By: Ameinfo

Influencer marketing is a relatively simple but incredibly effective form of marketing that focuses upon specific key individuals rather than the target market as a whole. But who is an influencer?

According to The Word of Mouth Marketing Association Handbook, social media influencers can significantly shape the customer’s purchasing decision and has a greater than average reach or impact in a relevant marketplace.

High potential

 
The potential of social media influencers is more important now than ever, with mobile technology playing a key role in consumers’ decisions across the MENA region, according to new research by Facebook.

Ryan Holmes, author of The 4 Billion Dollar Tweet, says: “For company leaders, not understanding social media now represents a serious business liability. Being able to personally leverage platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter is a foundational leadership skill. The question is no longer if leaders can afford to be on social, but whether they can afford not to.”

Facebook data shows that conversations about Ramadan started early this year and are expected to last for nine weeks on Facebook among the UAE’s 8.4 million monthly active users.

7 tips for Ramadan

Here are some tips for influencers to maximise interactions with people during Ramadan:

1. Facebook is where decisions are made: Whether it’s travel transactions and late-night shopping or discussing the challenges of Ramadan fasting and health and fitness, Facebook is where people come to make decisions or seek advice. As well as reaching a broad audience, consider the tools and solutions that can drive specific actions. And think about the peak time to engage your audience.

2. Inspire on Instagram: The creative nature of Instagram makes it the perfect place to inspire. Compared to Facebook, Instagram sees a higher concentration of conversations around Iftar, desserts and recipe ideas, as well as fashion, cars and home. While Facebook shows Ramadan as it is; Instagram shows the Ramadan that could be.

3. Trailer Your TV Show on Facebook: With more 100m hours of video watched every day, Facebook has become a powerful mobile video platform. And our research shows that video ads on Facebook act as a ‘trailer’ for TV, increasing brand metrics like recall and awareness. With conversations about Ramadan TV beginning at the end of April, it’s crucial that broadcasters tap into this audience to trailer their TV premieres. And thanks to our Reach & Frequency pricing, you won’t pay any more to reach your audience during Ramadan than any other time of the year.

4. Tell Stories with Instagram: More than 150 million Instagrammers use Instagram Stories daily. And people are highly engaged with businesses. In fact, one-third of the most viewed stories are from businesses. Stories are a great way to capture people’s attention and imagination, and it’s now possible to place sponsored content in the Stories section of Instagram’s homepage.

5. Make it Meaningful: In a mobile world, we have more opportunities than ever to reach people. But there has never been more competition for our attention. Today, relevance is key when it comes to cutting through the noise. That means taking advantage of Facebook’s people-based targeting tools, as well as developing creative that reflects people’s real interests. Start by using our Audience Insights API to find out more about who your customers really are.

6. People Love Local: When it comes to buying food or clothes, most people have a limit on how far they’ll travel to a store. With Facebook’s Local Awareness ads, all businesses can target people within a certain radius of their store, which means your ads will only reach the people who are most likely to take action.

7. Don’t Just Go Big – Go Global: Just a few years ago, most businesses were limited to serving customers on the same street, neighbourhood or region. But with more than 1bn people on Facebook connected to a business in another country36, it’s now possible for any business to reach people in a new country. With International Lookalike Audience it’s even possible to target people on Facebook in a new country who share similar characteristics to your current customer base, making it easier than ever to find low-cost leads.

Save the date

Social media influencer marketing will take the spotlight at Arab Luxury World in a session at 4.30pm on May 23, 2017.

Arab Luxury World, a leading conference on the business of luxury in the Middle East, is a unique summit built on the extraordinary growth the region has recorded the past decade in the luxury segment.

This year, the event will focus on the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the end of the era of overabundance – two factors that are transforming the Middle East luxury industry.

As innovation, adaptability and sustainability become the new norms, the industry’s stakeholders are faced with the necessity of adapting to single-digit growth in brick-and-mortar sales.

Meanwhile, the digital disruption has arrived and online platforms are vying for the lion’s share of the market and enjoying double-digit growth.

Can luxury businesses adapt to an environment of digital disruption? What does the future of retail look like in this new environment?