Global Landscape Of Digital Marketing in The APAC Region

The digital marketing industry is a whopping 486 billion dollar industry. With the rise of internet users worldwide, there has been a significant shift in digital marketing strategies. And guess what? Even the pandemic couldn’t stop it. People worldwide have realized how digital marketing helps businesses stay afloat, even during a mass lockdown. 

Did you know that 24% of internet users worldwide come from East Asia, 18% from South Asia, and 10% from Southeast Asia? That’s a huge number, and it’s no surprise that this region has become a digital marketing hub.

One of the reasons behind the massive success of digital marketing in Asia is the power of cellular devices. People in Asia love their smartphones and use them for almost everything, be it shopping or socializing. Besides, content production in local languages, local influencers have also played a significant role in boosting the impact of digital marketing. 

With the popularity of entrepreneurship, freelancing, and startup culture, the digital market boom has taken strong roots in South Asia. Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India are making rapid advancements in the sector, and businesses are using digital marketing to their advantage. 

So, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that digital marketing is reshaping the Asian business landscape. And who knows, perhaps the next big startup or entrepreneur will emerge from Asia’s digital marketing world!

What is Digital Marketing & How Does It Work?

Gone are the days when brands would only advertise through mediums like radio, television, and print media. With the onset of the internet, people have eagerly flocked to digital platforms to reach and engage with their target audience in a cost-effective and efficient manner. 

Simply put, digital marketing is the process of using various digital tools to promote a business’s product or services, alluring customers into making purchases. It’s different from traditional marketing methods in that it mainly focuses on online platforms. 

This type of marketing utilizes the functions and properties of popular social networking sites and digital devices like mobiles and computers. 

The global digital marketing landscape connects consumers to businesses through a vast but well-connected channel of social networks, content types, marketing funnels, and emerging software. 

Ultimately, modern-day businesses and consumers have all realized the supernatural powers of digital marketing. 

Significance of Digital Marketing in Asia

As companies try to build their online presence, interact with clients, and boost sales in a market that is aggressively competitive, digital marketing is evolving into a critically necessary approach for companies trying to succeed.  

For the same reason, digital marketing is becoming increasingly popular and indispensable throughout Asia as the region sees widespread mobile and internet usage. 

Therefore, digital marketing has emerged as a significant tool for interacting with potential customers. 

The popular digital marketing trends in Asia are,

• Influencer marketing 
• Social media e-commerce
• Video marketing 
• Domestic content is produced for specific audiences with which they can resonate culturally.

The key players driving the digital marketing industry in Asia include Google, Facebook, Alibaba (an e-commerce site), Criteo (an advertising platform), and the Chinese search engine Baidu.  

Overall, digital marketing is constantly evolving in Asia as businesses look to use the latest trends to engage with their target audience and drive sales in the region. From social media e-commerce to influencer marketing and video marketing, businesses in Asia are adopting innovative ways to reach and engage with their customers.

The Evolution of Digital Marketing 

Back in the day, email was the most advanced and revolutionary way of communication and therefore the first to be utilized for an explosive marketing strategy. But soon, this turned into a nuisance for many users, and new ways were introduced to block spam emails. That’s when social media giant Facebook took center stage and gave rise to a more targeted and effective way of doing digital marketing. 

Then came the true revolution with the advent of smartphones. Technological advancements in these compact devices incited instant actions. This led to a terrific surge in e-commerce, and people shifted from in-person to virtual shopping options. Today, 70% of shopping decisions are made over the internet, and people compare prices and products before making a purchase. 

Post-Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world quite a bit in its wake. From impacting economies to people’s businesses, the pandemic affected everything. The global retail landscape changed drastically, and e-commerce dug its roots deep within the market. 

With freelancing and solopreneurship on the rise, the pandemic helped people gain soft skills in the digital marketing realm and monetize them through international gigs. Overall, the impact of the pandemic tremendously revolutionized digital marketing, strategies advanced, and newer skills became in demand.

Customer service has become more sophisticated ever since the use of digital marketing services. Through impactful and actionable digital marketing tactics, the global e-commerce market is estimated to reach $604.5 billion by 2027. Brands have used influencer marketing strategies to gain customer trust and cater to market needs effectively.

It’s clear that advancements in technology have made all this possible, and digital marketing is a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audience and drive growth. So if you are not already leveraging digital marketing, it’s time to start! 

Digital Marketing Services in the APAC Region

Digital marketing is not one size fits all, it involves different techniques and strategies that serve different purposes in popularizing and promoting businesses. Following are the top services involved in marketing efforts, 

• SEO

Search engine optimization SEO services offered by digital media marketers optimize business content to meet the guidelines of popular search engines like Google, Bing, etc. These websites work on the basic principle of ensuring that content reaches the top of search engine result pages. 

SEO services are important all around the globe due to the following reasons, 

• Increases online visibility 
• Targets local customers
• Cost-effective marketing solution
• Builds customer trust in businesses 

SEO services are important in Asia because they help businesses increase their online visibility, target local customers, provide a cost-effective marketing strategy, and build credibility and trust with potential customers. 

Asia is a large and growing market for SEO.

With the growth of e-commerce, more and more businesses are investing in digital marketing, including SEO, to gain a competitive edge.

• SEM 

Search engine marketing involves employing digital marketing strategies to increase brand visibility and generate organic website traffic. This increases lead generation and boosts sales.  

With e-commerce on the rise, people conduct market research within minutes; therefore, this necessitates the use of SEM to increase brand awareness and reach. Furthermore, SEM services are highly in demand because of the following benefits they offer, 

• Increases website organic traffic generation ability 
• Allows businesses to target their niche market through specific keywords
• Cost-effective
• SEM strategies produce quantitative results

The use of SEM in Asia-Pacific is also growing rapidly among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as they increasingly recognize the importance of digital marketing to reach and engage with customers.   

• PPC

This is known as pay-per-click and is an effective advertising strategy used by digital marketers to create ads that are creative and engaging. These ads are displayed on websites and social media platforms, where they compel netizens to click and be redirected to businesses and their web pages. 

PPC plays a significant role in digital marketing for multiple reasons,

• It’s a way to advertise selectively and target specific audiences based on your brand’s products and services
• PPC allows companies to launch cost-effective ad campaigns even when on a limited budget
• PPC ad campaigns are flexible and optimizable after they are launched 
• PPC helps increase brand visibility and awareness even when people don’t specifically click on ads

• Social Media Marketing

SMM consists of marketing strategies executed by marketers specifically for social media. These platforms include LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter. It involves posting engaging and promotional content on the brand’s pages to keep customers engaged. These strategies enhance the brand’s trust among its customer base and help people understand its philosophy.

Social media marketing services are highly popular in Asia because Asian markets are known for their huge social media bases, rapid growth in e-commerce, and impactful influencer marketing strategies.

Another reason for the immense success of SMM services is the popularity of social media websites.

Therefore, actionable digital marketing strategies involving SMM result in countless profits for businesses.

• Content Marketing 

Content marketing involves creating written, visual, and auditory content for audiences that is actionable and persuades them to make purchases. Marketers extensively work on content marketing in order to enhance leads and boost sales through organic traffic generation.

Effective content marketing is essential for every brand because it, 

• Gives high ROI and boosts SEO
• Drives organic traffic to websites
• Enhances the marketing funnel
• Enhances brand awareness

• Website Design 

Website design plays a significant role in engaging customers through friendly, seamless, and creative user interfaces which enhance people’s buying patterns. Digital marketers design good web pages for brands that work lag-free and enhance the typical customer experience, encouraging them to keep coming back to good e-commerce websites. 

E-commerce website design is becoming increasingly important in Asia as mobile commerce is fast becoming popular in Asian countries.

Sensational Digital Marketing Campaigns in APAC that Converted

Alibaba’s 11.11 Singles’ Day: 

Alibaba’s 11.11 Singles’ Day is one of the world’s largest online shopping events and is held annually on November 11. The event was created by Alibaba to promote online shopping in China and has since become a major shopping event. Alibaba uses a range of digital marketing channels to promote the event, including social media, search engine marketing, and email marketing 

McDonald’s “All Day Breakfast” Campaign in Japan: 

McDonald’s launched a successful “All Day Breakfast” campaign in Japan, which used a range of digital marketing tactics, including social media, mobile ads, and email marketing. The campaign targeted young consumers and focused on the convenience of being able to have breakfast at any time of the day. 

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” Campaign in Pakistan: 

Coca-Cola launched its “Share a Coke” campaign in Pakistan in 2013, which allowed consumers to purchase bottles of Coke with their names on them. The campaign was a huge success and led to a 7% increase in sales. Coca-Cola used a range of digital marketing channels to promote the campaign, including social media, SEO, and email marketing. 

AirBnB’s “Live There” Campaign in Asia:

AirBnB launched its “Live There” campaign in Asia, which encouraged travelers to experience the local culture of the places they were visiting. The campaign was promoted using social media, digital advertising, and influencer marketing. 

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Launch in India: 

Samsung launched its Galaxy S7 smartphone in India with a digital marketing campaign that includes social media, display advertising, and influencer marketing. The campaign targeted young consumers and emphasized the phone’s camera features, which generated significantly higher sales. 

Freelancing & Digital Marketing

Well, something interesting happened after the pandemic hit. Freelancing and solopreneurship became the new normal. With job security on the rise, more and more people started turning towards remote work and picked up international gigs to make a living. It was crucial because 114 million individuals were left jobless during the pandemic. 

It’s pretty amazing to see the variety of services that freelancers offered during and after the pandemic. From providing legal advice and IT services to offering marketing solutions, all produced electrifying results and helped the economy surpass its predicted financial condition. It’s safe to say that the freelancer community covers a stunning ground of work all across the globe. 

Ultimately, digital marketing is one such service that freelancers from South Asia monetize. From SEO, SEM, and content writing, everything is outsourced to international clients by Pakistani and Indian remote workers. Pakistan’s freelancing market is growing by the day and is predicted to earn $5 billion annually. 

The digital marketing solutions that are commonly outsourced in the APAC region include, 

• Social media marketing 
• PPC advertising (campaign setup and management)
• Budget allocation 
• SEO/SEM 
• Website design and optimization
• Brand building strategies 

Pakistan

Pakistan’s freelancing community has helped the economy a lot by bringing in dollars through their earnings. The government has predicted that $3 billion will come into the country by 2024 through freelancing exports. Moreover, Pakistan has been crowned as the 4th growing freelance market around the world. 

The newer, more dynamic generation residing within the country is looking for unprecedented opportunities to gain financial independence, and they have found those at freelancing platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. Government initiatives like Digi Skills and E-rozgar have also boosted the potential of the youth to reap the benefits of freelancing. 

India’s

According to research, India’s freelancing community will grow exponentially from $20-30 billion by 2025. Moreover, globally, the freelance markets could add almost $2.7 trillion to the global GDP. Post-pandemic 40% of Indian freelancers experienced a pay raise when clients offered higher monetary benefits for their services. 

With India’s rapid advancements in the IT sector, their freelance market is currently experiencing a boom with professionals offering expert marketing and website services. 

China

Digital freelancing is expanding quickly in China as a result of a number of factors, such as improved internet access, the growth of online marketplaces, and a rising need for flexible work schedules.

In 2019, the number of freelancers in China amounted to 197 million, and this number has exponentially grown over the years. The services commonly outsourced by Chinese freelancers include IT, design, writing, translation, marketing, and consulting. Moreover, there is a rising need for specialized abilities in various fields, such as programming, data analysis, social media marketing, and e-commerce management.

Bangladesh

The digital freelancing community in Bangladesh is also growing rapidly, driven by factors such as increased internet access, a growing number of digital marketplaces, and high demand for digital skills.

The industry employs between 150 and 200 thousand active freelancers who generate remittances worth more than $ 500 million annually. Freelancers from Bangladesh frequently use Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com to outsource their expertise and earn money.

The Rise in E-commerce & its Impact on Digital Marketing

As more and more businesses have moved towards selling through carefully designed online marketplaces, they have also started using digital marketing extensively. Through SEO, website traffic generation, PPC ads, and social media marketing, big and small brands have garnered a decent following and customer base. 

E-commerce has given people the chance to compare products with a couple of clicks online. They don’t have to leave their homes and roam around in markets to buy good things. They can make purchases from the comfort of their homes and have the products delivered to their doorsteps. 

Therefore, the rise in e-commerce-commerce’s popularity has encouraged brands to market themselves better online and has compelled them to use effective digital marketing services. This is done to improve the brand’s impact on its customer base.

The Future of Digital Marketing in Asia

The future of digital marketing in Asia seems bright, with promises of immense success and prosperity on the horizon. Some trends which will most likely shape the future of digital marketing in Asia include, 

1. Mobile approach
2. Advancements in AI and machine learning
3. Sophisticated social media marketing
4. Advances in e-commerce 

Overall, the future of digital marketing in Asia is bright, with opportunities for growth and innovation across a range of channels and technologies. 

As the region continues to embrace digital technologies and new ways of engaging with customers, companies that are able to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to dynamic market conditions are likely to succeed and thrive in the coming years.

MarketPro – The Emerging Hybrid Digital Marketing Service in Asia 

MarketPro is a Hybrid digital marketing agency that is helping businesses bring in valuable audiences and generate sales. It is providing SEO, SMM, Content, PPC, Affiliate, PR, and Branding services, with a promise of unconditional growth for businesses. 

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