4 Marketing Techniques that Work Best in the Philippines

Filipinos are known to be one of the most sociable people in the world. From the usual handaans to the regular barkada nights, our love for socializing can’t be denied.

And because of the Filipinos’ love for socializing, the types of marketing techniques that work best in the Philippines are also people- and social media-centric.

In this day and age of digital technology, when connecting and socializing can be done almost anywhere and anytime, it’s no surprise that Filipinos would use this opportunity to stay connected. In fact, the number of social media users in the Philippines would increase to 90 million by 2025. So if you want to effectively market your products in the Philippines, you should keep this factor in mind.

… the Philippines is known for being one of the most social media savvy countries in the world…

What are the best marketing techniques for Filipinos?

You can’t just search about the best marketing strategy on Google and think those techniques would apply to all types of customers. Different countries have different cultures, values and behavior. Therefore, coming up with an effective online selling strategy means finding out what appeals to the Filipinos’ sensibilities and buying behavior.

So let us give you a walkthrough of the types of marketing techniques that work especially well with local customers. 

WOM (word-of-mouth) marketing 

… 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know — from their friends and family.

Word-of-mouth marketing is considered the most trusted form of marketing strategy. As a matter of fact, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know — from their friends and family. Obviously, this is where our resident tsismosos and tsismosas come in handy.

To make this possible, you need to ensure that your products are of good quality, your services are reliable, and your customer service is solid. This builds up over time with every brand exposure and with every customer interaction. The buzz creates itself when your products are so good, or when you do something so delightfully unexpected for your customers that everyone can’t stop talking about it, like a viral video or funny ad.

This will definitely boost your brand awareness as well as your brand loyalty.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a popular digital marketing strategy. In fact, a study showed that influencer marketing is set to grow from $6.0 billion in 2020 to $24.1 billion by 2025.

Here in the Philippines, influencer marketing is definitely a digital crowd-favorite. Take Niana Guerrero and Nicole Andersson for example. They aren’t exactly celebrities but because of their great number of followers, their brand influence is undeniable. 

Companies and brands usually seek popular social media influencers with huge followings to endorse their products and/or services. This can be done by giving them free products and asking them to post a review or by paying them a professional fee, just like celebrity endorsers. Since the rates of social media influencers are usually lower than those of celebrities, influencer marketing is a cost-effective option for many brands, especially when you factor in that they will produce their own content.

Social media marketing

In the Philippines, social media marketing is also a big hit. This comes as no surprise as the Philippines is known for being one of the most social media savvy countries in the world, with 71% of its 100 plus million population being active social media users.

A close relative of influencer marketing, social media marketing uses social platforms to connect with customers. Since most people spend most of their time on social media sites, advertising on these platforms is definitely a good idea. This marketing technique is also far cheaper than traditional media and print marketing or even Google ads.

Good social media marketing content depends on where you’re posting it. For example, if the platform is Facebook, text and video content are more effective. If the platform is Instagram, well-curated photo content would do the trick.

Video marketing

If you’re going to go all-in on social media marketing, you’ll have to take video marketing seriously, too, since it’s one of the most effective marketing strategies not only in the Philippines but globally. A study showed that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to the mere 10% retention when reading it in text. That’s the advantage of videos over other mediums of communication.

Another advantage of video marketing is the possibility of your video content becoming viral. It’s not easy to go viral, but when yours does, you can reach a wider audience and increase your chances of customer conversion.

… viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video.

To make your video ads more effective, create engaging and attention-grabbing content. Funny, heartwarming, and trendy video ads are more compelling to viewers. Likewise, you can team up with influencers to make it more appealing and reach a wider audience. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone!

Learning about effective marketing in the Philippines

To sum it all up, the Philippine market is one that is all about the people and they must be at the center of your ads. What makes them tick? What makes them watch until the end of your video? Most importantly, what pushes them to ‘add to cart’ and ‘complete’ the purchase?

You must appeal to their emotions and empathize with their daily challenges, hopes, aspirations and even whims. And they love sharing all these on their social media, so by doing your research, you can get important clues from your target market.

Take a cue from our effective marketing techniques above. Social is where your customers are and that’s where you should be, too. To successfully win the hearts of your consumers, your marketing strategy must capture this social aspect of Filipinos.

Featured image by Shendart from Getty Images.