How to Advertise in South Korea and The 15 Best Channels to Use

How to Advertise in South Korea – South Korea has long been an economic powerhouse in Asia. The country is known for its high-tech innovations and production of Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and SK Telecom products.

As the economy continues to grow there are more opportunities than ever before to invest in this thriving market. 

This blog post will teach you how to advertise and market your business in South Korea so that you can take advantage of these new opportunities. Read on!

The Advertising Industry in South Korea

The advertising sector in South Korea is a fast-growing multibillion-dollar industry with the goal of boosting consumer spending. 

With the ever-increasing number of internet users across generations, businesses are broadening their reach and investing more in internet advertising. In reality, internet ad revenue made up 12.2% of all income in Korea’s advertising sector in 2015, which is 6 times more than it did ten years ago.

During the recovery and development phases following the Korean War and the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, expenditures on marketing were significantly reduced or minimal.

Advertising Trends in South Korea

The 1970s and 1980s ads are more direct than today’s commercials. In the 1970s and 1980 of the past century, advertisements included the name of the product, and images occupied a much bigger area in them. The phrases were grammatical sentences that were completely directed.

Over time, words became less clear and direct, with the use of ellipsis growing more common. In more recent advertising, the name and items do not fill up significant portions of the advertisements. Instead, logos, jingles, and indications represent the product.

Ads pose questions and suggestions to attract consumers to buy the product, and the models describe how the goods affected them and advise buyers to try it.

The advertisers’ objective is to attract people’s attention by establishing a resemblance or link between the models and consumers by offering advice, as well as attempting to solve daily consumer issues.

South Korea Advertising Market Insight

Korea is a large advertising market, with around $10 billion in advertising spending each year. According to several industry sources, the Korean ad sector is expected to expand by more than 5% by 2022.

There’s a lot of money to be made in internet advertising. In 2017, Korea’s digital ad spending reached $4.1 billion, up by 19% compared to the year before.

The Korea Online Ad Association reports that, in 2019, its market share rose by 21% over the previous year. Furthermore, online advertising accounted for 48% of all ad spending.

Due to the Korean gaming market and effective e-commerce in Korea, digital marketing may account for half of all advertising spending by 2020. Mobile advertisements accounted for the greatest proportion of digital marketing, with a 52 percent market share.

Visual advertisements, search advertising, and display ads make up 35%, 50% respectively, of all online advertising. Currently, 98 percent of the population in Korea has access to the Internet.

In Korea, full-service agencies, which handle all of a company’s advertising activities, including strategic planning, production, graphic design, copywriting, media purchasing, and web marketing, are spending a significant amount of money on television commercials for the country’s top businesses.

The top 10 advertising firms in Korea account for 87.5% of the overall billings, according to 77 major ad agencies. Innocean Worldwide ($3.50 billion) and Cheil Worldwide (US$4.76 billion) led the league in 2017, followed by HS Ad (US$1.28 billion).

The spending on digital advertising (Desktop & PC) increased from 3.5 trillion won (US$3.28 billion) in 2015 to 3.7 trillion won (US$3.48 billion) in 2016, according to the Korea Communications Commission.’

However, ‘For the period January to June of this year, internet advertising on PCs fell from 2.15 trillion won (US$2.01 billion) to 1.93 trillion won (US$,1.81 billion), with mobile ad spending rising 32 percent from 1.35 trillion won (US$1.26 billion) to 1.

How to Advertise and Market a Business in South Korea

Do market research to better understand your consumers

You can’t establish the ideal methods if you don’t know who your customers are.

Do competitor research based on your niche

Knowing what your competitors are up to (well) is a great way to fine-tune your approach.

Choose the appropriate partners and translators for your needs.

You’d need to hire someone who can communicate in Korean to execute marketing campaigns in Korea due to the language barrier. Check if your partners and translators have adequate expertise for your marketing campaign.

Select the right platform for your product and sector.

Consumers in South Korea prefer to use distinct platforms for different goods. Choose the platforms according to the items your firm sells.

Best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Platforms in South Korea

Google Search Engine Optimization (Google SEO)

SEO is a type of internet marketing that focuses on optimizing web pages and sites for search engines like Google. The objective is to have these pages rank higher in the search results so that more people visit them.

However, the formula Google uses to determine which sites appear at the top of search results is changing.

Naver Search Engine Optimization (Naver SEO)

Naver, like Google, uses an algorithm to determine which web pages appear in the top results, making them more likely to be chosen than others.

Consider for a moment when you searched for anything recently. When was the last time you scrolled past the first page of results when looking for anything? This is precisely why you need to continue to optimize your material so that it remains on the front page.

Daum Search Engine Optimization (Daum SEO)

Daum is one of the most popular search engines in Korea. Naver, it accounts for more than 90% of the online search engine market. Google’s methods may not necessarily translate to alternatives like Daum.

This is where Inquivix comes in. As a company that operates in the Asian market, we have an edge over our competition because of our experience. Daum is ideal for growing your business.

Best Social Media Marketing Channels in South Korea

Facebook Marketing

Facebook marketing is one of the most popular social media marketing techniques, largely due to the fact that demographic data may be utilized to tailor these targeted ads. As a result, you can target your advertisements precisely to the right market.

Instagram Marketing

Instagram, a Facebook product, makes use of several of the same demographic analytics as Facebook. Instagram is entirely focused on pictures, and uploading fresh materials is simple and quick.

Pinterest Marketing

The majority of marketers in the South Korean market neglect Pinterest, making it an opportunity for anyone who wishes to appeal to those prospective consumers.

TikTok Marketing

TikTok has five distinct ad products, with in-feed advertisements proving to be most successful. Inquivix will evaluate these options and pick the one that is best suited for you.

YouTube Marketing

Last year, as a result of the increase in usage and traffic on YouTube, this platform began to show advertisements.

Best Influencers and Word of Mouth Strategies in South Korea

South Korea YouTube Influencers

Influencer marketing is also becoming increasingly popular on YouTube. We handle influencer outreach, ad specifications, and tailored marketing information for Korean consumers.

South Korea Naver Blog Influencers

In 2019, Naver launched an “influencer research” tool for its users. Because Naver is exclusively focused on the Korean market, we design campaign methods, content development, and influencer identification to assist you and your company in better leveraging this market space.

South Korea Instagram Influencers

Influencers utilize Instagram the most. Its visual nature makes it so effective. Many businesses have used influencer marketing to create more lucrative brand agreements, expanding their target market.

South Korea Press Release

Every country has its own set of PR rules or standards, so local knowledge is essential for press releases.

Best Advertising Channels in South Korea

Naver Search and Display Ads

Naver, Korea’s number one internet search portal, has over 16 million users every day. When it comes to digital marketing and expanding your company, having access to this sort of audience is critical.

KakaoTalk Display Ads

In South Korea, where the majority of people use KakaoTalk, it’s part of the overall digital marketing environment. With this app, you may reach out to a massive audience in South Korea and market your products there.

Display Ads

Essentially, this is a digital replica of a roadside billboard that targets the demographic you want to reach. These also connect to your website, allowing interested possible consumers to learn more about your company and make purchases if they are interested in doing so.

Google Ads

Google, like Naver, utilizes a pay-per-click advertising model to run its online advertising network. This implies that your company’s advertisements will appear on the search engine results page, which can reach a large audience. These advertisements may help to raise public awareness of your business and improve brand recognition.

Google Ads may be optimized through a variety of streamlined advertisements, which has aided businesses in achieving greater success. Google Ads are ideal for your company since they reach a much larger audience.

SEO Platforms	Social Media Marketing Channels	Influencers and Word of Mouth	Advertising Channels
Google SEO	Facebook	Youtube influencer	Naver ads
Naver SEO	Instagram	Naver blog influencer	KakaoTalk ads
Daum SEO	Tiktok	Instagram influencer	Display ads
	Youtube	Press release	Google ads

We know that advertising and marketing is a complicated process, but our team of experts is ready to help!  If you’re looking for ways to advertise or market your business in South Korea, we can provide the expertise needed.