The Rise of Filipino Digital Marketing Consultants

 Homebased freelancer turned FB ads consultant Ann Kristine Penaredondo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Because the new OFWs are gaining better ground in the industry…

Insider parlance used to kid about the term OFW to now mean “Online Filipino Worker” instead of its original meaning: overseas Filipino worker. Well, some factors are similar: both earn dollars, and both earn way more than similar jobs here in the Philippines. 

To add to that, the low barriers to entry and heightened appreciation and mastery of social media promotions have also supercharged a lot of Filipinos into boosting their expertise in digital marketing.

When before, being an online worker means being a virtual assistant, transcriptionist, or that you have to know a lot about tech, today, there are a lot more career directions that our online warriors can go.

Increased government support

Last year, a breakthrough project by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has successfully run their first batch of trainees from 26 local government units in different provinces all over the Philippines. 

This program netted 534 graduates, with two dozen trainers, and another two-dozen-person support team from the agency, all over the country.

Last year, the budget was only P22M, but with their success, the agency secured another P50M this year, in order to impact more areas and produce more graduates.

DICT Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim said that he is seeing a possibility of hitting thrice the number of graduates/ scholars for the run this year, and that he is very confident that the results will aide in improving the lives of many Filipino families.

DICT’s Rural Impact Sourcing program is a one-month training that covers the basics of digital marketing, copywriting, social media management, and starting an e-commerce version of already established small and medium enterprises. They are also working to “bridge the digital gap by providing digital access and trainings to underserved communities.”

Better career recognition, better industry leaders

With better government support, the industry leadership in the digital marketing and e-commerce world also evolved throughout the years.

One of the industry’s veterans, e-commerce advocate Janette Toral, noticed the shift in new influencers and industry leaders, and how they’re also getting younger and younger, with ideas that also get sharper and sharper. This is something to be celebrated, she says, because this is a testament on how the industry is growing, and how these experts are also invested in positioning.

“It’s all about positioning. Whether one is an expert or not is subjective – based on claims, sustained strength of portfolio, certifications, and how critical these things are to your target client. The market is huge enough that we can decide where to niche. If you are really good, and you are liked by your clients all you need to do is focus on getting better everyday and add value to others.”

Today, it’s not new for digital marketing consultants to show up and do their own web shows, podcasts, invest in high level PR, and stage their own talks.

When before, these freelancers took pride in being  “homebased”, now, they’re bolder, more equipped, and ready to take on the world.

Homebased freelancers taking their skills to the metro

One of the up-and-rising freelancers-turned-consultants in Metro Manila right now is Ann Kristine Peñaredondo of A Kompelling Purpose. After being a Virtual Assistant for almost a decade, she used her skills to master Facebook and LinkedIn ads.

With her experience in retail and the food industry, she has honed her skills by working with multimillion-peso ad campaigns for manufacturing industries and even with some government organizations.

If you think this is impressive, this is not even a quarter of her goals. After being timid and “hiding from her cave” for so long, she’s excited to bring more to the table. She also urges her fellow freelancers to explore a new path in the digital marketing world.

“Homebased freelancers become digital marketing experts because they took advantage of learning from the job. Having a job does not mean you cannot strive to do more, it means you recognize the possibility that you can be more,” she shares.

Today, Ann does speaking engagements for Facebook marketing, manages her agency, and is continuing to help hundreds of freelancers in building their freelance careers.

There are different reasons why more and more Filipinos choose this path - from being more present for family, a new sense of fulfillment, to earning more, or even to take more vacation days than regular employment, here’s an industry that’s still young, and thriving. Indeed, the ecosystem of Philippine Digital Marketing is abloom. And we still have so much more to look forward to.