Filipinos spend a significant amount of time online, making social media and the internet key channels for reaching this audience. Businesses looking to connect with them should prioritize strategies like social media marketing and online ads to tap into their daily habits of browsing, sharing, and engaging with content.
As of 2024, the Philippines has a population of 118.2 million, with 86.98 million internet users and 85.16 million active on social media (Source: DataReportal). Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram dominate, offering excellent opportunities for targeted ads, influencer collaborations, and SEO-driven campaigns. Digital billboards and banner ads also help brands stand out in this highly connected market.
To succeed, it’s not just about knowing where Filipinos are online—it’s about understanding their values and what resonates with them. In the sections ahead, we’ll share tips and strategies to help you build strong connections and grow your brand in the Philippines.
7 Tips for Marketing in the Philippines ⬇️
1. Use humor, memes, and witty wordplay on your marketing campaign
Making people laugh is one of the simplest yet hardest ways to grab their attention and keep them engaged. The use of witty puns, funny wordplays, trendy memes, and humorous content has been proven effective in humanizing a brand.
Meme marketing is one of the subsets of viral marketing that brands use to leverage organic interactions and word-of-mouth from social media users. To make a successful humorous campaign, it's important to know the context of your market, what makes them laugh, why, and how to package the content in a relatable manner.
Take Angkas, for example, a popular motorcycle ride-hailing app that's known for its witty comebacks and original memes. The brand's social media handlers are well-aware of what's trending, funny, and shareable. They know how to use memes to their advantage, just like in this tweet where they used the Squidward meme from Spongebob Squarepants.
It gained a lot of attention and received over 17,000 likes on Twitter. This shows how important it is to use humor and relatable content in your marketing campaigns to catch the attention of your target market.
2. Use the power of storytelling to touch the market’s hearts
In this era of constantly looking at our phone screens for hours on end, it's natural to crave human connection while scrolling through the internet. That's why storytelling is a powerful tool in marketing, especially among Filipinos who appreciate online content with stories they can relate to.
To create good stories, you need to understand the daily life of your target market. A campaign targeting classes C and D won't be effective if the characters' lifestyle is based on classes A and B. Another great trick is to use real-life stories for your marketing campaign. Check out this commercial by Jollibee for an excellent example.
Jollibee based this heartwarming commercial on a true story. It starts with a man and a woman ordering the same food from Jollibee and gradually getting closer over the years. They become best friends, and the effective cinematography makes the audience assume they end up getting married. But then, the plot twist hits when the man was actually watching the woman get married to another person.
The commercial is a tribute to those who love unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. It's in line with Jollibee's slogan, "celebrate the joy of love." The video reached over 3.1 million views on YouTube and a million more on Facebook. This just shows the power of storytelling and how it can create emotional connections with your audience.
3. Give the market the best pricing, and offer sales and discounts
The pandemic has taken a toll on the economy, and Filipinos have had to adjust their spending habits accordingly.
According to a recent study by ShopBack, a pre-shopping portal in the Asia-Pacific region, Filipinos tend to wait for monthly sales before making online purchases. They are savvy shoppers who take advantage of free shipping vouchers, cashbacks, and discounts. This market also does their research to ensure they get the best price for the best quantity.
Shopee has been utilizing this marketing technique for quite some time now. The online marketplace's Pay Day Sales are highly anticipated by shoppers, along with their mid-year and end-year sales. Free deliveries and coupons are also big draws for this market.
It's important for businesses to understand the purchasing habits of their target market, especially during these challenging times. By offering discounts and freebies, businesses can attract more customers and build brand loyalty.
4. Utilize the trend of short-form content
When it comes to social media platforms, Filipinos have spoken loud and clear. TikTok and Instagram have captured their attention and hearts, ranking third and fourth, respectively, in terms of popularity in 2022. Around 71.9% of Filipino internet users use Instagram, while 77.2% use TikTok. The secret to their success? Short-form video content.
In today's fast-paced world, younger generations prefer watching videos that don't exceed the 3-minute mark. With busy schedules and social media scrolling, people are looking for videos that are informative, entertaining, and take up only a few seconds of their time.
What does this mean for brands looking to expand in the Philippines? It means they need to keep up with the trends and create marketing content on TikTok and Instagram. Whether it's humorous, informative, or entertaining, brands need to focus on short-length videos to reach Gen Zs and millennials.
5. Utilize social media live streaming for online selling and e-commerce
The pandemic has transformed the way Filipinos shop. With lockdowns and self-isolation, people are seeking more convenient ways to purchase goods without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes. That's why we saw a surge in online stores using live streaming for online selling.
Facebook started this trend, and other apps quickly followed suit. The secret to live selling's success is its tangible quality. Customers see the sellers in real-time and can interact with them through comments. Live selling also enhances the sellers' credibility since transactions are visible to the whole world, and the seller's face is visible to everyone. It's like the whole world is your witness, and everyone is involved. Plus, live selling allows sellers to answer questions and provide demos for the products.
Even as the Philippines gradually returns to normal, live selling remains one of the most convenient ways for Filipinos to shop. It offers a unique and interactive shopping experience that's hard to beat.
6. Collaborate with influencers who are credible and known among the market
The Filipino market is a huge fan of influencers and experts. In the Philippines, influencers and experts are among the most followed account types by social media users. The influencer industry is thriving, given the country's high social media penetration rate. Filipinos follow influencers for entertainment and quality content, while influencers provide their viewers with carefully curated posts and authentic social interactions.
Filipino influencers come in various niches, from beauty, tech, travel, food, gaming, to parenting. They also use different social media platforms and target different audiences. A brand that wants to collaborate with Filipino influencers must understand the industry's ins and outs before choosing an influencer partner.
Take H&M, for example. The brand collaborated with social media star Rei Germar, who has over 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and a social media presence built on fashion and beauty content. She had been posting H&M shopping hauls even before their collaboration, making her the perfect influencer for H&M's campaign.
Influencers' opinions hold significant weight among their Filipino audiences. Content creators take years to build credibility in their chosen niches, which is why influencer marketing is effective. Influencer recommendations are more likely to be believed as true by their followers.
7. Explore the use of FOOH ads
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gaining momentum in the Philippines, and more people are becoming familiar with its potential. A recent survey found that 79.2% of college students in the country are aware of AI technology, reflecting growing curiosity and understanding of its applications (Source: Yondu). This includes the use of AI in creating fake Out-of-Home (FOOH) ads.
This rise in AI awareness is also transforming marketing approaches. Take Airbash, a luggage brand launched by celebrity Bea Alonzo, as an example. The brand used AI to create fake Out-of-Home (FOOH) ads and shared them on TikTok. The result? It caught the attention of Filipino audiences, sparked online conversations, and boosted visibility—all without the expense of traditional billboard placements.
This trend is expected to grow even stronger in 2025 as AI adoption continues to rise in the Philippines. Businesses looking to enter this market should start exploring AI-powered marketing strategies to stay competitive and connect with Filipino consumers in fresh and innovative ways
CONCLUSION
The Philippine market is highly active online, whether for entertainment, research, socializing, or shopping. This makes digital marketing one of the most effective ways to connect with Filipino consumers. Businesses planning to expand to the Philippines can benefit greatly by leveraging internet marketing and advertising strategies.
In this guide, we’ve shared some of the most effective marketing approaches used in the Philippines, including meme marketing, storytelling, sales and discounts, short-form content, live selling, influencer marketing, and AI-driven FOOH ads. We hope these tips give you the insights you need to succeed. Best of luck with your business expansion in the Philippines!
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