Dubai: Sure, there's Facebook and Twitter. But for brand marketers in the region looking at options on social media platforms beyond these behemoths, there are always the blogs. And they can be quite a cost-effective means of reaching out to the brands' targeted audiences.

"Within the restrictions that being part of the region imposes, some blogging sites have built up committed followers and that's what advertisers are interested in," said Mohan Nambiar, CEO at the regional operations of the media buying and services firm MEC Mena.

"Bloggers are turning out to be active social consumers and will become more prominent if they are not already so. And advertisers are quite taken up with that.

"The followers use their point of view in decision-making; hence bloggers become the key authority and their statement about a brand or product is considered a valid opinion and credible point of view."

Content crucial

Multinationals are at the forefront when it comes to using blogging sites to push their messages.

Apart from Facebook and Twitter, Nambiar reckons the key social media platforms in the region are D1G, Maktoob, Jeeran and Hawaa World.

While not all bloggers are chasing advertising dollars, those who do tend to use the Google content network for their share of revenue from marketing spends.

"Blogging by itself is not the important thing, but what they carry as content," said Nambiar. "That content can turn out to be appropriate for certain product genres and for certain markets and regions, that's why advertisers are starting to go for it."

Digital advertising currently pulls in five to seven per cent of the region's overall spend, and some industry forecasts expect it to grow to ten per cent of a total ad spend of $6 billion (Dh22 billion) by the middle of this decade.

Within the ad dollars that digital as such is attracting, those pulled in by social media platforms are growing at a faster clip.

"The share of buying into digital is growing because of its efficiency and because it's a measurable thing," said Nambiar. "We have industry currencies that track what people are doing when they consume.

Good indicators

"What matters today is not what you pay for it, but for the efficiency that comes with it, i.e., how many people you can get for the dollars you pay."

But what about the cost for an advertiser to get onto the social media platform of his choice? "Most ads on the Facebook work on a bidding model, so an increased price range is a good indicator of a thriving digital advertising marketplace," said Sajid Abdul Rahiman, director at Clique Media. "The homepage ad unit prices in the region are again reflective of current market dynamics.

"With over 20 million users on Facebook from the Middle East, it is definitely a medium where clients want to be present. However, with a real dearth of branding space compared to the more traditional content sites and with understanding social engagement and conversions still in its infancy stages globally, clients are still in the process of determining what is the best strategy for them.

"Also with Facebook being construed as more of a casual site, it doesn't always augur well for B2B campaigns."

Among digital platforms, Rahiman favours Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo and MSN that potential advertisers could look at depending on the brief and the targeting parameters. Among regional entities,

"Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, and Dubaimoon, etc., are some names that immediately pop forward," he added.

The nature of the digital media being what it is, more names could join the party soon enough. Advertisers wouldn't mind having a lot more options to choose from.

All it takes is time

The tools and strategies that are being applied in internet advertising are being carried forward into campaigns involving social media. That may not necessarily be such a good thing.

"There's always a time lapse before a relatively new medium starts creating its own processes and that's the situation with social media advertising," said Mohan Nambiar of MEC Mena.

"When we make messages for consumers, it has to suit that particular medium. You need to tweak the message for that particular medium's acceptance. That's the stage social advertising finds itself in."

A WPP company and part of the Menacom Group, MEC Mena is marking its tenth year of operations. It came into being from the first ever merger in WPP's history of two independent businesses — The Media Edge and CIA.

— M. N.