Facebook Users in the UAE Constitute 50{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} of the Population

With exponential growth in social media globally, reports indicate that usage in the Middle East is increasing at a phenomenal rate, with more and more internet users spending time on social networks.
According to a report conducted and published by Dubai School of Government (DSG) in April 2011, 50{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} of the UAE population were using Facebook while Bahrain had 36{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} and Qatar 30{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} penetration of the same platform. Furthermore, the GCC countries (with the exception of Saudi Arabia) primarily prefer to use English on Facebook, most likely because of their large English-speaking expatriate population.
The UAE showed the highest number of Twitter users in the GCC region with more than 200,000 users according to the same report published by DSG. What is very significant however is that most information on Twitter is generated by a minority, while the majority use Twitter to consume news as more of a newsfeed than a micro blog.
The report is prompting companies and organisations to adapt to social media as a branding and communications platform in the digital age.
At Click 5.0 – The Digital Marketing Event for the Middle East taking place from 26-29 June in Dubai, leading corporations in the region will showcase their social media success stories including Aramex, BBC and Rotana Media Group.
Aramex has early on utilised social media in their communication and are one of the most successful companies in the Middle East on communication through social media. They will present an exclusive case study at the event, while Lina Shehadeh, Chief Marketing Officer of Aramex will share success stories on the challenges of keeping customers loyal through social media.
The event will feature Donald Steel, Chief Communications Advisor, BBC, UK and Alexander McNabb, Group Account Director, Spot On Pr, UAE and senior marketing communication directors from Expedia, National Bonds, Ericsson, Qtel, GoNabit, Saudi Telecom, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, flydubai and Jacky’s Electronic. All information is available at http://www.clickmarketingsummit.com
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