Digital marketing has been a global trend in the business industry. It’s such a strong force that’s driving massive changes with over 38% or $77 billion of the total ad spending expected to go to digital next year, whereas TV ad spending only stands at 35.8% or $72 billion.
From being a marketing strategy that no one bats an eye on, it’s now what every marketer prefers to utilize. Digital marketing is at a pace no one expected it to be because it works wonders in many countries such as the Philippines who spends a lot of time in the digital realm. In the 3.8 billion Internet users all over the world, 1.6% of those is from the Philippines.
Do you wonder how to roll out effective digital marketing campaigns for the Filipino market? Below are some key numbers and figures to consider for your digital marketing strategy in the Philippines.
What you'll find in this article
Online Filipinos by the Numbers
- There are 60 million Filipino internet users. (source)
- 34% go online every day. (source)
- 45% access the Internet at least once a week. (source)
- On the average, Filipinos spend 21.5 hours online on a weekly basis. (source)
If you want to put your marketing in the fast lane, then you should start investing in digital marketing. You can single-handedly reach them in this channel just because Filipinos are Internet-savvy.
Demographics of Filipino Internet Users
- 65% of the Filipinos aged 15-19 years old use the Internet. (source)
- In the same age bracket, 75% of access the Internet through various devices (e.g. Internet cafes). (source)
- Other age groups use the internet fairly lower at 48% (20-29 years old), 40% (30+ years old), 13% (40+ years old), and 4% (50+ years old). (source)
These brackets of your target market in the Philippines help you segment your audience correctly.
Filipinos’ Preferred Devices for Digital Access
- Filipinos spend 5.5 hours online on desktop and 3.5 hours on mobile (source)
- In 2016, there are 119 million mobile phone subscriptions. 95% of that number is prepaid. Others access the Internet through mobile broadband subscription (55%) and broadband subscription (less than 10%). (source)
- Mobile internet users are at 54 million. (source)
- In the Philippines, the internet is accessed through mobile at 38%. (source)
Filipinos find the way to access the internet either through desktop or mobile. This means that your marketing efforts can be present in both desktop and mobile. Also, this gives you higher chances of engagement and conversion.
Social Media and Other Online Activities
- From those Internet users, 12 million of those allot most of their time on social media. (source)
- 4 hours per day on the average on Facebook alone. (source)
- Online shopping comes in at second place with 29% of the total Filipino Internet users. (source)
- Other online activities are watching videos (19%), playing online and mobile games (15%), d searching based on location (13%). (source)
Businesses can start having a solidified social media presence. Across all available social media such as Facebook, companies can market their product or service. However, you should make sure you are publishing valuable and relevant content. Filipinos know how to skip content that doesn’t add value to them.
Filipinos’ Online Purchasing Habits
- By 2017, the e-commerce sales in the Asia Pacific Region is projected to reach $707 billion. (source)
- Philippine e-commerce is growing with 5 out of 10 Filipinos recently made an online purchase. (source)
- Filipinos pay their online purchases in different ways: cash (53%), credit cards (36%), and bank transfers (10%). (source)
- 64% of online Filipinos check information first online before making a purchase. (source)
- Also, they value other people’s brand review and opinion at 89%. (source)
Filipinos have embraced online transactions. They find the accessibility of products and services within their fingertips convenient. If your digital marketing strategy has given great results, then your target audience will convert eventually. It’s crucial that you set up e-commerce for your business to take advantage of this opportunity.
How do Filipinos Feel About Online Ads?
- According to Nielsen, Filipinos are okay with getting targeted by online ads at 35%. (source)
- 83% of them appreciate online ads because they said it made their lives better. (source)
- Furthermore, 43% of them don’t bother that their online activity is being tracked as long as they see ads that are relevant. (source)
Filipinos are receptive to online advertising. The numbers above only mean that if they see an ad for your business, they’ll most likely engage with it, but only if it adds value to their lives.
In these ads, make sure that you highlight the benefits of availing your product or service.
What About Other Digital Marketing Strategies?
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in the Philippines has a reach of 84.7%. (source)
Since a lot of Filipinos search about a product or service first before making a purchase, you should tap this chance to implement a SEM strategy. Your digital marketing can be completed with SEM because it converges social media and other digital marketing channels.
These huge numbers only tell that digital marketing in the Philippines has nowhere to go but up. There are a lot of opportunities in digital marketing both for professionals and businesses. As a marketer, you can take courses to become a digital marketing specialist and be a master of these statistics.
APEX offers an “Online Marketing Certified Associate” course to guide you in jump starting digital marketing in your business if you haven’t yet. You can use this current state to your business’ marketing advantage.
