Why Social Media Marketing Efforts in Singapore Fail

Time and time again, I see brands, SMEs, start-up founders and solopreneurs in Singapore proclaim that social media marketing is a waste of time when they barely scratched the surface.

They give up soon after posting daily on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, giving up after a month or two.

They spruce up their LinkedIn profiles for a bit, but then stop posting (or worse, stop engaging with others in their community).

They record a couple of videos, publish them on YouTube, get dismayed with the results, and give up.

They spend $10 boosting a post for 3 days, and then declare that Facebook or Instagram ads do not work.

They run out of steam.

And when they do start to outsource to an agency—because, you know, its hard to do it themselves—they expect their agency to move mountains and fill valleys to ensure that their campaigns succeed.

And to achieve it yesterday. With less money than it takes to pay a staff full-time for a month.

Back in the old days of traditional advertising and marketing, these same marketers and entrepreneurs wouldn't bat an eyelid to spend tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands of dollars—on TV, newspaper, magazine, billboard, and radio ads.

They'd pump in fortunes to a through-the-line campaign comprising both paid and free media.

They'd invest in street banners, lamp post banners, bus stop shelter ads, and wholly painted buses.

They'd splash on "guerrilla marketing" events—flash mobs, mascots wearing costumes walking down Orchard Road, or large 3-D installations.

They'd even hire celebrities and influencers to endorse their brands, their winsome million dollar smiles beaming at you from a thousand buses, taxi-tops, TV ads, and newspaper ads.

If you're willing to pump in so much funds, time, and energy into your traditional advertising efforts, why are you holding back on your social and digital marketing efforts?

The good old days where anybody can just shoot a cute video, post it, and instantly go viral is long gone. Those halcyon days where "citizen journalists" can build their influence online seemingly overnight with a clever article or comical post no longer exists.

These days, social media marketing—and indeed, every branch of digital marketing—is a profession that needs to be respected and recognised, just like doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, scientists, and teachers.

The market is so crowded that just having an online presence isn't enough. You need to be distinctive, differentiated, and daring. You need creativity, imagination and wit to win this game. You also need to have sufficient brand coverage—which means that advertising is a must on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or other social channels.

In short, you must be remarkable and reachable.

To get good at the game, you can't just attend a couple of online courses and get a few certificates to your name.

Knowing alone isn't enough. You must do.

The true value of social media lies in execution, experimentation and calibration. It lies in relentlessly iterating and trying out different strategies and tactics to see what works—and what sucks. And then you refine, polish and sharpen your craft accordingly.

You need to practice—deliberately, conscientiously and with intent.

This means not giving up after a month or two. This means blocking out time every single day to write, to snap a photo, to film a video, to design, and to post, like, comment and share. This means investing in training yourself so that you understand every single facet of the social media game, and then practicing it regularly.

You need to also refine and hone your craft to ensure that the 4 Cs of your online influence—Customer-centricity, Content, Campaigns, and Community—are in sync with your brand.

What if you simply do not have the time, energy or talent to create content online? Or to run ads and optimize them for your campaigns?

Well, you should outsource parts of your social media marketing efforts.

But please don't treat your agency partners like a sweatshop. Treat them like partners and business associates.

Bring them into your confidence, and ask them for their advice. Listen to what they recommend, and incorporate their inputs to your marketing plan. Allow them to study your previous campaign efforts, and recommend ways to grow your business and your brand.

And when the time comes to invest, open your corporate coffers just a little bit more. No, I'm not asking you to spend the equivalent of a Super Bowl ad, but to at least ensure that you have enough funds to cover your targeted market.

Regardless of whether you choose to do it inhouse or to hire an agency, you need to sustain your efforts long enough to bear fruit. Seek to build an enduring online brand—one that your potential customers will trust, like, and choose to do business with.

That, my friends is how you can make social media marketing work in Singapore.

Do you agree with what I've written? I'd love to read your thoughts!

Walter is the founder and editor of Cooler Insights — a critically thinking content marketing, social media marketing and brand storytelling agency. Fuel your business with the latest insights in digital and content marketing, public relations and personal branding.