Social Media in Businesses Goes Mainstream in UAE

A recent survey commissioned by Regus has shown that almost half the companies in the UAE have used Social Networking to win business.

This doesn’t come as a shock when you realize the numbers of consumers in the entire MENA region that are actively using Social Networking platforms, which has been reportedly in the realm of 15 million Arabic speaking users, spanning from Morocco all the way to Iraq.

What does seem impressive about this market is the fact the target audience isn’t only the very young Arabic consumer base, but also Enterprise level businesses operating throughout the region.

Some of the main players and early adopters of Social Media in the Enterprise have thrived and are witnessing unprecedented growth in this field with firms like UAE based H2O New Media acquiring PR firm MILK most recently to bolster their already award winning and impressive portfolio.

Similarly companies like Egypt, Cairo based LINKonLINE have been developing their Facebook CRM since 2008 which integrates the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM with the Facebook platform, to allow companies to contact customers and interact with them on the popular social networking site.

Both establishments targeting an aggressively expanding market seems to be paying off, and putting those who haven’t yet embraced the power of Social Media in a truly awkward position.

Sadly the length of this article doesn’t allow us to get into the impact this widespread adoption is having on SME’s in the Middle East. But with companies like Socialize.ae to help move companies forward, and other like Loomni.com there to rapidly educate the rest, it looks like Social Media in MENA is moving in the right direction.