Transcribed

B2B Social Media Interactions in the GCC to Grow in 2013

dudu B2B SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTIONS IN GCC TO GROW IN 2013 Multilingual social network Social Networking mostly used for: Age Group 38% 36% 26% 62% Staying in touch with real life friends 18-29 30-39 40+ 39% Connecting with new people TITTI 36% Discussing things that I like/ interest me 32% Connecting with new people with different cultural backgrounds 35% use Social Networking sites for business purposes 30% Sharing personal videos and photos 16% Discussing politics on Social Networking websites UAE-35% Saudi-43% Kuwait-36% Bahrain-25% Oman-40% Qatar-33% GCC users are multilingual 55% speak 2 languages • 20% speak 3 languages • 9% speak 4 languages In the UAE: 42 % speak 2 languages • 33% speak 3 languages • 14% speak 4 languages 93% In the KSA: 52 % speak 2 languages • 8 % speak 3 languages • 2% speak 4 languages In Bahrain: 50 % speak 2 languages • 20% speak 3 languages • 19% speak 4 languages Respondents' friends on Social Networks of the respondents that do use Social Networking sites for business purposes find it effective and useful based on country of residence GCC - 28% MENA - 12% Internationally – 16% Home country – 44% UAE KSA Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Emirati 14% Saudi 66% Bahraini 37% Kuwaiti 8% Omani 61% Qatari 6% Arab Expat 31% Expat 34% Expat 63% Expat 92% Expat 39% Expat 94% Asian 49% Westerner 5% Other 1% www.dudu.com

B2B Social Media Interactions in the GCC to Grow in 2013

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According to a recently sanctioned survey by the UAE based multilingual social network, dudu.com, B2B interactions on Social Networking sites in the GCC are set to increase in 2013. An Increasing numb... er of internet users are utilising Social Media to interact with and reach out to brands. Timely responses encourage users to seek out their favourite brands and engage in a conversation. The survey was conducted by YouGov, a leading market research agency in UAE. Alibek Issaev, Founder & Owner, Dudu.com said, "B2B interactions on Social Networking sites have a different approach than B2C and can be utilised to generate awareness, build thought leadership and strengthen the brand. Dudu.com conducted the survey to understand the behaviour of internet users in the GCC. As brands begin to explore the potential of their presence on Social Networking sites, the efforts to maintain a constant channel of communication are visible across the board. Communication is personalised, responses are immediate and content shared is tailor-made to suit their target audience." Key Highlights of the research • 35% of internet users in the GCC use social networking sites for business purposes of which KSA represents the highest at 43% • 93% of users in GCC using social networking sites for business purposes find it effective and useful. Kuwait represents the highest in this category at 96% • 16 % of users in the GCC use social networking sites to discuss products, services and brands. KSA and Bahrain represent 19% in this category individually • 55% of users on social networking sites in GCC are bilingual, 20% trilingual and 9% quadrilingual Alibek added, "We are already witnessing the trend of businesses taking multilingual social networks such as dudu.com more seriously to grow their business and the findings from the survey have reiterated the confidence. By connecting pages to the translation system we are providing a very selective networking platform for businesses to interact with their niche target audience." The translation service by dudu.com utilises a self-learning system whereby it observes, understands and corrects dialects with time. Presently, the service is available to businesses in English, Arabic and Russian and will soon be available to all registered users. The study was based on a sample of 2,632 respondents from the GCC, 32% of which were locals and 68% expats. The respondents to the survey are professionals at mainly supervisory and medium to senior managerial levels, and work in various fields including: Education and Academia 11%, Banking and finance 9%, Government and Civil service 6%, Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations 5%, IT 5%, Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals 5%. Other highlights from the Survey • 62% of the users in the region use Social Networking sites to stay in touch with real life friends • 39% use it for connecting with new people • 32% for connecting with new people with different cultural backgrounds • 30% use it to share videos and photo Read this article in Arabic: http://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/read.php?story=1892