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Digital Marketing in Egypt

Table of Contents

Marketing as a concept has always been about examining, identifying, and targeting your audience so that your product reaches them at the right place and time. In the modern world, the overwhelming majority of people spend a significant amount of time online. This is where digital marketing comes in.

 

What is Digital Marketing

 

By definition, digital marketing is any form of marketing that exists on the internet. It comes in many forms such as videos, social media posts, pay-per-click ads (PPC), etc. Businesses leverage the variety of channels that the internet presents them such as websites, search engines, and more to reach and resonate with their audience in a way that was reasonably not possible two decades ago.

 

Amidst our current age of the internet, digital marketing is an irreplaceable aspect of businesses’ identity and brand awareness. If you stop and consider the facts for a moment, you’d realize that every other brand has a website, an account on social media, or ads that run on their behalf. In fact, digital marketing has become so widespread, that consumers seem almost reliant on it to learn about brands. With all this said, it is crucial that a business accustoms itself to digital marketing and begins to think of new and creative ways to utilize it.

 

Types of Digital Marketing

 

One of the many advantages of digital or online marketing is the abundance of tactics and channels that a business can use to connect with its target audience. An experienced digital marketer considers the business’ goals and, with a clear understanding of how each feature operates, leads the business to its goal through free and paid channels.

 

As mentioned above, digital marketing provides no shortage of channels and tactics for a creator to use to their fullest extent. Below are the types of digital marketing that you may or may have not encountered during the time you spend online.

 

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Content Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Pay Per Click (PPC)
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Native Advertising
  • Marketing Automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Online PR
  • Inbound Marketing
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Instant Messaging Marketing

 

Now let’s delve deeper into each one.

 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

 

SEO is the process of optimizing your website such that it shows at the top of search engine result pages. This increases the amount of free organic traffic that your website receives. SEO benefits many channels including websites, blogs, infographics, and more. There is a multitude of ways to leverage SEO to generate more traffic for your websites including but not limited to:

 

On-page SEO. This type concentrates on the content that exists on your website’s pages. At a basic level, it deals with the words that visitors read when they check out your website. With proper keyword research, where you consider the search volume and intent behind it, your website can answer questions for readers and obtain a higher rank on the search engine results pages (SERPs) produced by those questions.

 

Off-page SEO. This type of SEO concentrates on the activity that happens in places besides your website. At first glance, that kind of activity might seem irrelevant to you and your businesses. However, there are things that directly and indirectly affect your SEO ranking. Things such as inbound links (backlinks). These are links on other websites that belong to other publishers and link to you. The number of these links and the relative authority of those publishers both affect your rank for the keywords you’re considering. As will all things in life, networking and effective communication between colleagues in your field can prove vital to your success.

 

Technical SEO. This type of SEO concentrates on the backend of the website. How your pages are coded, image compression, data structuring, and CSS file optimization are all forms of technical SEO that can increase your website’s loading speed. That is an important factor for your rank in the eyes of certain search engines such as Google.

Content Marketing

 

Content marketing designates the creation and promotion of content assets for the purpose of generating brand awareness, lead generation, traffic growth, and, of course, customers. The channels related to content marketing include:

 

Blog posts. One of the most enriching and useful skills that one could have is writing. Online writing is no different and it comes in the form of blogs. Writing and publishing articles on a company blog aids in demonstrating your expertise in the field while generating organic traffic for your business. This results in more opportunities to convert website visitors into leads.

 

Ebooks and whitepapers. Long-form content helps further educate and enlighten your website visitors. Additionally, it serves as a convenient way to attain a reader’s contact information in exchange for content. This generates leads and moves people through the buyer’s journey.

 

Infographics. Visual learning is one of the most effective ways to communicate with an audience. Infographics serve this purpose by presenting visitors with a form of visual content that helps them visualize and better understand a concept.
Audio or visual content. It is no secret that television and radio are popular and effective channels for digital marketing. Creating content in the form of a video or a recording that can be shared online or heard on the radio is a surefire method to broaden your potential audience.

 

Social Media Marketing

 

Social media channels are available in abundance and this method of marketing promotes your content on them to increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive traffic. With social media marketing, your content has the potential to go viral. You can also participate in a trend or partner with popular influencers or creators to create something worth sharing. Some of the more well-known social media channels include:

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Snapchat
  • Pinterest
  • Pay Per Click (PPC)

 

PPC is when you create an ad and enter a deal with a publisher where you pay them every time the ad is clicked. There are many channels that provide PPC methods including Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ad Campaigns, and Sponsored messages on LinkedIn.

 

Affiliate Marketing

 

At its core, affiliate marketing is performance-based advertising where you pay someone a commission for promoting your product or service on their website or channel. It is commonly seen nowadays with creators on social media channels who have affiliate links to a business. Some popular channels include hosting video ads through the Youtube Partner Program, and influencer marketing.

 

Native Advertising

 

This type of advertising involves advertisements that focus on their content and are featured on a platform alongside non-paid content. There are many who consider native advertising and social media advertising to be similar.

 

Marketing Automation

 

This practice refers to the software that automates basic marketing operations which are usually repetitive tasks such as email newsletters, social media post scheduling, lead-nurturing workflows, and campaign tracking and reporting. All these tasks are crucial to the success of a business yet are time-consuming if done manually. That’s when marketing automation comes in. With automation, you can focus your energy on creative tasks and increase the quality of your content while ensuring everything else is done correctly and on time.

 

Email Marketing

 

Email marketing can be an effective way of communicating with an audience when promoting content, discounts, events, or even when directing people toward your website. There are many forms of email marketing that can be used in campaigns which include:

 

  • Blog subscription newsletters
  • Follow-up emails to website visitors who downloaded a product or service
  • Holiday promotions and loyalty programs
  • Tips and tricks for customer nurturing
  • Customer welcome emails
  • Online PR

 

Much like traditional PR, but in the online space, online PR is when you secure online coverage with digital blogs, publications, and other content-based websites. There are many channels to be used to maximize PR outreach. These include:

 

Engaging comments on your website or blog. Responding to customer feedback is one of the best and most productive ways to generate conversation around your business.

 

Engaging online reviews of your company. Similar to responding to customers, responding to someone who reviewed your company online is a powerful way to humanize your brand and protect your reputation while delivering powerful messaging,
Reporter outreach via social media. Communicating with journalists on different channels is a great way to develop relationships which in turn provide opportunities.

 

Inbound Marketing

 

This refers to marketing practice where you attract, engage, and delight customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey. Inbound marketing involves every digital marketing tactic listed above to create an experience that works with the customer, not against them.

 

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

 

Every time a user uses a search engine to look up a product or business, that could be a potential lead looking at a service that is related to yours. This is a great opportunity for promotion. You can capitalize on this opportunity with paid advertising and SEO, or you could use search engine marketing to increase website traffic by placing paid ads on search engines. The two most popular SEM services also happen to be on the two most popular search engines, Bing Ads and Google Ads.

 

Instant Messaging Marketing

 

Utilizing messaging platforms is a quick way to reach potential leads. It’s a relatively simple way to communicate with your audience about new products, flash sales, or updates about their orders. It’s also a convenient way to handle customer service while adding a touch of personality to your brand.

 

 

Benefits of Digital Marketing

 

Besides the advantages discussed above, there are a few more major benefits to digital marketing.

 

  • You can tailor your efforts toward the people most likely to be interested in your product or service.
  • This results in digital marketing being more cost-effective than outbound marketing methods.
  • With digital marketing, there is no big or small fish. All businesses within a specific field are on the same even playing field.
  • The results of digital marketing are measurable.
  • Adaptation and change are not a challenge when it comes to strategy.
  • The quality of leads and conversion rate is relatively high.
  • You can engage your audience through every stage of the buying process with digital marketing.

 

Egypt: An ever-evolving African Nation.

 

Firstly, some background information about Egypt. Egypt is by far the most populated and condensed country in the MENA region. With over an estimated 105 million people in 2022, the country presents a wealth of opportunities and a society that offers a wide arrow of target audiences and user groups. Egypt is also among the top 4 importers in the MENA. The largest share of imports comes from China and the US, followed by Germany, Russia, and Ukraine.

 

Amidst the recent climate in the country, there is no shortage of supply for new opportunities in its online market. Effective marketing in Egypt will involve capitalizing on the hotspots of such new prospects. The majority of the population is Muslim, with the rest being mainly Christian. Although, both are Arabic speakers with similar cultural experiences.

 

As the largest and most strategic market to target in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Egypt has the highest number of internet users in the region. With almost 60 million active users, Egypt is a country that offers access to a broad audience. In addition, with only a 20% e-commerce penetration ratio, the potential for growth in the Egyptian market is substantial. In the last few years, startups are becoming widespread and funds are growing in amount, visibility, and accessibility. Perhaps the most important fact though, Egypt is the media hub of the Arabian world and serves as the gateway to an easy and smooth expansion into the rest of the MENA region.

 

The Egyptian Digital Marketing Landscape

 

Based on the specific brand identity, a business aiming to reach popularity in the Egyptian digital marketing landscape aims to communicate in Arabic, English, or a mixture of both. Additionally, with the top 10 sites in the country being mainly your typical international household names, the country’s culture is very much in tune with the international landscape. Some of the top 10 most popular sites in Egypt include:

 

  • Google.com
  • Facebook.com
  • Youtube.com
  • Apps4u.cc
  • Twitter.com
  • Whatsapp.com
  • Instagram.com
  • Youm7.com
  • Google.com.eg
  • Wikipedia.org

 

In terms of search engine utilization in Egypt, Google controls the overwhelming majority of the share with 97.24%. Other international players include Bing with 1.39% and Petal Search with 0.82%. Moreover, Google provides both a left-to-right and a right-to-left version to accommodate the different languages that the audience searches with.

 

Egypt comes in second, after Saudi Arabia, in terms of the number of search queries in the country. More than three-quarters of those searches are in Arabic—followed by English, then French—making Arabic the dominant SEO language by a long shot in Egypt.

 

Google AdWords dominates the Egyptian Pay Per Click advertising market, and the potential for online advertising is on the rise. Considering it has over 41 million users, Egypt is the largest online market in MENA. Having said that, with the exception of the travel, electronics, and software markets, there is little competition in most other industries and plenty of room for newcomers. Such a combination of a massive audience and little competition makes Egypt an incredibly appealing market for online advertising.

 

Maximizing engagement in Egypt

 

With all the previous in mind, any business looking to reach online success in the Egyptian landscape would be wise to do their research and consider all their options before making their entrance.

 

In order to maximize your chances of success and profitability in Egypt, here are some primary objectives to check off your list:

 

Nostalgia and family-themed content. Understanding Egypt’s past is crucial to understanding its present and predicting its future. In an ever-changing market, the culture of the country and the strong bonds that its people form with family members have remained a mainstay.

 

Honoring religious and traditional seasons. As a mainly conservative country, Egypt and its people hold strong to their traditional celebrations and pass them down. Honoring those traditions and engaging in them with your audience is a surefire way to cement your brand’s name into their mind.

 

Utilizing celebrity and influencer marketing. Egypt is the artistic hub of the Arabic world and, as a result, Egyptian actors and athletes hold massive followings and authority in the market. Working with those influencers and maximizing their effect can prove vital to your business’ success.

 

Creating videos and music to be shared online. Creating trendy and memorable videos is an effective way in getting your target audience to remember your brand identity. Keeping up with the latest and greatest in Egypt and following trends is crucial for any business looking to create a viral marketing campaign.

 

How Popular Companies leverage Egyptian Culture to reach online success

 

While popular businesses and brands in Egypt market on multiple different channels using different methods, the most well-known ones focus most of their efforts on two or three primary methods. Below are some examples of popular brands and successful campaigns:

 

Juhayna and the “It’s nature to encourage mothers and others” campaign. Here, Juhayna utilizes the power of celebrities in normal situations with funny narration to evoke powerful emotions of joy and delight from watchers all over the country. Juhayna’s marketers understood their target audience clearly and tailored their approach to resonate with them as best as possible. This campaign was hugely successful and added an extra mark in the long list of wins that Juhayna has in the Egyptian market.

 

Pepsi and Coca-Cola’s seasonal ads. Soft drink ads have become almost a cultural phenomenon thanks to the efforts of Pepsi and Coca-Cola in the last few decades. From the age of TVs, their combined effort has successfully cemented their names and identities in the minds of their audience. Additionally, their ads usually contain a popular celebrity or athlete at the time celebrating a national holiday as all Egyptians would.

 

Telephone companies and their celebrity and athlete jingles. The four main providers in the country, WE, Vodafone, Orange, and Etisalat by e& supplement their marketing strategies with videos and songs celebrating Egyptian culture, traditions, and holidays. These ads usually contain a singer or celebrity performing or an athlete participating in their sport with the audience representing the brand’s audience celebrating them.

 

Amazon.eg, souq.com, noon.com, and other delivery services and their shareable short music videos. After the onset of covid-19 in 2020, online delivery services have begun to take a larger share of the Egyptian market. As a result, experienced marketers from international brands in the space were quick to identify and engage with their target audience with short music videos containing puns about their respective products or services.

 

Conclusion and Lessons to learn

 

As the largest online market in MENA, Egypt has the highest potential for growth in the region. Companies willing to invest in this country will have access to a wide range of user groups; every business is bound to find the target audience of their interest with the advantage being for earlier investors.

 

Thus far, less than a quarter of small businesses and less than half of medium businesses have a web presence in Egypt. The competition is still very low for now, even though the majority of companies that have invested in online advertising in Egypt were able to grow their businesses by 20% or more annually.

 

The Egyptian online market is riper now than ever before, with all the right conditions for successful online marketing campaigns already in place. This market is thirsty for entrants to tap into it and take advantage of all it has to offer.

 

However, as we have discussed, researching the field, identifying your target audience and how to engage with them, and formulating a plan of action are all necessary steps to be taken in order to ensure success in generating interest for your brand’s product or service in the Egyptian market.

 

Thus, it still remains true to the essence of advertising that is defined by the art of persuasion and communicating emotions.