Just how effective are the sponsored posts by Ministry of Finance for Budget2018
It has been earlier reported that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) paid for over 50 social media “influencers” to post on Instagram to promote the Budget process in an effort to reach out …

It has been earlier reported that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) 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.
MOF spokesperson was quoted saying, "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 earliest posts started on 6 October last year and ended with the most recent posts being posted on 9 January, over a week before MOF revealed its arrangement with the influencers and marketing agency.
No disclosure was made about how much was spent on the whole marketing campaign and the total outreach achieved.
When The Online Citizen went about searching the Instagram for the influencers, we only found a total of 41 influencers who had the relevant tags, linking to the marketing agency and the MOF. The posts made were generally about lifestyle and emphasising how the government helps by relieving the burden of increasing living standards. The posts also ask followers to participate in the feedback process for the Budget.
In light of the discrepancy between the announced and actual figures, one has to wonder if some of the influencers pulled out from the campaign due to the public scrutiny on the decision to engage social influencers to promote the Budget 2018.
Despite the criticism from the voices on the ground and the marketing industry, MOF might just be coming from an angle that seeks to address a problem, which is the lack of feedback from the apathetic or ignorant segment of Singapore's population.
While the engaged Instagram influencers may not be financial gurus who have huge followings but they do provide a channel to Singaporeans who are probably largely detached from the running of the country other than the once-five-years voting process.
If MOF can share that its feedback process had an increase of submission and different aspects of problems faced by Singaporean families due to the influencers' following or the public attention generated from the controversy of engaging influencers, the ministry should be given its due congratulatory note from the public for a job well-done.
Below are the instagram posts which indicates #sponsored, #MOF and the marketing company's hashtag, #MOFxStarNgage
Updated on 24/1 - number of influencers found
This entry was posted in Media.






