Shifting Sands

Before moving to Dubai, I worked in London for five years, with clients across the UK and Europe, and during that time witnessed a gradual realisation among businesses that a strong digital presence to reach and resonate with your target audience was no longer a nice-to-have – it is crucial.

I’m now seeing the same thing happen across the Middle East, and quickly.

Kids in Arabia

The younger generation were born into the Google era. Those now aged 20 have never known life without Facebook. Their lives have been dominated by technology and connectedness.

According to a report by Northwestern University in Qatar, 80% of Qataris aged 18-24 prefer to consume news digitally, while only 9% rely on print media.

In the UK, this figure was 70;30, respectively, according to a 2023 YouGov study.

This movement was accelerated by the pandemic. With lockdowns and social distancing measures in place, audiences sought news and entertainment from the comfort of their homes, with users in the MENA region averaging over 3.5 hours a day on social media at the height of the pandemic, according to GlobalWebIndex; that’s more than a day a week in total.

Digital and social media platforms cemented themselves as the go-to sources of information, offering immediacy, convenience and interactivity. This digital surge propelled the Middle East population to explore diverse digital platforms, in the same way it did in the UK, accelerating the transition away from traditional media.

The readership of traditional news publications – especially print – is declining, with Gulf News ending their legacy weekend editions in 2023. In the words of Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor in Chief: “We are constantly battling the sharks hunting in our territory: Google and Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to name a few are fishing for ad revenue in our waters.”

The trust precipice

Trust in traditional media has been gradually eroding – and this is globally, not just in the Middle East. Scepticism towards mainstream media has grown due to concerns about impartiality and sensationalism, while the rise of social media platforms and digital news outlets has empowered individuals to seek information from multiple sources, fostering a sense of media literacy and critical thinking in the region. We’ve not only seen a rise in influencers and content creators, but importantly a rise in citizen journalism – challenging the role of established media outlets as the sole arbiters of truth.

In an era where people want live information and diverse perspectives, traditional media outlets are often criticised for being biased or not presenting the full picture – particularly when it comes to extremely sensitive and emotive moments such as the current Israel / Palestine conflict. Individuals are turning to social media platforms for real-time accounts from those affected. For example, Motaz Azaiza – a Palestinian journalist in Gaza – has gone from 1 million to over 19 million followers in less than six months.

Proof in the pudding

Social media allows for greater reach, laser-targeted, measurable campaigning, and contextualised content in local languages. Businesses have been witnessing its benefits – where mass conversation and engagement can ladder up to their business objectives. Most recently, Visit Saudi’s digital-first campaign that leveraged the influence of footballer Lionel Messi reached 747 million people globally – website visits more than doubled, Google and YouTube searches increased by 12-15% and Visit Saudi social media followings increased.

Last year, The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) launched their social media and programmatic centric campaign – ‘Get More’. Aiming to drive brand affinity in key markets and increase reach and awareness in new geographies, the campaign wanted to position the Emirate as an attractive summer destination. Through highly creative campaign assets that appealed to traveller preferences, the campaign exceeded industry benchmarks generating more than 336 million impressions and a total of 1.2 million clicks. The Emirate received 1.13 million annual visitors – the highest-ever number of arrivals exceeding prepandemic levels.

Communications leads are quickly realising that the challenge with print media is that it doesn’t offer robust analytics to feed back into the business. Digital and social media can give tangible, quantitative results such as impressions, clicks or video views. And this is what c-suite want to see – value for money and return on investment.

Catching up

As Middle Eastern audiences embrace digital and social media as their primary sources of information, businesses and communications professionals are learning to rewire their strategies to future-proof and adapt to this evolving landscape. What does this involve?

1. Prioritise social media as highly as traditional media within a communications strategy.

2. Develop an up-to-date digital strategy that ensures a consistent tone of voice, a deliberate channel approach and a clear content strategy for both your company pages and your senior executives’ profiles.

3. Consider optimising your website in terms of user experience and content to improve your SEO and take back control of your own news and opinions.

4. Use paid media budget for paid advertising on social, where the targeting tools on offer are unparalleled.

By recognising these shifts and leveraging the unique opportunities offered by digital platforms, businesses in the Middle East will effectively engage with their target audience and stay ahead in this changing media landscape.