Why Your SME should adopt an E-marketing Strategy | A Waseem Saddique Marketing Insight

In light of an e-marketing boom in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Waseem Saddique Marketing urges SMEs all over the world to adopt an e-marketing strategy.

SMEs in the UAE currently represent 40% of the nation’s GDP and they are considered responsible for the generation of over 40% of domestic employment requirements.

What’s the reason for the growing success of SMEs in the UAE? The answer is effective e-marketing strategies. Waseem Saddique asserts: “When executed correctly, an online marketing strategy holds the key to broadening the reach of a business beyond the realms of its usual client base and into unknown territory.”

Due to the cost effective nature of online marketing, when compared with traditional methods, internet based marketing adds much more value to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to a top executive at Genesis Consulting based in Dubai.

Following the rise of the global recession, SMEs have become an integral part of the economy in countries such as Bahrain and other regions across the Middle-East. However, this is not just a Middle-Eastern trend. Countries such as the UK are arguably keeping their economies afloat, thanks in part, to the influence of SMEs

However, where SMEs in countries like Bahrain and the UK are missing out is their failure to recognise the value of internet marketing quickly enough to compete with their competitors.

Waseem Saddique states: “For instance, across the UK less ‘tech-savvy’ SMEs are reportedly losing out on £122 billion in sales revenue by neglecting to develop and establish a sustainable marketing plan, particularly one that involves an online strategy, according to a survey published in March 2013 by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.”

The importance of SMEs adopting an online marketing strategy cannot be underestimated according to marketing experts. The market potential is huge and SMEs simply have to embrace platforms such as social media including: Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

Online marketing is an ideal platform for SMEs particularly those just starting out as it provides the perfect opportunity to promote and grow a company across a worldwide audience.

The majority of the consumer base, across many nations, is now based online and online marketing now offers a much more effective solution than methods such as print media advertising.

Recent media trends highlight that the influence of online advertising continues to gather pace and has a very distinct edge over other media platforms. The majority of consumers now refer to the internet for information and to purchase products or services.

One of the biggest challenges faced by online marketing specialists across the UK and the Middle East for instance, is how best to educate SMEs of the importance and value of online marketing.

For many SMEs the biggest barrier to committing to online marketing is their desire for instant results. If an online marketing campaign does not deliver results within a month they dismiss its value and move onto another strategy.

Waseem Saddique comments: “This approach to marketing is just not sustainable, nor is it time or cost effective. It’s better to adopt one strategy and do it well, rather than have several strategies that deliver average results.”

Research published by InternetWorldStats.com revealed that Facebook usage in Bahrain, and the Middle East (excluding North Africa), stood at over 26% (24 million) of the total internet user population of 90 million as of June last year.

This means that the market is there for SMEs, they just need to switch onto the potential and embrace the concept of online marketing.

Founded in 2007, Waseem Saddique Marketing Services has consistently provided small to medium enterprises as well as larger corporate firms with a range of digital marketing & online solutions.

What do new Press Regulatory Laws mean for Bloggers? Waseem Saddique Marketing Investigates

Are you an online blogger for a business? If so you could face high libel fines, thanks to the new press regulation deal.

Blogs, websites and even social media pages could be forced to pay heavy fines should they fail to sign up to new press regulatory laws implemented under the new Leveson deal.

WaseemSaddique comments: “New press regulation laws could change the face of online marketing, whilst the first step seems to affect blogs and websites, there are rumours that the laws could span across social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more.”

New press regulation laws have been met with a mixed response. The victims of the recent phone hacking scandal involving the News of the World, which sparked off an entire review of the UK media sector, are strongly in favour of reducing ‘press power’, effectively disabling them from, what they perceive to be, an intrusion of their private lives.

Those opposed to press regulation argue that it takes away the fundamental freedom of ‘free speech’, which many consider to be a very dangerous threshold to cross.

The particular section of legislation likely to impact bloggers and websites can be found under clause 29 of the ‘Crime and Courts Bill’.

Waseem Saddique Marketing Services released a statement saying: “The new clause introduced to the bill states that ‘relevant bloggers or websites are defined as those that generate news material whereby an individual or group has editorial control over a publication within an editorial structure.”

Whilst bloggers would be exempt from damages for comments posted by readers, the fact remains that bloggers and website owners will now be forced to walk a very thin line in order to provide articles that are neutral and not necessarily based on opinion.

Certain publications, such as scientific journals, student publications and charity material, such as newsletters, will not be accountable to the new law. Websites will also be granted immunity on the condition that they sign up to the new regulator.

In a statement from the Chief Executive of Index Censorship, Kirsty Hughes, she said: “This is a dark day for British democracy. This will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on everyday people's web use. I fear that thousands of websites could fall under the definition of a ‘relevant publisher’ in clause 29. Bloggers could find themselves subject to exemplary damages, due to the fact that they were not part of a regulator that was not intended for them in the first place.”

In a case study carried out by Waseem Saddique Marketing Services, they uncovered one particular blogger who will not be signing up to the regulation roster. Harry Cole, a political blog writer for Guido Fawkes, said: “I won’t be joining. My servers are based in the US and should therefore make me exempt from UK press laws.”

He added: “I don't see I should join a regulator. This country has had a free press for the last 300 years, that has been irreverent and rude as my website is and holding public officials to account. We as a matter of principle will be opposing any regulator especially one set up and accountable to politicians we write about every day.”

Waseem Saddique concludes: “Undoubtedly, this could be the first step towards total regulation across a number of platforms. This will ultimately change the face of online marketing, website trends, social media trends and much more. This could be a tactic that backfires severely.”

Founded in 2007, Waseem Saddique Marketing Services has consistently provided small to medium enterprises, as well as larger corporate firms, with a range of digital marketing & online solutions.

Social Media Wars, Who’s Really Top of Social Syndicate? Waseem Saddique Marketing Investigates

Social media has become a global phenomenon, with social networking platforms used by all sectors of modern society, whether it’s for personal or business use. In order for businesses to best target their online marketing efforts, Waseem Saddique Marketing Services investigates which social media solution sits at the summit of the social networking world. 

Waseem Saddique comments: “Ask a Facebook representative, they’ll say Facebook, ask a Twitter employee, they’ll say Twitter or ask a LinkedIn spokesperson they’ll say… and so on. According to in-depth research, carried out by ‘Ebizma’, official stats, as of January 2013, put…’Facebook’ at the summit of the social media syndicate.”

According to ‘Ebiz’, Facebook boasts approximately 750,000 billion unique monthly users and now has approximately 1 million users (at time of writing), exceeding Twitter’s (which ranks in second place) unique monthly users by around 500,000.

Isn't it all subjective? 

Waseem Saddique comments: “Being top of the pile in the quest for social networking supremacy is no small feat. But, do the statistics represent personal preference. Whilst people may be registered with a social networking site, it may not necessarily cater to their needs and presence on the site is more out of necessity as opposed to an essential requirement.”

Certain business streams adopt one form of social media, whereas competitors may well maintain a social media presence elsewhere. Much of the decision making process rests on where businesses can achieve the best results in terms of reach, but reaching the required audience for their business needs.

There is no doubt that social media is shaping the way that business conducts its online marketing efforts. Business moguls are now often quoted as saying that ‘any marketing strategy that does not consider a social media presence is no marketing strategy at all.’

Social media has a ‘vice like’ grip on society. According to ‘World Mixture’, the average individual checks their social media profile every 6 minutes. Also, 87% of these people maintain the same habit in checking their profile first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

In terms of subjectivity, whilst Facebook is defined as the leading social media lead generation platform for B2C businesses, B2B companies refer to LinkedIn as the most effective social media tool for their needs.

Waseem Saddique states: “When it comes to business to business relationships and business to customer relationships, maintained via social media, statistics do become subjective. One platform that works for one will not work for another.”

To put things into perspective, according to ‘Marketingeasy’, the average midsize or large company (1000 employees or more) has 178 “social media assets” (Twitter handles, employee blogs, etc.)–yet only 25% of companies offer social business training to their employees.

So whilst businesses recognise that social media now plays a key role in business growth, investment into employee training remains staggeringly low.

So even the overall importance of social media to businesses can be questioned, although many companies have a great social media presence, do they have the resources and knowledgeable staff to maintain it.

Concluding thoughts

The question of who sits at the summit of the social media empire is open to interpretation. Waseem Saddique comments: “Whilst Facebook holds the statistical crown, if you were to conduct a country-by-country survey, many nations would offer a different social media platform, which they would consider to be the leader in the social networking wars.”

To give business leaders and individuals a recent insight, from a statistical point of view, of who dominates the social media realm, here’s a list, compiled by ‘Ebiz’, revealing the top 15 most popular platforms of the moment (correct as of March 2013) –

1 | Facebook - 750,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

2 | Twitter - 250,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

3 | LinkedIn - 110,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

4 | Pinterest - 85,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

5 | MySpace - 70,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

6 | Google Plus+ - 65,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

7 | DeviantArt - 25,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

8 | LiveJournal - 20,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

9 | Tagged - 19,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

10 | Orkut - 17,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

11 | CafeMom - 12,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

12 | Ning - 12,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

13 | Meetup - 7,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

14 | myLife - 5,400,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors

15 | Multiply - 4,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors 

Exposed, SlideShare Secrets - The Social Media Solution Taking the Business World by Storm

SlideShare began its existence back in 2006, in just 7 years the social networking site has established itself as one the most unique and innovative social media sites operating today and has taken the business world by storm. Waseem Saddique Marketing Services investigates SlideShare’s rise to prominence and its increasing popularity within the business world.

Waseem Saddique comments: “The statistics for SlideShare make for phenomenal reading. The social media site welcomes 60 million visitors per month and approximately 130 million page views during the same time-frame  SlideShare is also ranked within the top 200 most visited sites on the planet.”

What is SlideShare?  

SlideShare is a social media platform, predominantly used by corporate companies, to display business presentations, but the platform also displays documents, PDFs, video and webinars. SlideShare operates with 55 staff and boasts the title of the world's largest community for sharing presentations.

The secret to SlideShares’ success

Perhaps one of the most defining factors for the popularity of SlideShare is its affiliation with the White House. The fact that arguably the most powerful Government in the world uses the SlideShare network will certainly raise the eyebrows of business leaders around the world.

WaseemSaddique states: “If SlideShare is good enough for the US Government, then it’s most definitely good enough for all sectors of the business world. A major fact worth knowing: In 2009, the official website for the US President (Whitehouse.gov) signed user agreements with eight of the world's leading social media websites. SlideShare was one of them. SlideShare is regularly used by the White House and many other US Government departments.”

SlideShare is also a very unique concept and appeals to a niche market, namely the business community, allowing companies around the globe to store presentations and have access to them during important business meetings, client pitches and other important business events.

SlideShare offers a credible online marketing solution for businesses, as presentations are stored indefinitely and are constantly accessible to current customers, business connections and potential customers.

Why is SlideShare popular among businesses?

The general consensus of business leaders is that SlideShare offers premium viral penetration.   SlideShare content spreads virally through blogs and social network platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Organisations upload documents to SlideShare to share ideas, conduct research, connect with others, and generate leads for their businesses.

Businesses also enjoy the features that SlideShare is able to provide, some of which include:

• The capability to upload presentations publicly or privately
• The ability to download presentations on any topic and reuse or remix
• The opportunity to embed on blogs, websites and company intranets
• The ease at which SlideShare posted can be shared on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
• The Zipcast feature: Free, no download, 1 click web meetings
• The option to lead share,  generating business leads with presentations, documents, PDFs and videos
• The Slidecast feature: sync mp3 audio with slides to create a webinar
• The potential to embed YouTube videos inside SlideShare presentations
• The option to upgrade the SlideShare experience allowing access to premium features like branded channels, analytics, ad free pages etc…

Waseem Saddique concludes: “SlideShare offers a complete online marketing solution allowing companies to spread the word about products and services that they have to offer. The secret to the success of SlideShare is its appeal to the business community and in conquering the business world, the social networking site is now making strides to conquer the public domain.”

Waseem Saddique Marketing Services: Tips on Maximising Mobile Marketing Trends

Mobile marketing is arguably the fastest growing form of marketing on the planet at present. In this definitive guide, Waseem Saddique Marketing Services provides an overview of the top mobile marketing trends and how to maximise those trends.

Waseem Saddique states: “According to eMarketer.com, 43% of global business leaders plan to increase mobile marketing in 2013; 4 in 10 will also increase search spend. So businesses need to sit up and take notice of the mobile marketing revolution.”

This guide identifies the top trends of mobile marketing and aims to give businesses around the world a head start on their competitors when it comes to winning the battle for mobile marketing supremacy.

Key Movements

#1 - Mobile Advertising Spend is on the Increase

Research by Forrester reveals that mobile advertising in the United States will become a $2.5 billion business by 2014. Needless to say, the first key to maximising mobile marketing is to get on board and recognise that the market is growing at an incredible pace and the momentum looks set to be sustained.

#2 – Smartphones are Taking Over the Mobile World

By 2015, eMarketer.com has predicted that Smartphone owners will account for 43% of the mobile user population. The significant shift in the number of people using Smartphones will breed a new consumer audience that are much more engaged and making use of e-commerce 

mobile sites for their purchasing needs.

Waseem Saddique says: “In order to maximise the opportunity of reaching such an audience, businesses need to be implementing mobile marketing strategies across the overall marketing strategy for the business. One way to do this is to develop a unique mobile ‘app’.”

#3 – Tablet Demand is on the Rise

In a bid to dominate the Tablet market, big name phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Blackberry and HTC have all produced their own version of tablet in order to compete with the iPad. The iPad currently holds 80% of the market according to eMarketer.com

As well as developing a mobile marketing strategy for the Smartphone market, businesses also need to consider a marketing strategy that’s effective on tablet gadgets. In order to take advantage of this trend, businesses should again look at producing a mobile ‘app’ suitable for use on tablets.

#4 – Mobile Optimisation is Imperative

Frequent innovations and improvements to mobile websites and application design are a regular feature of the mobile marketing world. These improvements are made to enhance the consumer experience, making things more interactive and simplistic.

In order to remain up-to-date with innovation, it will become a necessity for businesses to optimise website URL’s for mobile access. Waseem Saddique states: “To put it simply, all SEO traditions apply, but they must be strictly adhered to.”

#5 – Going Social via Mobile

Social networking has become the fastest-growing category among mobile ‘app’ and mobile browser users. eMarketer.com predicts that by the year 2015, the mobile social network population will reach figures close to 79 million across popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pintrest, YouTube and LinkedIn.

In America, it is reported that people spend one of every six minutes online accessing a social network, this provides businesses with a superb opportunity to maximise the mobile marketing trend through exposure on social media sites.

#6 – Location Based Mobile Marketing Will be an Essential Requirement

With Facebook introducing their ‘Places Application’, the consumer audience will become increasingly reliant on mobile sites and apps to respond based on geographic location. Merely posting status updates is now outdated and it’s all about location.

For the purposes of mobile marketing, businesses are able to maximise the opportunity of being able to pinpoint their audience and find out what geographical locations are attracting an ‘active’ audience.

#7 – Consumers Demand Accessibility

Waseem Saddique says: “Accessing the Internet via computers is no longer the ‘norm’. Consumers are now focussed on accessing information, supplied by businesses, via a mobile site and therefore, speed and the ease at which they can access the site is of the highest importance to them.”

Again, the best way to maximise the mobile marketing strategy of a business is to develop an ‘app’ that is fast, efficient and reliable.

The growth of mobile marketing has been relentless and the trend continues. There is a whole new audience now reachable whilst on the go. Consumer behaviour has altered dramatically and businesses need to adapt to meet the consumer need for mobile information.