Ministry of Finance paid over 50 influencers to promote Budget 2018
Ministry of Finance (MOF) has paid for over 50 social media “influencers” to post on Instagram to promote the Budget process in an effort to reach out to younger Singaporeans. Respondin…
Ministry of Finance (MOF) has paid for over 50 social media "influencers" to post on Instagram to promote the Budget process in an effort to reach out to younger Singaporeans.
Responding to Today Online queries, MOF spokesperson said, "Given the significance of the Budget to all Singaporeans, MOF taps… a mix of communications channels and platforms. With many Singaporeans obtaining information through online channels, especially younger audiences, MOF also publishes material on social media, and partners other parties to share relevant content."
The government hopes to reach 225,000 Instagram users for this campaign, therefore, around 50 individuals were engaged via influencer marketing agency StarNgage.
The agency stated on its website that it can connect clients with a network of over 600,000 YouTube and Instagram “influencers” in Asia, Europe, Americas and Australia.
The “influencers” for MOF’s current campaign — each boasting a following of between 2,000 to 30,000 Instagram users — are each expected to put up one Instagram post relevant to the Budget and share a link to MOF’s website on the Budget on their Instagram profile pages.
The performance of the campaign is measured by the number of followers each influencer has, and the number of “likes” and comments each post garners.
StarNgage’s chief community officer Terrence Ngu said that by providing information in a more relatable format through the influencers, the campaign aims to drive awareness of Budget 2018, as well as strengthen feedback and engagement in this year’s Budget process.
The influencers will receive a "token remuneration". However, Mr Ngu declined to disclose figures and all the influencers also declined to comment on the matter.
The ministry worked with StarNgage in a similar campaign following the Utilities-Save rebates announced last year to help HDB households offset their utility bills. The posts are marked with the hashtags like #MOFxStarNgage and #MOFSGxStarNgage.
According to the Straits Times (ST), StarNgage contacted the influencers over the past few weeks to ask if they were interested in participating in the campaign and the information about the Budget were sent by e-mail.
In the last year's budget, MOF had also approached a smaller pool of social media influencers to generate some buzz for various platforms that could be used to provide feedback.
MOF spokesperson said, "This is an effective way to engage with youth participants."
Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Assistant Professor Liew Kai Khiun, told Today that the posts help the Government reach out to an audience that may otherwise not be concerned about the Budget. However, he marked that they provide "only superficial awareness that feedback channels exist".
He said, "These influencers are also not known for their expertise in the areas of finance and economics. The fact that their posts are sponsored also leads us to question their sincerity. That said, the authorities had also tapped social media activists like mrbrown (blogger Lee Kin Mun) for past campaigns, but that may have been more effective because of people like him are more mature and genuinely publicly-conscious."
While, Marketing professor from the National University of Singapore, Ang Swee Hoon, stated that the campaign reflects the ministry’s effort in "keeping up with the times".
He said, "The Budget often seems to be a very serious topic that appeals more to the cerebral crowd. Thus the MOF is using Instagram to reach out to the masses, especially the younger generation. And rightly so, as Singaporeans should know more about financial planning for themselves and the nation."
Head of the communications programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Dr Brian Lee, told the Straits Times that the ministry’s media strategy to reach younger people is a savvy one, though social media has its limitations.
He said that if it’s about awareness, it will be effective. However, it may not promote understanding or changes in attitude or behaviour."
He then said that this may explain the low comment rate, adding, "But to generate awareness is a good start. Younger Singaporeans will have their way to search for pertinent information once they are aware of the issue."
The posts of the influencers regarding the matter can easily be found by clicking the hashtags.
They have around 1,300 to 35,000 followers on Instagram.
As we can see below, some posted pictures of themselves at the listening posts while others share photos of their daily lives with captions about how the Budget relates to them.
All of the posts are tagged as sponsored posts.
This entry was posted in Current Affairs.
