Just as the widespread use of the Internet has changed our lives; changes have also occurred in the field of marketing. In particular, writing content that needs to be edited in order to provide appropriate messages and information to the targeted audience is one of great importance in terms of marketing. Content marketing can be implemented using a variety of mediums, such as social media, websites, blogs or newsletters. This area, where written and relativity coexist, is very sensitive. Therefore, there are some factors that need to be taken into consideration. In this article, we will evaluate the factors we will examine in terms of the MENA region.
First of all, the geography of the Middle East and North Africa covers a very large area. This area contains different languages, cultures and understandings. For this reason, the contents to be prepared require a certain sensitivity. The first sensitivity is cultural differences. Within cultural differences, colors, logos, symbols and expressions used are important, especially in terms of content marketing. We can find one of the most important examples of this in the strategy of the famous baby food brand Gerber to expand into the African market. Gerber’s baby food, which has achieved great success in America, wanted to enter the African market. While doing this, he used the jar packaging with baby food pieces on the side that it used in the American market on baby food jars. After a while, the company realized that it could not make sales in the African region, and as a result of its research, it encountered a surprising result of cultural differences. Since it is considered natural to convey the content of the product through pictures on the packaging in a region with a low literacy rate, the cute baby image on the packaging of Gerber’s product pushed consumers not to buy the product because it gave the impression that the content of the baby food was based on the image on the packaging. This situation in the physical world should not cause such misunderstandings when preparing content in the digital world, and the cultural differences of the target audience should be taken into account.
Another important situation is; when doing content marketing, attention should be paid to the social environment of the target audience. This is the best way to communicate directly with the target audience. Especially in the context of the Middle East’s social environment, some companies have begun to look for more conservative solutions. The best example of this marketing is “Eyes of Arabia”, a completely online beauty contest launched by the beauty brand Olay in the MENA region, which made a great impact. Women living in this region were asked to upload only photos of their eyes. It gained great popularity, especially in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates through blogs and social media. While this approach shows that both the needs of the social environment are taken into account in the marketing of content; it has been revealed that it attracted the attention of the target audience, women living in the MENA region, through digital platforms. One of the most important parts of content marketing has been successfully implemented.
Finally; it is a matter of localization. The MENA region is a very wide geographical area and therefore content produced in the form of generalizations will not make a big impact in terms of marketing because every country has different characteristics. It is not possible to address the entire Middle East or North Africa at the same time. For this reason, localized content, rather than general content, is a must-have practice in terms of marketing. A content that works in Saudi Arabia may not have the same effect in Egypt. Particularly linguistically, even little details, including existing dialect differences, should be taken into account because individuals change their behavior according to this situation.
Considering all these important factors, cultural differences, social environment differences and regional differences should be taken into consideration in terms of content marketing in the MENA region. In this field, which is of great importance in terms of commercial and social life, content should be created by always keeping these basic features in the foreground in order to create successful content marketing. Thus, success can be achieved by establishing correct relationships with the target audience to be reached.
