NUMBERS GAME

The evolving role of social media

draws out actionable brand insights from We Are Social/HootSuite’s KSA Digital 2021 research report

3) The switch from search to social search:

Between 2020 and 2021, we’ve fi nally seen the scales tip. In KSA, the preferred primary way to conduct brand research among internet users aged 16-64 is to refer to social media, with 60 per cent using this channel, ahead of 58 per cent who use search engines. No other channel is close in terms of use – in third place comes consumer reviews, which 38 per cent of this group use to do brand research.

This could be a direct result of a distinct lack of Arabic-fi rst search approaches from brands, favoured instead by Arabic-fi rst social approaches, which result in richer Arabic social content, and search strategies primarily in English.

Brand Takeaway: When we say ‘social search’, it’s important to remember consumers don’t just actively visit brands’ social pages. Search is conducted in numerous ways via hashtags, explore tabs, shopper tabs, Instagram Reels, vloggers and infl uencers, and ads served. Brands must adopt a multi-faceted approach, so they’re visible and available in the right spaces for your consumer. This also allows for organic frequency – the more they see you across diff erent channels in diff erent forms, the stronger your brand recall will be.

4) Age-agnostic e-commerce growth

The growth of e-commerce in KSA has been accelerated by Covid-19, with consumers forced to shop from their homes – and the extended length of the pandemic forming long-lasting habits. With this, we’ve seen the use of shopping apps increase from 55 per cent to 68 per cent year-on-year in KSA, and an annual growth of 38 per cent in the consumer products e-commerce market.

The surprising takeaway from the data is that internet users in Gen Z (age 16-24) are no more likely to use e-commerce than millennials (25-34) or even young Gen X. In fact, each age range from 16-54 has similar e-commerce adoption, and we only really see a drop off with consumers aged 55+.

Brand Takeaway: All consumers shop online. Brands need to be where the consumer is (which is everywhere) with a focus on ‘aggressive’ acquisition of new customers and fi rst-party data. Measurement is key to understanding how to strategically, and often very quickly, pivot an approach, as well as keeping up to date with the rapidly changing ecosystems and inventory available to continually optimise the ever-fl uid consumer journey.