The Marmore report stated that based on the increasing Internet penetration, growing young population and mobile subscription rate, it is evident that the number of social media users in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will grow and hence it could be expected that the activity of the businesses on social media will also increase and also take on new forms of interaction with the consumers. The Internet penetration in GCC countries is on an increasing trend, and is catching up with the developed countries. Retail industry is one of the top industries on Facebook in almost all the GCC countries. As an increasing number of internet users utilise social media to interact with and reach out to brands, the businesses in GCC are also increasing their presence and are being very active on social media. The most used social media channels for businesses in the region are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. According to the estimates by McKinsey, by 2019, the digital spending will account for more than 50 per cent of overall media spend. Among all the regions North America spends the highest amount on digital ad spending followed by Asia-Pacific. The digital ad spending in Middle East & Africa is lowest among all the regions. The digital ad spending per network user in the Middle East & Africa is lowest among all the regions. However, the encouraging factor is the growth in ad spending on social media is highest among the MENA countries.
Muscat: Increasing Internet penetration, growing young population and mobile subscription rate, it is evident that the number of social media users in GCC will grow and hence it could be expected that the activity of the businesses on social media will also increase and also take on new forms of interaction with the consumers.
The Marmore report stated that based on the increasing Internet penetration, growing young population and mobile subscription rate, it is evident that the number of social media users in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will grow and hence it could be expected that the activity of the businesses on social media will also increase and also take on new forms of interaction with the consumers.
Over the past decade, social media has exhibited an exponential penetration into the daily lives of individuals, the operations of businesses, and the interaction between governments and their respective people, Marmore MENA Intelligence, a subsidiary of Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), said in a recently released report discussing the usage of social media by GCC businesses.
From 2000 to 2015 the Internet penetration grew by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, registering second highest growth behind Africa, the report said.
The Internet penetration in GCC countries is on an increasing trend, and is catching up with the developed countries. This increasing Internet penetration and increasing presence of youth on social media are opening up new avenues for companies to market their products and services.
Like in the developed countries, the businesses in GCC are also becoming more aware of social media marketing….
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