1. Ema‟s Mega Trends For Social Media
in Middle East
2014
@emalinaker
http://emalinakeruae.tumblr.com/
2. Google Plus Comes Of Age
343 Million Users Makes
Google + the second largest
platform in terms of monthly
users
It ties your activities to search
It will start to become the „one
size fits all‟ platform as it ties
video, with search, local
content and demographics
4. Mobile in the middle
Mobile technology
and behavior is at the
center of our current
digital ecosystem,
including web, social
and search activities
Social
Networks
Websites
SOCIAL SHARING
SEARCH ENGINES
Paid Media
4
5. Big Data Dilemmas
The millenials that live and
work in the Middle East
region maybe tech savvy and
carry smart phones but they
have limited data or no data
at all especially in Egypt,
Levant and North Africa
Free Wifi and internet
services will reap dividends
to those venues and retailers
that provide it
6. App-based Marketing/Gaming is Booming
We are seeing a big increase
in application usage and
development especially in
Saudi, Qatar and the UAE.
Telling stories through apps
that embody a brand‟s
character will be increasingly
popular
Community gaming on tablets
in particular is growing at a
vast pace with over 11.8
million daily active users in
MENA*
*Source: AlistDaily October 2013
6
9. Increased Trust in Ecommerce Will Lead To
Boom
The biggest spenders in the
Middle East hail from Egypt,
Saudi Arabia and the UAE which is also where social is
most actively used.
Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and
Kuwait also have deep
pockets with 90 million
Internet users who spent a
collective $9 billion online in
2012. By 2015, that region is
expected to spend $15
billion.
*Source: The Future of Commerce 2012
10. M-commerce Driving High Ticket Purchasing
Rise of the hyper connected,
mobile, digital buyer means
companies need to think mobile
first moving into 2014
The research shows that purchase
levels held steady at 68% across
the study regions of Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and UAE.
M-commerce is becoming more
established, which means that
users are now migrating their
spending on big-ticket physical
items from the PC to mobile*
*Source: MEF Third Global Consumer Survey for 2013
11. The Dawn Of I-Commerce or Instagram Commerce
• Already a HUGE trend in Kuwait I predict I-Commerce or Instagram commerce
will become bigger in other countries across the Middle East – Egypt, Jordan
and Lebanon are all ripe for this to take off in a big way in 2014
13. 50 years ago,
David Ogilvy asked:
“Are your ads
looking more
like magazine
spreads yet?”
13
13
14. We‟re Seeing Deeper Integration of Media
OWNED
Creating
remarkable
content
Engaging
the right
influencers
PAID
EARNED
Driving communities
to advocate &
take action
20. SOCIAL & REAL LIFE EVENTS BECOME MORE INTEGRATED
• With Expo 2020 being
announced late
November we saw the
power of social media to
drive engagement, reach
and impact of the live
celebrations taking place
in Dubai that evening.
The Twittersphere was
awash with congratulatory
tweets &
Vines/Instavideos of the
fireworks
20
23. Elevation of Social Media Managers To Social Strategists/Directors
Write like a journalist, think
like an editor.
Be self-reflective. It’s a twofold process.
Be an expert at
understanding social
dynamics, sociology, and
behavioral psychology a
top priority.Utilize
gamification and storytelling
techniques.
Be objective in a subjective
way.
70/30 Rule.