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MENA Digital Marketing Services

MENA digital marketing services

 

Are you trying to reach Arab customers in the MENA region? You’ve come to the right place.

We offer a variety of digital marketing services in both Arabic and English tailored to MENA audiences and demographics. As an agency that specializes in marketing to Arabs the MENA region is one of our key markets.

Some of the digital marketing services we offer for the MENA region include:

 

  • Arabic SEO
  • Arabic PPC
  • Social Media Marketing Management
  • Arabic Content Marketing
  • Email Marketing
  • Website Development
  • Arabic Reputation Management
  • Display Advertising
  • Arabic Direct Response Marketing Services

 

What is the MENA region?

The MENA region stands for the Middle East and North Africa. It represents a group of countries that are mostly Arab in culture. Given the shared culture of these countries and common language of Arabic they are often grouped together and consider the MENA region.

 

Countries in the MENA region

  • Algeria
  • Bahrain
  • Egypt
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Libya
  • Morocco
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Palestine
  • Syria
  • Tunisia
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Yemen

 

Why target the MENA region?

All over the region, shoppers are increasingly turning to the internet for their needs, whether that be fashion, electronics, food, healthcare products, or a wide range of other sectors. The Middle East e-commerce market is stronger than ever: its market size is expected to reach USD $50 Billion by 2025. Coupled with this is the fact that the vast majority of possible MENA customers are connected to the internet and social media sites like Instagram and Facebook through smartphones, making them a perfect target demographic for a digital marketing campaign.

 

What makes Digital marketing in the MENA region unique?

 

Culture

The Arab culture in the MENA region is unique. Most of the population of the MENA region are Muslim but other religious groups exist in some of the countries in the region. Arabs have some common cultural traits that are important to having success with marketing to them. Check out some of our digital marketing country guides to get a better understanding of cultural factors in each Arab country.

 

Targeting the right parts of the MENA region

Not all parts of the MENA region are worth marketing all products to. In general we recommend that most companies start their marketing efforts in the gulf region of MENA. This part of MENA tends to be the most wealthy sub-region of MENA and there is a high level of consumer demand for products and services. Once you’ve had success in the GCC, from there it can make sense to expand into the other sub-regions of MENA.

 

Language

The main language of the MENA region is Arabic and anyone looking to run digital marketing in the MENA region should incorporate Arabic into their campaigns. Though Arabic is the main language of the region, dialect differences between the different sub-regions should be considered. In some cases, MENA marketing campaigns can benefit from including content in Arabic dialect, as it increases the accessibility and local appeal of the campaign. In addition to Arabic and its range of dialects, there are a few other major languages in the MENA region that should be considered for a digital marketing campaign. Marketers should use some English in their campaigns in the region, especially if targeting the Gulf region specifically given the high number of expats in the region that mainly use English rather than Arabic. In countries like Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Lebanon, French is key to marketing success.

 

Consumer demographics and behavior

Arabs have unique consumer preferences so it’s important to market to them online according to their cultural preferences. Some of the consumer behaviors that make Arabs unique include:

  • Arabs are brand conscious
  • Shopping is very social
  • Status symbols are important
  • Bargains and Bargaining are the norm
  • Arab demographics are relatively young compared to the rest of the world
  • More here

 

Unique Challenges

Digital marketing channels in the region have unique challenges that they may not have in other regions of the world. Arabic creates some challenges with different ad interfaces because it is a right-to-left script, so formatting issues can occur especially if the Arabic content appears together with content in another language like English or French. If websites don’t optimize for Arabic, landing pages and sometimes ads can display the wrong way, making potentially customers much less likely to interact with them. Advertisers need to take extra precaution to understand the culture to make sure nothing offensive shows in their ads. These issues may seem trivial, but they have the potential to make or break a MENA digital marketing campaign. Addressing the challenges requires specialized expertise and culture-specific knowledge: that’s where IstiZada comes in with our dedicated experience as a MENA marketing company and our team of native Arabic and native English-speaking experts.

 

Summary

The MENA region is a lucrative market for many types of products and services. If your offering appeals to the right demographics it definitely makes sense to run digital advertising in the MENA region but you need to make sure to work with a company or individual with a deep understanding of the region. This will ensure your campaigns are successful.

 

If you need help with your MENA marketing contact us to learn how IstiZada can help you.

 

 

IstiZada’s Direct Response Marketing Service List

Jordan Boshers

Jordan Boshers is the Chief Digital Strategist at IstiZada, a digital agency that helps companies market to Arabs. He has 12+ years of experience running successful digital marketing campaigns in the Arab world. His insights into Arabic SEO helped him grow previously unknown websites to dominate Arabic niches on Google including growing one site from 0 to more than 2.5 million users monthly. Jordan has consulted for hundreds of companies including helping corporations like Amazon, Berlitz, and Exxon Mobil with their Arabic digital marketing. Learn more here or on LinkedIn.

View all posts by Jordan Boshers