Using Social Media to Enhance B2B Networking in Dubai
Companies / Internet Apr 09, 2015 - 09:55 AM GMTBy: Submissions
Veselina Dzhingarova writes: A great number of businesses have expanded their reach into new markets and Dubai is one of the places that has garnered a lot of attention. As one of the ‘Western-friendly’ countries in the Middle East, many of the companies setting up a base there are from the UK, the US and Canada. However, just because the Dubai government welcomes foreign businesses doesn’t mean that a new company is going to be an instant success. One of the best ways to break into a new market is through B2B networking and believe it or not, this is relatively strong in Dubai. For those who are new to the area, the best way to network with other business professionals is going to be through social media. Here are a few facts you may be interested to learn.
Huge Percentage of Population in Dubai Regularly Uses Social Media
According to a 2014 infographic published by We Are Social using figures from the Global Web Index, 96% of those living in Dubai have a social media account. That in itself is amazing but when 67% of respondents stated that they signed in within the past month, that is even more remarkable. Now then, consider the potential for meeting up with other business professionals through these social sites. It would take you years to network outside of the Internet, so take advantage of social media to build relationships with other professionals.
Which Social Sites Are Popular in Dubai?
Again, according to the infographic, the very same sites used by most people in the West are joined by the locals in Dubai. Facebook tops the list. After that, social sites are ranked in the following order:
- Google+
Unfortunately, these figures are from 2014 which means that some may have moved up or down the list. Even so, the point is, B2B networking in Dubai can only be enhanced through social media since such a large portion of the population engages in social networking.
Defining What You Hope to Accomplish through B2B Networking
It doesn’t really matter which social networking sites you join, you need to define your ultimate goal in order to network efficiently. Are you looking just to create a huge following for appearances sake or are you looking to network with other professionals to achieve real tangible goals? For example, you may be looking for affordable office space. Networking with experienced locals might be able to provide solutions for serviced office space in Dubai that you hadn’t thought of or even known about.
We truly are living in a global society so put aside your preconceptions of differences and think in terms of ‘sameness.’ Businesses in Dubai operate the same way as they do in Canada, the United States, the UK and everywhere else for that matter. We are truly social creatures and if you hope to establish working B2B relationships in Dubai, social media is the way to go.
By Veselina Dzhingarova
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