.”
Based on data from Statista, search advertising is projected to reach 582.80 million USD in 2023, making it the largest market segment within digital advertising.
Social Media Advertising
Search advertising holds the top position in digital advertising Philippines, with social media advertising following closely behind. It has been reported that social media advertising expenditure is expected to reach 499.10 million USD this year.
With the availability of affordable internet plans, there’s an upward trend in social media usage among Filipinos. Moreover, some telcos even offer free Facebook access but with limited features to further encourage the population to engage on social media platforms.
In-App Advertising
Do you frequently use social media apps, game apps, e-commerce apps, or dating apps? Have you noticed the ads that appear while using them? Those are examples of in-app advertising. It simply refers to advertisements displayed within mobile applications.
Based on the Statista report, it’s projected that there will be an approximate total of 481.50 million USD expenditure on in-app advertising.
Banner Advertising
Banner advertising is the creation of digital ads in banner form. You may see them as rectangular or square-shaped ads that appear at the top, bottom, or sides of websites, apps, or even social media accounts.
If you want your business to reach a wider audience, you can collaborate with popular social media pages or groups relevant to your industry. You can negotiate with them to have your business featured as the cover photo on their pages or groups. Alternatively, you can collaborate with website owners if you want to target website visitors.
According to Statista, banner advertising in the Philippines is projected to climb up to 427.10 million USD in 2023.
Video Advertising
With the emerging popularity of TikTok, Facebook and Instagram reels, and YouTube Shorts, videos have become immensely popular in the Philippines. And businesses are now taking notice of the value of video advertising.
In fact, video advertising expenditure in the country is expected to reach a whopping 336.40 million USD in 2023. The rising popularity of videos might even surpass other forms of digital advertising in the near future.
Influencer Advertising
The Philippines has an increasing number of micro-influencers since most social media platforms now offer the opportunity to earn online. However, influencer advertising still lags behind with an average expenditure of only 93.79 million USD.
Compared to other countries, Philippine business owners have yet to fully embrace influencer advertising as a viable tool for their marketing strategies.
Tips on How to be Successful in Your Digital Advertising Campaigns
No matter what type of digital advertising you choose for your business, it’s essential to consider the following factors to increase the success rate of your digital marketing campaigns:
Determine Your Budget
Invest your budget and resources wisely. Consider whether you can afford to pay well-known influencers or if allocating a budget for pay-per-click advertising would be more beneficial for your business.
Identify the Right Target Audience
Sometimes, businesses don’t see results in their campaigns when implementing digital ads. That is because they fail to determine the right target audience for their business. Before you set up your digital ads, make sure to identify your ideal customer profile (ICP), such as gender, age, geographic location, job role, income level, buying habits, and pain points. By knowing the right target audience for your business, you can tailor your ad’s messaging.
Define Your KPIs
While every type of digital advertising Philippines can produce results with the correct implementation, the success of your campaign also depends on defining your KPIs. It’s important to establish clear KPIs that are specific, measurable, and time-bound. For example, within a 3-month period, what percentage of click-through rate, conversion rate, or cost per acquisition do you aim for?
Choose the Most Suitable Platform
Don’t simply join the bandwagon and exhaust your entire budget on search advertising just because it’s the leading digital advertising firm in the Philippines. If your target audience is mostly on social media, it would be wiser to allocate your resources toward that platform.
Optimize for Mobile Advertising
Based on data from Similar Web, mobile users account for 61.83% of internet traffic, while desktop users contribute only 37.28% of the total traffic. With this in mind, it’s better to create digital ads that are optimized for mobile viewing.
Diving deeper into the facet
Indeed, digital advertising Philippines plays a major role in the success of every business. If you’re still skeptical about using this crucial marketing strategy, you’ll miss out on a lot of business opportunities.
If digital marketing isn’t your strong suit, we at Eight Media, one of the leading providers of digital marketing solutions for small business, is here to help. We specialize in digital advertising, social media marketing, and drip marketing. For a FREE business consultation, visit this page.
Need help with your online advertising? Contact us now and book your free 15-minute consultation.
