Social media has definitely remodeled the way people research, share their experiences and communicate with each other. It has made a massive impact on our daily lives by keeping us engaged. For marketers, it has offered a new unique, diverse and targeted channel to promote their brands. "For fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), social media is mainly a research tool that helps brands to stay ‘top of mind', engage with the consumer in terms of understanding their needs and cater to their specific wants. Influencers and bloggers are an important factor that affects the choices people make on a daily basis, since we tend to listen and believe peers rather than a celebrity trying to sell us a product," said Mazen Hammoud, Gulf Area Manager at Product of the Year (POY) Middle East and North Africa in an interview with the Saudi Gazette. The POY is a prestigious award designed to distinguish champion and reward innovation in the FMCG sector through an independent consumer survey. The main objective of POY is to assess and assist the consumer with the best choice available in the market by identifying the number one product in the concerned category, he said. The main focus in the consumer-based survey is on the innovation and not the brand itself. The long term increase in sales on the products carrying the POY title showcases that the brand is irrelevant and that the consumer is voting and buying the best product in the market for himself and family, he pointed out. Excerpts from the interview follow: Q: How can we optimize our efforts and investments to build effective social media presence and at the same time sustain it? A: There has been no perfect strategy that has been identified to implement the social media plan especially for FMCG, due to its rapid evolution. Yet, to optimize the efforts and investments in building effective social media presence, it has to be part of an integrated marketing communication plan and not used solely for marketing. Social media is a long-term investment, and the main element is to be consistent! Social media is an ongoing work that should not be stopped. Once you stop you do not pick up from that point, you will have to build it all over again. Q: What is the best approach for a business to build healthy engagement with its target audience? A: Several elements come into play when building healthy engagement with our target audience. The most crucial and essential key is to "humanize" your brand; content is king in social media; listen and monitor your target; interact and engage with your audience; connect with your audience emotionally; identify and utilize influencers and bloggers; plan for long term; adapt to innovation. Q: Why is timing and right audience important in developing video content? Is developing interesting content not enough for the topic to go viral? A: Video is the future of content marketing. Videos are naturally engaging, and if they contain the right information at the right time, they can go viral and become a success story. It's widely known that posting at the same time, on the same day encourages viewers to keep up with your content. People are more likely to follow your channel if there is a set schedule. Q: How do brands not only stand out in a fiercely competitive market but also stay on top of emerging trends among younger consumers? A: Brands should not only depend on the good product or a fair price if they want to stand out in a fiercely competitive market and more specifically on top of emerging trends among younger consumers. To reach this audience, we should "humanize the brand"; give it authenticity; the message the brand has to send is the key. Younger consumers do not relate to campaigns that try to sell the product as much as to campaigns that try to raise a flag about a certain issue or defend certain values. Q: Consumers don't just want a good product for a fair price. Modern consumers have a whole slew of ethical concerns that they may consider before making a purchase decision. What's your take on this? A: This is where Product of the Year steps in. Product of the year can be compared to social media where consumers share their feedback about certain products and how they feel about them. By nature, people tend to not doubt celebrities or advertisements, as they feel less genuine. Product of the year, just as social media, offers the consumer the peace of mind knowing that we are identifying the best products in each category based on consumers like them. Q: Could you describe the GCC region's online media consumption habits at present? Where is the region heading in terms of social media? A: The GCC region has the highest number of YouTube views in the world per Internet user (more specifically in KSA). Arabic is the fastest growing language on the internet (it is even included in the top 10 languages used on the internet). The region is fast growing, and all platforms are investing more on Arabic content, especially with the new trend of multi-screen usage (phones, tablets, desktops...) Q: How does the ongoing trend in online media culture affect the GCC women? Do you think the present development is a game changer that would ultimately alter their lifestyle? Do you foresee government intervention to check the complete turnaround in the society? In culture? A: The ongoing trend in online media culture has definitely affected the GCC women, it has broken barriers and opened up new edges for the GCC women to be out there, it has as well created new career opportunities that they could benefit from. As we know that GCC women are more restricted in terms of culture and lifestyle, and social media have created many bloggers, online shopping websites... fueled with passionate fashionistas that fleshed out new amazing careers. It was definitely a game changer that altered their lifestyle. Governments have tried and will continue to try and control what they can, but due to the fact that no one was able to foresee online platforms to grow this rapidly or to be this effective and part of our day to day lives, I believe it is too late. Q: Do you think it is high time now to institute some kind of check and balance to regulate online social media and eliminate excesses that are deemed harmful to the society at large? A: Online social media has reached a level where check and control is not really feasible, it is also the platform where one can find whatever he is looking for. Eliminating excesses is not the way to block the harmful content to the society. — SG
