Technology has changed the way we do things. Back when I first entered the workforce, I was one of the few employees who had Friendster, Multiply, Facebook, and Instagram accounts while still in school. As a millennial, it was easy to understand what these platforms are, and how to use them. As a marketer, it was quite observable how these platforms and technologies shaped user behavior. But in an office with more Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers, shifting to the digital age caused a lot of confusion. Suddenly, marketing and advertising changed. Ads were skipped. Content was consumed on-demand. Content creation was no longer exclusive to brands and publishers. Data-gathering and analysis became faster and more complex.
The democratization of technology caused a disruption in marketing. But it was not just marketing; the internal processes, employee hiring and management, and other aspects of the business up to how we communicate with colleagues, were all affected by the fast-changing digital landscape. The social impact to the organization was further fueled by the growing number of millennials, or digital natives, in the workforce. At a BusinessWorld Economic Forum a few years ago, organized by Businessworld Xiklab Digital Founder, Arthur Policarpio discussed three trends that are changing the workplace.
1. The Rise of the Virtual Company
Alongside the increasing cost of having a physical office space, the rapid rise of collaborative software and cloud computing have given rise to virtual offices. For a knowledge worker, being physically in the office every day from 9 am to 5 pm is no longer necessary as certain tasks can already be done virtually. Now, some companies have changed their work set-up, allowing workers to have at least once a week work-at-home option. This has helped increase employee satisfaction as it allowed them to save a few hours that could have been spent commuting.
But aside from the work from home set-up, the concept of a virtual office also includes the outsourcing of freelancers online. In the U.S., 35% of the workforce are freelancers, mostly driven by millennials who crave for freedom and flexibility. Online freelance marketplaces, mostly in the form of websites, have made this bigger as they bridge companies who look for project-based employees and individuals who have the needed skills. This allowed companies to partner with talented individuals regardless of location.
2. The Internet-fueled Sharing Economy
Jumping off from the concept of a freelance marketplace, the digital age has enabled the growth of a sharing economy. According to Merriam-Webster, sharing economy is defined as an economic activity that involves individuals buying or selling usually temporary access to goods or services especially as arranged through an online company or organization.
The growth of the millennial workforce who wants freedom and flexibility, but grew up in a world that has higher living costs, led us to prefer sharing than owning. Transport Network Vehicle Services or TNVS are now common in urban areas, headed by brands like Grab. The company with the highest valuation in the Hotel Industry is AirBnb, and the company doesn’t even own a single bed. The world’s largest marketplace of advertisers and consumers, Facebook, is 32x more valuable than the largest advertising group, with 175,000 less employees. And all these businesses have transactions done globally and 24/7 online.
The internet-fueled sharing economy has enabled businesses to earn and become relevant without much investment on real assets. Companies who can capitalize on this have an advantage over the companies who are clinging on outdated processes.
3. Leaders have become Students Again
Parents are learning about the latest technology from their kids. It’s now common to see a Gen-Z or Baby Boomer parent asking their kids, how does this work? The same has been observed in offices. I have talked to a few executives who, once they find out working for a digital agency, would say Digital. That’s something I need to learn more about.
This kind of humility and curiosity from the leaders of today allows them to become business-model engineers and maneuver their company to adapt to the fast-changing business landscape.
Among the three trends, virtual offices and the sharing economy can end up being the norm or outdated. Who’s to say? With how fast the landscape is changing, new trends will surely come up. But the last trend, in my opinion, is an important trait that we all need to have, whether or not we’re leaders.
New trends and technologies will always be a challenge to grasp, but as long as we are willing to become students again, we have a better chance of staying relevant and thriving in the Digital Age.
This has never been so true than in my line of work. All of us in our organization, from our founder down to our new hires, are always learning new ways of doing things to be able cater to the ever-changing market — we have monthly learning sessions, we regularly publish thought leadership materials, among others. Our work, which was focused on mobile & digital media in the past, has expanded to not just digital advertising, but in creating digital solutions for businesses and organizations. This allowed our organization to differentiate itself among other digital agencies and to stay relevant by providing what is really needed by our clients.
Technology has changed the way we do things and it will continue to do so. That’s why we all must continue to learn to learn what’s new and what works. It’s a good way to move forward.
As of 2021, there are over 4.66 billion internet users in the world. Now, how can you ensure that your ad is optimal for your target audiences?
A/B Test campaigns, also known as split testing, is one of the key features of Facebook that advertisers can use. This is the process of changing different variables of the ad to determine the better performing strategy that can help improve future campaigns. It helps media practitioners optimize their campaigns – whether in the form of audience optimization or placement optimization.
But for brands, one of the key things that can be considered, and can give impact for the campaigns, would be creative testing.
Creative testing refers to anything related to the ad itself such as having different copies, angle or approach to the material, ad formats, and even the call to action that will be used.
Ideally, there is a single differentiating variable between two materials. It can be the same image with different copy, or the same copy with different visual elements showing a product focus versus a lifestyle approach, or maybe even the same creative but in different formats such as image versus video.
However, the tests can still vary greatly from testing one single variable to two completely different approaches. To demonstrate, here is a sample from pharma company Pharex, where Xiklab tested two completely different materials.
While gamified content works, the product push post generated better results and resonated more with the audience. So, the product push post wins the A/B Testing campaign.
Through these types of tests, we can identify what type of content or communication can actually generate better results. Since there are a lot of options, combinations, and even ad formats that can be tried out on an A/B Testing campaign, Xiklab prepared a Facebook Creative Playbook itemizing all the different ad units for different optimizations.
Through this document, you’ll be able to see what types of specs should be considered and what types of formats or optimizations can be tried out in an A/B Testing.
If you wish to try A/B Testing campaigns on your brand storytelling, contact us at [email protected] or fill out the form below.
Amazing opportunities await brands on TikTok!
After all, it is one of the most downloaded and used apps today, with over 18 Million active users in the Philippines alone. Local Philippine data also shows that a user opens the app an average of seven times daily, and the average daily time spent is up to 54 minutes.
According to a study by Wyzowl1, short-form mobile videos are the best medium to influence a shopper’s purchase behavior–and Tiktok is the leading destination for this popular format.
To help you run a successful and effective campaign on the platform is Xiklab Digital, one of the Philippines’ biggest independent digital agencies and now, a certified partner of TikTok!
With all this in mind, we’ve prepared a few things to help jumpstart your TikTok journey!
DID YOU KNOW?
The platform has launched TikTok for Business, which brands can leverage to stand out and take advantage of its excellent user engagement. Tiktok is a great avenue to show your brand’s story to a wide array of engaged audiences and drive action towards your desired goal.
One of the ad units is TikTok In-Feed Auction Video Ads, which is excellent for widespread brand awareness and offers a seamless customer experience since the ad blends in with other content on the “For You” page.
We can also immediately run Tiktok In-feed Auction Video Ads, even if your brand has no Tiktok Business profile as it can be a dark ad, and the CTA can lead directly to your website!
On top of the Auction In-feed Ads, there are numerous optimizations that we can test across the whole platform. With TikTok’s multitude of ad units come sophisticated targeting parameters that can help your campaigns effectively reach your market.
Aside from audience segmentation based on Demographics, Devices, and Interests, we can also create Custom and Lookalike Audiences and even tap users based on their content and creator interaction within the app.
A FREE TOOL FOR YOU!
Xiklab listed down all the different parameters and optimizations, organized them into one handy Tiktok Ads Social Playbook, so that everything is easier to digest and use for your next project.
Consider this as a sneak peek into what TikTok and Xiklab can do for you and your brands. It’s a world of possibilities that is just waiting to be tapped!
Contact us at [email protected] or fill out the form below to learn more and get started on your TikTok ads journey.
References:
1 Hayes, Adam. “What Is TikTok? A Complete Guide for Marketers,” https://www.wyzowl.com/what-is-tiktok/.
Over the years, the internet has served as an unending surplus of information to different necessities and hobbies of individuals across the globe. In the Philippines alone, there are now a total of 76.1 million internet users, which is 68% of the country’s overall population.
Filipinos would spend ten hours and twenty-seven minutes daily on the internet, with mobile phones being the leading device used at 97.2%. This portable means of access also means creating a faster and more convenient gateway to different types of information or entertainment.
In the Philippines, the internet is used in a range of personal and social activities, namely finding information (83.7%), staying in touch with friends and family (81.9%), researching how to do things (78.5%), and watching videos, TV shows & movies (74%).
Most of the things needed by society at this age can be accessed through mobile devices. Whether you’re looking for information, the food to satisfy your craving, communicating with loved ones, and streaming your favorite tv show. Mobile devices along with the internet have made almost everything accessible in just a few taps. Since there are a lot of mobile devices that are in the market, players in this market quickly innovate in order to release something new or something exclusive to keep the competition on the edge.
As of this writing there are about 7.91 billion people and 5.31 billion of them are mobile phone users. Almost all of the mobile phone users use the internet (4.95 billion) and are active in social media (4.62 billion). Most of the digital growth is on social media particularly on Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, Wechat, and more.
More than half of the total population are social media users (58.4%) and every year, social media use grows at +10.1%. 93.4% of all internet users are users of social media. Most of the social media users are male at 53.9% while female social media users are at 46.1%. Additionally when it comes to age, 74.8% of the social media users are ages 13 and above. Due to this, it is no doubt that social media is the best way to reach consumers.
The internet has been integrated into the lives of Filipinos in so many ways. From device usage to different platform preferences and activities, discover how the digital age has shaped the behavior and minds.
Want to learn more about the trends and consumer behavior for your business? Contact us at [email protected] or fillout the form below to schedule a FREE digital audit for your brand.