SEO vs Facebook Marketing – Which should Singapore Business go for?

Doing business in Singapore is tough! We all know it. But it comes to a point where you really had to spend your marketing  dollars wisely. In this digital age, businesses need to seek tremendous advertising opportunities to increase revenue. But choosing the right channel can be hard. In this article, we break down the aspects of choosing the right channel to advertise on, especially for your business in Singapore.

Today we’re going to talk about two advertising/marketing channels to help you make a decision.

SEO vs Facebook Marketing

About SEO

The function of SEO is simple. Understand Google’s algorithm and serve the right content, in the right style to the right people to bring in traffic and ultimately, sales. Read our article on What is SEO if you still have no clue.

If you are wondering about the state of SEO and its future as a marketing channel, there’s only one thing you need to look at, Google’s performance. If Google is doing well, then SEO is doing well. In fact, it’s thriving.

About Facebook

Facebook marketing, which is relatively new compared to SEO has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in relation to data privacy issues. But having said that, Facebook has some of the strongest targeting options in advertising.

If Trump’s campaign used it to win elections, you can use it to increase business as well!

The Right Channel for Your Business

Let’s lay down the truth. Advertising isn’t a zero sum game. Businesses do invest in SEO and Facebook marketing simultaneously. But the proportions vary, because one channel will outperform the other channel.

So the question arises, what should you pick as a marketing channel for your business?

Factor #1 : What type of product is yours?

This can be answered by understanding the basics of human psychology. What is the frame of mind of the user? Do they need your product or do they want your product?

Is your product a Need based product?

A need based product is something that people need to survive or run their business efficiently or they deem it as completely necessary. It’s basically a must have. There is an intention to purchase.

Here are a few examples.

A new startup have started making revenues and they are looking for accounting software. They need it, to run their business. So they do a Google search for accounting software.

A person is planning a backpacking trip and they need a large duffel bag.

A person is looking to buy an phone and they want to know more about the phone.

A person is looking for a car service center in their city.

In all of the cases above, the users have decided that they need it and are in the mood to purchase.

Is your product a Want based product?

If people have no idea that they need something, but then it’s in front of them and they want it. That’s a want based product.

A new revolutionary phone case

A wallet with charging capabilities

A new type of car alarm.

In simple terms, it’s a product people haven’t seen before.

“ SEO and Google Adwords works perfectly well for need based products”

“ Facebook marketing works well for want based products”

Factor #2 : Purpose of the Channel

Each channel has a purpose to its use.

When a user is browsing through Facebook, they aren’t necessarily thinking about work. It’s an escape from work. So advertising a B2B product on Facebook might not be that fruitful. Here is an awesome article that describes so.

They might be open to casual purchases like bags and makeup.

But when the user is looking to purchase a product, they won’t search on Facebook. They’ll have a look at Google or Amazon.

So understand where your product fits.

Factor #3 : Brand Building

If you want to build your brand and if you are looking for an online version of billboards. Facebook is your best bet. You can keep targeting the same people repeatedly through their Facebook feed constantly.

Sooner or later, your brand’s name will be ingrained in the user’s memory.

For Brand Building : Facebook

Factor #4 : Running a competition / event

When it comes to running campaigns that are time driven, limited offer and discount campaigns, Facebook is the best bet.

So if you are promoting offers on the following, Facebook would work.

Food
Apparel and clothing
Gym membership

Factor #5 : Launching a new product

New product launches are a crucial time for a business. Momentum is needed to get the product in the hands of customers that will generate a word of mouth loop which will bring in more customers.

Businesses employ various tactics to promote their new product. Contests and campaigns. To build a buzz around a product or an event, the best platform is Facebook.

Read our case studies on Facebook campaigns that we help our client to create that buzz.

Factor # 6 : Analysing your competitors

Another easy to way find out if your business needs to do SEO or Facebook marketing is by doing a thorough analysis on your competitors.

Where are they advertising? What are they promoting etc?

Answering these questions will help you come to a decision.

Let’s see some examples of a few companies and their choice of advertising.

1. Boden is a e-commerce fashion boutique. They rely on visuals for selling their products and they also run limited offer discounts. They hope their customers buy on impulse.

2. Huel is a food supplement company that is more than a workout shake. It is food in powdered form containing all the nutrients that one needs. Considering this is an innovative product and the concept needs to be introduced, Huel has chosen to display their offering visually.

As there will be no search terms for their niche, they can’t advertise on Google and choose to advertise on Facebook.

3. Juvlon is an email marketing tool and most of their audience know what they want and when people search for “email sending tool”, their advertisement comes on top of Google search that brings them traffic.

4. The next on the list is Absolute Cycle Singapore, who have advertising with Google for the keyword “Gyms in Singapore”. The person searching for gyms has an intent of joining one, therefore it makes sense to promote ads targeting this keyword.

Having said that, will Facebook advertising work for this company? Definitely. They can promote a video ad of one of their training sessions and offer a discount for new joinees.

The Hybrid Model

You don’t have to be restricted to one channel, if you think there’s a possibility of advertising on both channels, you should experiment and see which performs better and which brings you high quality leads.

Tl;dr

Read also: How expensive is GOOGLE advertising in Singapore

Here is our Guide to Marketing Channel based on Industries

Read this too: How much does a SEO Content that generate Organic Inbound Leads worth to you?