The Internet is taking over. This isn’t new insight, but it’s easy to see how digital is taking over face to face interactions, media preferences and many of our shopping experiences. And as the online landscape broadens, it’s clear that businesses looking to grow will need to include digital channels right alongside their brick-and-mortar operations to keep pace.
In looking at Egyptian consumer trends throughout 2015, we’ve seen a number of online developments. And when we look closely at the data, it looks like Egyptians are almost always connected, regardless of the age bracket.
Here are some highlights:
Internet penetration has increased a whopping 13% over the last year, bringing the overall rate to 53%
Egyptians spend about 20 hours using the Internet each week.
Egyptians connect to the Internet most commonly with their mobile phones, regardless of location and time.
Peak times for TV viewing and connecting to the Internet overlap, set between the hours of 8 p.m. and 12 a.m.
Online marketing in Egypt will continue to change in form and principles for many years to come, right along with the consumer. For now, however, three simple marketing truths will help you best engage with Egyptian consumers online.
1-THINK MOBILE FIRST, BIG SCREEN SECOND
The smartphone is the all-day companion for online consumers. Even when at home, consumers find it more convenient to connect via the handheld device than via computer or tablet.
It’s also clear that consumers are growing adept at multi-tasking. During their peak browsing time, 64% of online consumers use their smartphone while watching TV. Additionally, 61% of online consumers are more likely to watch video programming that has a social media tie in. So in that regard, it’s critical to remember the No. 1 of marketing online:
When planning marketing material, think of “small-screen functionality” first, followed by big-screen executions: mobile first, big screen second.
2-SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE
There’s no place for jargon when it comes to marketing to consumers, but respondents to the Internet Profiling local syndicated study say that’s not their biggest concern.
With the majority of online consumers falling in the C1 and C2 social economic classes, it has become apparent that English-language sites are not convenient for everyone. In fact, a staggering 95% of respondents said they prefer Arabic as the language of choice when it comes to browsing online material.
3-PROMPT ACTION RATHER THAN THINKING
Finally, one important finding suggests that marketers need to re-think how they’re approaching their messaging. Online ad recall has not only declined over the last year, but it has dropped by 15% to reach a meager 27%.
So does that mean that any marketing efforts online will prove to be futile? Not at all. It simply means that when creating content, brands need to consider engaging the consumer in an activity rather than rely on passive image or advertising viewership. Prompting an action is more likely to commit the brand message to the consumer’s memory.
For now, these are the realities to live by. Twenty-three percent of non-users of the internet claim that they are likely to join the online crowd over the next year, more likely bringing with them further changes to online marketing as we know it.