Mideast firms need to build social media skills

In the Middle East, where consumers are tech-hungry and internet access and mobile phone use are reaching ubiquity, companies have an opportunity to enable social media to play an expanding role in their marketing efforts and in their enterprises as a whole.

Yet, only a handful of regional brands have begun establishing their presence on social media platforms. These include du in the UAE, and Panda, a Saudi-based grocery store chain. Conversely, multinational brands operating in the Middle East are employing effective social media skills to engage with their customers, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Mars.

What Middle East companies must recognize is that good social media manners will allow them to dramatically transform how they connect their brands with consumers. In fact, Internet users today spend more than 20 per cent of their online activity on social media and blogs.

Understanding the role social media plays in a company’s marketing strategy is important. While leading marketers are using social media for brand building and customer relationship management, its useful for lead generation and driving social commerce.

Most companies have not capitalized on social media because of insufficient investment and a lack of capabilities. However, some are beginning to recognize its potential. A Booz & Company and Buddy Media survey of leading companies discovered a shift in focus from marketing campaigns to social marketing capabilities, enabling these companies to adopt an always-on, interactive approach to marketing. They have demonstrated that social media success requires developing three capabilities: community management, content development, and real-time analytics.

Just being on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and having blogs does not guarantee that a brand’s fans will visit these online outlets. Rather, companies need community management professionals to grow a brand’s online community and to energize their audiences.

These community management professionals listen to fans, respond to fans’ concerns, and analyse fans’ activities and behaviours. They also oversee the editorial experience to ensure meaningful discussions. Based on these interactions, marketers can anticipate what a brand’s fan base is looking for next.

Content development is the second capability that companies need. Marketers have to behave like media companies—providing high-value content that competes aggressively for consumers’ attention, engagement, and loyalty. That means creating “editorial calendars” that emphasize specific storylines and story types, and ensuring a steady stream of content.

Finally, companies need real-time analytics. Without live information about how fans are responding to content, companies will be unable to gauge the effectiveness of their social media efforts. These analytics also provide companies with the pulse of a brand’s fan community.

Through real-time analytics, community management professionals can understand how much content is being shared and by whom, which social platforms are getting traffic, and what actions fans are taking. Better yet, real-time analytics provide a valuable, company-wide opportunity to obtain unfiltered, direct consumer insights into branding, customer service, and product development.

Developing these three capabilities will help companies stand out among its competitors, particularly if the capabilities are built in line with a company’s strategy. Supporting the development of these capabilities and maintaining them requires dedicated resources—an undertaking that 64 percent of our surveyed companies have achieved.

Just as important as assigning resources is making sure the whole organization is onboard as the success of the social media strategy relies on cross-department collaboration rather than a stand-alone function.

If Middle Eastern companies take this opportunity to build and deploy their social media capabilities beyond campaigns, they will market their brands as never before. By creating rich new social media experiences for their customers, companies can unlock market-leading performance.

The writers are with the management consultancy Booz & Co.