Social Media in the Middle East: The Impact and Role of Social Influencers
This is the last post in a series of ten short extracts from my sixth annual round-up of social media trends from the Middle East and North Africa (written with University of Oregon student Amanda Lam). Social Media in the Middle East: The Story of 2017 is available for download from the University of Oregon Scholars’ Bank and on Scribd, SlideShare and Academia.edu.
Huda Kattan, an Iraqi American makeup artists and Dubai-based business woman, was determined to be the world’s highest paid social influencer in the first ever Instagram Rich List. She boasts 20.5 million followers and charges $18,000 per post.
According to a survey of 100 in-house marketing and communication experts and brand managers, conducted by BPG Cohn & Wolfe in the UAE, around 43% of marketers spend up to $10,000 per social media influencer campaign.
- Half of those polled currently work with social media influencers in the region.
- 94% of in-house marketers in the UAE believe social media influencer marketing plays a major role in the success of their brands.
- 55% said their biggest challenge when picking influencers was finding relevant ones that relate to the brands.
