Why Every Entrepreneur in Qatar Needs a Digital Marketing Agency

Despite the growing number of digital marketing agencies in Qatar, the demand driven by Qatar’s National Vision 2030 far exceeds the local talent pool’s capabilities. From localization to global market challenges, entrepreneurs face unique hurdles that only an experienced digital marketing agency can overcome. Let’s explore why.

The shortage of digital marketing talents inside Qatar

There is a growing number of digital marketing agencies in Qatar indeed, however, the ambitious Qatar National Vision 2030 drives a much higher demand, and the local talents are not enough to fulfill, nor do they have the experience to meet specific challenges in global market, adapt to rapid changes, or create effective digital marketing campaigns to launch in different countries.

This can make it difficult for entrepreneurs to find the right resources for digital marketing efforts. To overcome this challenge, businesses may need to look to external agencies or consultants for support, and invest in training their in-house teams.

A digital marketing agency has access to the localization of your business

You don’t observe a strong brand that shows the same response to different cultures in different countries and different audiences. In digital marketing, localization is adapting marketing content, messages, and strategies to resonate with a specific local audience, considering their cultural, linguistic, social, and geographic preferences. The goal is to make your brand familiar to the audience, improving communication, engagement and conversion rates.

Here’s what a digital marketing agency does in localization :

1. Language: It’s more than translation, it involves using the regional dialects, idiomatic expressions, and local terminologies to create content that speaks familiar to the audience.

2. Cultural relevance: Ensuring that imagery, symbols, colors, and even the tone of the voice align with the cultural sensitivities and preferences of the common local audience.

3. Regulatory compliance: Adapting marketing practices to meet local laws, advertising standards, and privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR in Europe). For example, some countries are blocking specific digital platforms. An experienced digital marketing agency then does its research to reach the target audience on the right digital platform, in every country and for every sector.

4. SEO localization: Optimizing websites and online content to rank well in local search engines by considering local algorithms, targeting local keywords, and creating location-specific landing pages.

5. Currency and payment options: Offering local currencies, most common payment options, and pricing models based on the local economy.

6. User experience: Adjusting website layouts, navigation structures, and calls-to-action to align with local consumer behaviors and preferences. The design of a landing page for a language written above and downward is different from that of a language written right to left, or left to right.

7. Market-specific offers: Tailoring products, services, or promotions to address the specific needs or desires of the target region. There are some countries, such as Australia, where pet supplies must be displayed on the first page of an online store.

A professional localization process for businesses can improve customer satisfaction and engagement, build trust, drive more sales, and enhance overall marketing performance in different regions.

The emerging industries in Qatar need professional digital marketing agencies

According to the Qatar Economy Watch, each of clean energy, logistics, tourism and sports, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – are areas that can sustain economic growth and diversification, increase foreign direct investment (FDI), and expand private sector participation.

Via: Qatar Economy Watch 2024

They’re all areas where each entrepreneur needs a professional digital marketing agency to launch global marketing campaigns.

Hydrocarbon sector still king and it needs a professional digital presence

In April, the IMF projected 2% real GDP growth in 2024 for Qatar, a petrostate that boasts one of the highest GDP per capita rates, the world’s third largest natural gas reserves, and one of the largest exporters of liquified natural gas (LNG) globally.

It is Qatar’s dominant hydrocarbon sector that enables diversification. And despite the need for non-hydrocarbons, high global oil prices have bolstered the Qatar Investment Authority’s acquisition efforts. This is also one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with an estimated US$450 billion in 2022.

While oil companies do not generally do B2C marketing, they would use a digital marketing agency to showcase corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, sustainability projects, technological innovations, and achievements, to the investors and stakeholders, particularly. This could include regular publishing and content efforts on websites, social media platforms like LinkedIn, or industry-specific publications.

An oil company would often need a digital marketing agency to enhance their brand image, showcase their innovations in sustainability, and promote safety measures, as the global energy transition pushes companies to highlight greener practices.

Some oil companies also need digital platforms for recruiting skilled talent, especially in engineering, geology, and IT.

Promising statistics that give real indications for digital marketing in Qatar

Qatar has witnessed improvements in internet connection speeds, both through mobile and fixed networks.

Qatar has an internet population of 2.88 million, which is about 99.2% of residents.
In 2023, 98.9% of the active population has access to social media.
As of December 2023, ad spending in the Digital Advertising market is estimated to reach USD 570.5 million.
The average ad spending per user is projected to amount to USD 171.80 million by the end of 2023.
As of February 2023, the largest market is Banner Advertising, with a market volume of USD 204.3 million.
Ad spending has increased by 9.8% in the past year.
Influencer marketing has reached new heights with an increase of 12.8% since March 2022.
In 2023, the average mobile internet connection speed via cellular networks is 176.18 Mbps.
In 2023, the average fixed internet connection speed is 90.86 Mbps.
In April 2023, Qatar had 3,315,200 Facebook users, up 24% compared to April 2022.
In April 2023, Qatar had 1,661,700 Instagram users, representing 55.9% of the country’s total population.
In 2022, Google had a market share of 31% of the total digital market.
By 2027, it is predicted that 45.8% of total ad spending will be generated through mobile.
By 2027, 79.1% of Digital Advertising revenue is predicted to come from programmatic advertising.
Video advertising has increased by 11.1% since January 2022.

The economic indications in Qatar are truly promising. In 2023, inflation decreased to an average of 2.9% from 5% in 202215, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a further decrease to 2.3% this year.

Get ready to elevate your business and meet the demands of a fast-paced digital world. Rosella is a digital marketing agency that provides tailored solutions to help your brand succeed locally and globally. Contact Rosella team today to discover the height your marketing efforts can reach!

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