Marketing
Arab region
How social are you? The Middle East has seen a rise in social media usage in the last few years. With a variety of new and improved Web applications being launched, it’s appealing to more than just a niche market. Namita Ramani, Social Media Expert, Salony Creations, tells us how this has created a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.
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ocial media has become popular not only with individuals but also with organisations, both in the public and private sectors. Companies, firms and even governments are joining this online network. Large organisations, as well as groups, are adopting social media techniques to bring their people together. Some of these activities include rallying people around social and political causes, boosting citizen journalism and civic participation, and creating forums for debate and interaction between communities. With a third of the Arab demographic being made up of youth between 15 to 29 year olds, the infiltration of social media in these groups is soaring. While this young population will soon be entrepreneurs and also part of the governments and private sector workforces, it is argued that with these social media tools it is possible to influence citizen engagement and social inclusion, while creating opportunities for employment and enhancing development. Online penetration On a global level, the UAE is currently the top Arab country for Facebook penetration, as percentage of population, according to a Arab Social Media Report. It is also among the top ten in the world with a 45% Facebook penetration. This huge online network has sparked a revolution in our society. With a majority of the population on social networks, there is a sweeping scope of opportunities that should not be missed. Advertisers are flooding
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Namita Ramani
Websites and earning a sizable percentage of revenue on these sites. However, social presence should be created for the right reasons; engagement with your right target market and not in the fear of being left behind! Consumer-generated content is having wide-ranging effects on both the perception of a company and whether a purchase is eventually made. Can your company afford not to participate in the conversation? Although Facebook has more penetration in the Arab region compared to Twitter, Twitter users are growing at a rapid speed. Firms and establishments are using Twitter accounts to personally interact with their customers and are also posting deals to keep them updated on the latest offers. However, having an online presence is not enough; maintaining and constant updating is necessary to not lose out on viewership. Content is king A focused content strategy that is suited to your company will help you gain all the right customers. With a content strategy you can encourage your customers to interact with your company and this is where the sales will happen. Customer engagement will happen via comments on your posts and replies to your comments and customer loyalty will be earned. Wall posts, status updates, and questions are some of the great features Facebook offers and outlets like spas, restaurants, clubs and retail stores can generate considerable revenue with effective use of these features. With the right online marketing strategy you can reach the target audience
SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST FEBRUARY 2012
economically and get the most ROI. Social marketing is also measurable. You can find out how many followers you have on Twitter and follow a month by month growth strategy. TweetReach is a great tool for measuring Twitter activity. Facebook reach and response is in valuable. To know if your message is being heard, take a look at your Facebook fan page and see how many new fans you have compared to last month and also see how many friends have become fans after an event. Have they posted comments? Online marketing has added a new dimension to advertising and PR. It is ever-growing and has developed into the new face of marketing, holding numerous opportunities. It is not limited only to social media; there are many more elements, such as search engines and blogs. A combination of online as well as print presences is the solution to successful marketing. A successful marketing plan is one that integrates the right elements of online and offline channels best suited to your product or brand to get the most of every cent spent.
About Namita Ramani is a Web strategist and digital marketing expert, and established Salony Creations, in 2004 to fill the gap of creative Web solutions and integrated marketing solutions in the region. She started her second company, SpaGenie in 2009, which specialises in providing integrated marketing solutions to spas in the region.