Singapore Establishments for Expat Families

Singapore is one of the most qualified places for a family of experts to start over. Singapore is considered one of the largest trading ports in the world and one of the four most promising countries for trading development and overall growth. If you are looking to move to another country in order to develop a company of your own and appraise your finances then Singapore is the best place to go.

Life and health in Singapore

As a country Singapore has an international lifestyle. It’s a place where investments flourish. Singapore is a safe outpost for doing all sorts of business in the region. It is one of the cleanest countries in the world. The crime levels are close to none in Singapore. It is pretty much the place you would love your children to grow up to if they’re going to be proper businessmen and women and lawful people.

For the families of expats but not to Singapore there are many options when it comes to establishments that you provide for them. Singapore has over 50 hospitals and clinics, private and public all working perfectly to provide their services to the people that need them. There are over 2000 private medical practitioners in Singapore. These practitioners are validated and ready to do their work.

The best schools for your children

When it comes to schooling, the general idea about children from expat families is that they will be enrolled in international schools in Singapore in order to receive the best education and be able to attend university later back home. International schools are a bit expensive. But they provide students with the best education possible. It is the best way for a child to be completely ready when the time comes for him or her to attend a university.

Same thing goes for primary schools in Singapore. It is important that children will receive the best possible education from a very young age. It is after all, given that educational establishments in Singapore are some of the best educational establishments in Asia. They are also placed at the highest ranking for international level.

Turning over a new leaf in your life and love for your family, is starting from scratch in a completely different country is probably one of the most difficult things you have to do. Not only because of the creation of an utterly new company, also because of the transition, your family, is going to have to go through. You want to make sure that you provide your family with the best. And Singapore is the best place for you to do that.

Importance of Child’s Play Both In and Out of School

The children always look forward to play time because it allows them to be free and ultimately have fun. But there is more to playing than just running around, making funny noises, playing with other children, and the like. Apparently, playing develops a child’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive well-being to name a few.

This is the main reasons why all primary schools in Singapore allot time for recess and lunch breaks. Not only are the children expected to eat, but also play and interact with peers. Likewise with Singapore international schools, they too give the children some time to be with peers for these reasons:

Improves Behaviour

Children who are given enough time to play during recess are most likely to be well-behaved inside the classroom. Allowing them to release tension during recess can also prolong their attention span for the next set of classroom sessions.

Following Rules

Believe it or not, most of the games that children play have rules but all they ever experience is the fun. Rules with games develop the children’s comprehension of following instructions.

Physical Health

A well rounded Singapore international school will offer a variety of sports activities that the children can participate in. These sports activities are divided into three categories, namely team-based, one-on-one, and individual games. Examples are basketball, badminton, and gymnastics. Playing sports can boost a child’s reflexes, good decision-making under pressure, and physical strength and stamina.

Early Exposure to Language

Language, may it be in the form of written or verbal, is the means of communicating instructions to the children. The more they are exposed to language, the better they get to understand a lot of other things on how to communicate effectively. Early exposure can help the children recognise sounds and words that can add up to their speech and vocabulary.

Social Skills

For expats bringing their kids over to Singapore would need to consider this aspect when choosing an international school for their children. This simply allow the children to engage in social interactions during recess and lunch hours. These social interactions have a positive effect of enhancing the children’s capacity to express their feelings and thoughts to others. It will also help children new to Singapore to cope well with the environment, culture and values of the community.

Creativity

Children at play can be considered as a form of exploration for the young minds. Playing allows them to think outside of the box and recreate the things that they see in their dreams or everyday life. A child’s creativity can be seen through drawings, paintings, fantasy play, dancing, and the like.

If adults need rest, children also need rest in the form of play. For them, playing is fun but now you know that there is more to it than meets the eye. It can boost their creativity, confidence, understanding, social skills, ability to follow, and so on. These are the reasons why playing is an essential part of every child’s life.

5 Worst Selling Mistakes For Digital Marketing Agencies

An SEO agency should not be mistaken for a digital marketing agency; in fact, SEO is only a fraction, yet a very important part of the latter. Digital marketing agencies may claim several statements just to earn a client’s trust; however, one thing is for sure: It is neither only about social media nor search engine optimization. To measure how knowledgeable and truthful your digital marketing agency is, here are some worst selling points to watch out for:

Digital marketing is only for big businesses

If there is one greatest misconception about digital marketing agencies, it is that their services are only necessary and applicable to big businesses. With the rise of the digital age, no business is an exception. Everyone should be able to keep up with the times on how to reach their market in the most efficient and effective manner. While big companies do market research and execute campaigns on a larger scale, small and medium businesses can focus on specific areas to improve their marketing efforts.

Digital marketing is the same as social media

No digital marketing agency can ever claim that what they’re doing is only about social media. It is far more extensive than that. Social media is indeed an important aspect of the digital marketing mix, equally important as marketing through other online channels that reach the consumers through the use of computers, smartphones, tablets, game consoles, radio, and television. It could be in the form of a company website, blogs, to marketing emails and text messages.

Your website will get top ranking in search engines immediately

Like any other advertising or marketing efforts, digital campaigns require time to take effect. It is just unreasonable to say that hiring a digital marketing agency can make your rankings soar in an instant. The realistic timeline for search engine optimization to take its full effect would be around 180 days, depending on how competitive the keywords you are trying to rank are.

Using several digital marketing platforms all at once

This is one topic that marketers argue about, because many believe that going across all platforms all at once lead to better success. However, it is quite daunting for start-ups to shell out a great amount of marketing funds to join the bandwagon in social media and SEO all at the same time. People consume media in various forms and amounts, and the best way to know this is by trying out one platform at first, to see what works and doesn’t work for your target market. Having figured out what works, you can replicate that same campaign for another platform and expand.

A high amount of web traffic is essential for success

The key to success in the field of digital marketing is quality, and definitely not quantity. Quality content will lure in traffic but the indicator of success is how many of these audiences arerelevant to your business. Having an average amount of web traffic comprised of relevant people who are interested in your offerings and can generate conversions are much, much better than having a large number of irrelevant visitors who do nothing for your business.

A full-fledged SEO agency should promote a balanced mix of digital marketing methods, with search engine optimization and measuring tools to help even the smallest businesses succeed. There is no shortcut to victory. For success to be long-lived, sufficient research, comprehensive planning, and a healthy dose of trial and error must be done to get everything right.

Why SEO Should Be Taught in Schools

In a world overflowing with information, the need for harnessing and taking advantage of its potential has risen. One such method it SEM or Search Engine Marketing, and it is highly argued whether it should be taught it marketing schools or not. The best argument against it is that it’s constantly changing. However, doesn’t any other method that relies on technology change? Let’s review a few reasons why teaching search engine optimization techniques would be viable and useful.

1. If students are taught about it, then even if they don’t follow it as a profession, they will be able to know exactly what it can do, thus influencing the market. If they follow it professionally, then this better understanding will help them promote it.
2. With an educational standard for SEO, the field would be more credible and so would their professionals. No longer should you have to be second guessed by anyone whose, entire SEO knowledge stems from a single article he once read.
3. Nowadays anyone can say they know SEO, but until you test them, you can’t tell.
4. Some people had been scammed by SEO freelancers and companies. Having a certified person on the team could alleviate the problem.
5. The methods you would learn to use will be outdated, but you will have a great starting point and knowledge about what makes it tic. As for the tools, they would only get updated so some of the skills learned could be used right out-of-the-box.
6. Many other subjects areas constantly change (law, software engineering, medicine) but they get updated regularly.
7. There is a very high demand for SEO professionals and universities should be able to satisfy that demand. It would lead to having a SEO Company with its staff properly trained.

The demand for such professionals is especially higher in countries with a thriving company competition. For example a SEO Singapore agency would greatly help smaller businesses start up there and larger ones could improve their international competition. It’s no longer a matter if it should be taught, but how it will be taught, since it is clear that it’s a relevant skill today and it will be for as far as we can see in the future.

Some universities have realized that and they are including a few courses in SEO techniques, and one could think that the rest of universities and institutions, are waiting to see the results of such venture.

Singapore Statistics That Businesses Need To Know

Digital marketing in Singapore is enjoying its time in the limelight as more consumers go online for shopping, travel and other personal interest needs.

Businesses see a greater need for an online marketing agency to help boost their internet presence, reach a larger audience and attract consumers. Executed in a strategic and cost-effective manner, digital advertising can greatly augment the success of a business.

In every endeavour, information is key and below are important statistics that a digital marketing agency in Singapore should be aware of:

Age distribution of internet users

According to statista.com, 31% of internet users in Singapore are between 25 and 34 years old, 28% are between 15 and 24 years old. In a survey this year, it was found that 96% of internet users between the ages of 25 and 34 were accessing the internet every day. In the Young Asians survey released by Synovate one of the leading global research agencies, Singaporean youth has the highest ownership of smart phone (22%) as compared to their peers in Asia. Youth in Singapore also have the highest laptop ownership at 47%; and 68% of them engaged in social networking. With these statistics, it is quite easy to identify the best target audience and potential consumers. It is best to customize an advertising campaign to a niche market. Declaring "we've got everything for you" doesn't really work to your advantage and could spell disaster for your budget department.

Why are these statistics important? 

We see too many advertisements that fail to communicate their message or pique the interest of potential customers. It is crucial to determine your market and focus all your efforts on that segment. Once you have identified your target audience, write for them and package your products and services with them in mind. Bots crawl the web and yes, you need keywords in the text to create traffic, but keep it readable. Research about your target market to gain insight on who they are and speak to them in the appropriate media using a more personal tone and you'd be sure to create a following.

Online consumer behaviour

Numbers from Digital Marketing Yearbook 2012 by ADMA, Singaporean online shoppers still have trust issues to overcome and would tend to spend on websites they are familiar with. Half of them feel uncomfortable giving out credit card or bank account details online. The same is true to the 74% of Singaporeans that have access to the mobile internet daily, 65% of which have cancelled a potential transaction because they are wary about submitting their financial details via mobile phones. An interesting statistical finding, however, is that if the value of the product is less than $100, then 75% of Singaporeans would be happy to use their mobile phones to conduct the purchase.

What do these numbers mean? 

An online marketing agency can build trust by building links intelligently. Start with links from trusted directories, sites that are viewed as authorities in the industry. Analyzing the inbound links of your competition and get linked similarly. Invest in a secure online payment vendor to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the customers' personal and bank details. Send them ads that matter to them. Forty-five percent of Singapore’s internet users don’t mind online ads if they are relevant. According to Digital Marketing Yearbook 2012 by ADMA, the top ten things Singaporeans buy online are:

1.  Travel (e.g. plane tickets / hotel accommodations) 

2.  Clothes 

3.  Holiday (abroad) 

4.  Gifts 

5.  Healthcare / pharmaceutical products 

6.  Books 

7.  Personal items (e.g. watches, handbags, etc.) 

8.  Mobile phones 

9.  Films 

10.  Financial products (e.g. insurance policies)

Get your site listed in local/social directories and provide an avenue for customers to leave reviews of your business. The focal point of your site should be the pros of your company/service. Highlight consumer benefits and tell your potential customers what's in it for them. As a business owner, you would probably think of the additional costs in achieving all these, but businesses do not need huge amounts of budget to get all them done, there are simple and effective ways of placing your website in strategic places on the web for added exposure and traffic.

Penetration of selected social networks in Singapore 

Digital Marketing Yearbook 2012 by ADMA also did a research on the social networking activities of Singapore. As of late 2013, 96% of internet users in the country had an account with any social network. The most popular social network is Facebook with a 92% penetration rate. Singaporeans spend an average of 4.4hrs on social networks a day. Eighty-five percent 85% visit social media sites, and 70% engage with brands or companies. Facebook and Google are the two most frequently mentioned brands in SG Twitter conversations among young professionals and graduating students. The top three web apps are Google, Facebook and Youtube.

Why put an ear on social media behaviour?

Keeping yourself in the know of what is relevant to your audience will enable you to advertise and build the brand in the right places. Keep tabs on what they read, watch, and listen to, and place your advertisement in platforms that will have the biggest impact. Gain community following in these platforms by removing the business aspect of the business. Be human. The reason why these social media platforms exist is to foster relationships and connections with people. You will be frowned upon if most if not all your social media posts are full of salesy-pitches and corporate jargons.

Digital marketing in Singapore does not end when you have a lot of web traffic. For an agency doing SEO in Singapore, to expertly navigate the country's rapidly evolving digital landscape and deliver high quality results, it must apply strategic solutions and later on regroup to find out how strategic and effective these solutions were. Testing and monitoring ads by investing in focus groups is one way of obtaining consumer feedback. Put your ads to the test to see if people get the message you are trying to bring across. The simple task of asking new customers where they heard about you will give you knowledge of business generating ads. Consistently create great content, strategically use social media tools and you are sure to build an audience of loyal prospects and customers.