A year into the pandemic, small businesses are still solidifying digital marketing efforts
By Patricia B. Mirasol听
, a travel and everyday essentials brand, beefed up its digital presence to听keep afloat during听the pandemic.听
鈥淪ocial media has been our ally听鈥,鈥澨齭aid听Wanderskye听Chief听Executive听Officer听Bianca S.听Larra帽aga. 鈥淲hen听the听pandemic hit, we didn鈥檛 stop our social media efforts and made sure we kept our presence felt despite what鈥檚 happening in the world.鈥澨听
Digital sales听through the brand鈥檚 website and shopping platforms like Shopee听now make up 40% of听Wanderskye鈥檚听total monthly sales. Prior to the pandemic, that figure was 5%, as听most听sales were made through mall terminals alongside retail shops such as The Travel Club.听
THE RIGHT CHANNELS
Digital marketing听includes leveraging websites, search engines, social media, and e-mail to reach customers.听
鈥淚t is about choosing the right channels for your brand, depending on your target market,鈥 said Vanya P. Tantoco, freelancer and owner of digital agency听.听Where social management听is for brand consistency听(which听helps with platform algorithms), ad placement or management听is听for reaching听more potential customers and yielding听better sales.听
Online consumer behavior has evolved a year into the pandemic, with more Filipinos embracing e-commerce.听An April 2021 by听ShopBack, an Asia Pacific pre-shopping portal, found that听92%听of Filipino shoppers听purchase听from online听marketplaces such as听Amazon,听Lazada, and Shopee and听another 71.3% buy from other online听platforms听鈥听such as brand websites and social media听鈥听when they offer听exclusive brand promotions, wider selections, and better discounts.听
This is a jump from the findings of an听April 2020听听that 23% of Filipino Internet users听spent more time听shopping online.听听
KEY INDICATORS听
Numbers and results are important indicators of digital marketing success, said Reiner Cadiz,听chief executive officer听of digital marketing agency听,听.听听
鈥淣o matter how great the product, no matter how great the service of a company, if no one sees听the content the company puts听up, then all that effort听is听wasted,鈥 he听said听in the vernacular.听
The agency鈥檚 sister company,听, has community听of more than 600,000 members听to help newbies听gain the traction needed to garner results online.听The numbers provided by their team, Mr. Cadiz said,听are both guaranteed and organic, translating to real leads and sales.听听
Among the clients in听iAdvertise鈥檚听roster is digital banking solutions provider听, whose听听generated听2.4 million views听with the help of the agency.听
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Results don鈥檛 happen overnight, cautioned Ms. Tantoco.听鈥淲hat鈥檚 challenging for us is whenever clients expect immediate results,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey feel like since digital is fast-paced, they can expect changes in 24 hours when,听in fact,听it鈥檚 more than that.鈥澨听
Z Digital Studios sets expectations at the onset by having a minimum number of months for every contract, the better to monitor each account鈥檚 growth and set better key performance indicators each month.听鈥淚t鈥檚 really the process of putting your brand into the intricate webspace and finding the right spot for your audience to find you and get results,鈥 said Ms. Tantoco.听听听
Among the clients of Z Digital Studios is听Wanderskye,听which听is solidifying its marketing听strategies听and adding听Google Ads听as a new growth channel. 鈥淲e understand the need to reach our customers digitally to make it easy for them to buy our products without leaving their homes,鈥 Ms.听Larra帽aga听听said. 鈥淭his way, we鈥檒l be able to be听where our customers need us when they need us.鈥听
