In recent years, Social Media has risen from being a mere fad to becoming a powerful and highly effective digital marketing tool that small, medium, and even large enterprises and brands can add to their marketing arsenal.
The figures that support this can’t be wrong.
As much as 97% of the elite Fortune 500 companies took in a serious stance on Social Media by maintaining at least one social media network. They believe that the platform can help them establish good communication lines with their advocates and stakeholders, as well as connect and support their targeted audiences at a deeper and more social level.
The benefits of running a social media campaign are established and apparent. Still, the question lingering in many business owners’ minds is whether they can successfully manage these social networks on their own. In most cases, most could not even manage even one channel.
The solution? Outsource your social media.
Tagged as the “The Social Networking Capital of the World,” the Philippines has emerged as a destination of choice for many global enterprises for outsourcing social media and other digital marketing initiatives.
The following provides a comprehensive overview of the benefits of outsourcing social media and why they should choose the Philippines as their social media outsourcing destination of choice.
Why Should You Outsource Social Media in the First Place?
First, let’s discuss why you should outsource social media marketing to agencies and providers in the first place.
- Outsourcing Let’s You Focus on Your Core Processes
By outsourcing social media, you can divert your focus to the most critical areas of your business. This will also prevent your regular staff from being distracted, instead of spending at least 1.5 hours doing non-essential stuff on social media each day, as experienced in many companies.
- Outsourcing Will Give Your Expert Assistance in Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing involves strategies that go beyond sharing links or posting memes. By outsourcing your social media to specialized agencies, you will get expert assistance from marketing professionals who knows what they’re doing – and obtaining favorable results from doing so.
- Outsourcing Will Save You Money
Getting a social media manager in-house will set you back roughly between US$50k to US$70k per year, on top of other incidental expenses and benefits typical with hiring regular staff. Outsourcing social media will be more cost-effective, enabling you to generate favorable results at a much lower cost range per month.
- Outsourcing Will Give You the Right Marketing Mix
Social media agencies will strive towards getting the best results from your campaigns by utilizing the most appropriate tools and strategies that will generate the most favorable results. This includes conducting in-depth research and analysis into your competitors as well as other industry trends geared towards maximizing your success.
- Outsourcing Will Not Let You Miss Out on Posting Content
It is established that posting the right type of content and the best timing possible is key to generating the best engagements and results. With an outsourcing partner handling your social media activities, you can rest assured that you won’t miss out on posting the most relevant content that can generate the most compelling results.
Why Should You Outsource Social Media to the Philippines?
The following provides an overview as to why outsourcing social media to the Philippines would be to your best advantage, and why you should do it at the soonest possible time – and generate the results you want.
- The Philippines Has an Excellent Outsourcing Track Record
Since 1992, the Philippines has been a destination of choice for the global outsourcing market that includes Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), and Social Media Outsourcing (SMO).
The leading global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney ranked the Philippines in 7th place among 55 countries as the best destination for global outsourcing. Computer Weekly ranked the Philippines among the top 5 best IT outsourcing venues, while Statista ranked the country in the 7th spot in a study conducted from more than 22,500 resources.
- The Philippines Has a Deep Passion for Social Media
If there is one thing that you can identify where Filipinos are passionate about, it would be Social Media. The Philippines has always been the country of origin for many social networking platforms’ most active users, a testament to just how Filipinos are passionate about social networking.
Another testament is the amount of time Filipinos spend online, considered to be among the top in the world. On average, Filipinos spend as much as 9 hours and 45 minutes online, with almost 4 hours spent on social networks. Social media has a strong influence on Filipinos that as much as 83% of consumers in the country are influenced by how they engage brands at Facebook.
- The Philippines Provides Cost-Effective Social Media Services
The international research firm Clutch has designated the Philippines as one of the most cost-effective providers for IT outsourcing services. Typically, hiring virtual assistants for social media marketing can set a small company back by as much as US$1200 a month, which could grow depending on how many campaigns are initiated and how long each campaign is executed.
In the Philippines, social media services are much more cost-effective, with daily minimum wages typically at the US$8.87 to US$9.56 range, and occupancy costs at only US$35 per square feet per year. This is typical in the National Capital Region, where higher wages and costs are expected. Wages and occupancy costs in other metropolitan locations like Cebu or Davao can go down significantly.
- The Philippines Provides High-Quality Talent with Diversified Skills
The Philippines boasts of a high literacy rate of 97.5%, the highest among other outsourcing destinations. Each year, Philippine colleges and universities can generate an impressive pool of more than 700,000 talented graduates that can harness the skills and aptitude needed for social media outsourcing work.
This pool of talented resources ensures that there is no lack of skilled personnel who can perform the diversified tasks needed for social media marketing. These include but are not limited to social media strategy development, coordination, management, content creation and specialization, administration, and digital marketing.
- The Philippines Has an English-proficient Social Media Workforce
The proficiency in the English language among social media workers in the Philippines removes the potential barriers language can place, particularly when outsourcing to another country. The Philippines is the 3rd largest English-speaking nation in the world, but what sets Filipinos apart is its impressive communication skills and understanding of slang and colloquial phrases that are typical in social media communications.
- The Philippines Can Run Outsourcing Services Round the Clock
With its long history in the global outsourcing industry, Filipinos working in outsourced social media agencies are used to working round the clock, so the time difference between countries is a non-issue. These agencies and their employees can adjust their schedules and operating hours to suit the preference of their customers.
- The Philippines Maintain a Great Work Ethic
Those who have worked with Filipino service providers and social media agencies can attest to the great attitude towards work that most of these employees exhibit. Filipinos are known for their patience, dedication to work, and their hard work exerted with every project. The growing number of enterprises outsourcing to the Philippines is a testament to this fact.
- The Philippines Provide Favorable Government Policies and Support
The Philippine government is keen on making the Philippines the leading destination of choice for one-stop-shop outsourcing services and has implemented policies that support the outsourcing industry. This includes favorable work arrangements for employees, income tax holidays, tax and duty-free importation of materials, labor expense deductions, and other policies that are favorable to the outsourcing industry.
- The Philippines Maintain Strong Data Privacy and Security Regulations
The implementation and roll-out of the Data Privacy Act of the Philippines brought these policies up and on par with international standards. This led to stricter enforcement of Data Privacy policies, which is considered among the most stringent data privacy legislation in the region.
- The Philippines is Culturally Attuned to Social Media
One of the most influential cultural aspects of the Filipino is in the importance they place on their familial ties. Whether they work locally or in other countries, they always maintain close relationships with friends and family, and social media is an excellent avenue to maintain these ties. This connection with friends and families is considered more valuable than money; that’s why social networking is prevalent in this country.
The Take-Away
The number of social media users in the Philippines is growing, but the passion Filipinos have about social media has not diminished in any way. These translate to the dedication and focus that Filipinos can give when working on social media campaigns for their clients.
These and myriad of other viable reasons are compelling facts that should help you decide why you should outsource your social media to the Philippines.
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.