Tips for Small Businesses to Expand into the UAE Market Digitally
— Because Playing It Safe Doesn’t Pay Rent So, you’ve got a business. A small one. Maybe it started in your garage. Maybe it began as a pandemic side hustle. Either way, it’s real now — you’ve got customers, a brand, and maybe even a logo you kinda regret but don’t want to admit. You’re […]
Strategies for Engaging UAE Millennials via Digital Channels
— How to Speak to the Smartest, Most Scroll-Happy Generation in the Gulf If your ad didn’t make me laugh, cry, or click in 4 seconds flat—I’ve already forgotten it. No seriously. That’s the vibe now. Especially if you’re trying to market anything—anything—to millennials in the UAE. You could have the best product in the […]
Building a Successful Digital Marketing Agency in the UAE
No, you don’t need a villa in Palm Jumeirah to start—just grit, good Wi-Fi, and a little bit of nerve. I’ll be honest with you. The first time I pitched my “digital marketing agency” to a client in Dubai, I was literally sitting at a Starbucks, praying the Wi-Fi wouldn’t cut out mid-Zoom. My “office” […]
How to Use Customer Data Privacy as a Marketing Differentiator in the UAE
“If one more brand asks me for my phone number just to browse their site, I swear I’m buying a pigeon and going off-grid.” No joke—my cousin actually said that last week while we were sipping karak and trying to buy her a new abaya online. The site asked for her phone number, email, location […]
QR Codes in UAE Marketing: From Boring Black Boxes to Brand Magic
Here’s the thing—I used to hate QR codes. Yep, you read that right. Back in the day, they were just these weird, glitchy-looking squares slapped onto restaurant menus or stuck behind dusty shop windows. Half the time, they didn’t even scan. And when they did? You’d land on some hideous, 2009-style website that took forever […]
How to Create Multilingual Content for the UAE Market (Without Losing Your Mind or Message)
Let me just say it—creating multilingual content isn’t just “translating stuff.” It’s like throwing a dinner party for twelve guests who all speak different languages, have different tastes, and oh—one of them is gluten-free and allergic to sarcasm. Welcome to digital marketing in the UAE. I learned this the hard way. Back in 2018, I […]
Your Customers Don’t Want Emails. They Want WhatsApp — Here’s How You Nail It.
Last Thursday, I was standing in line at a small karak spot in Deira — one of those hidden gems where you get strong tea and hot gossip in the same cup — when the owner, Mahmoud, looked stressed. I asked him what’s up, and he sighed, “Bro, Instagram’s dead, email’s dead, customers are ghosting… […]
Why Your Brand Will Keep Struggling in the UAE (Unless You Get This One Thing Right)
So… you’re pouring money into ads. Facebook. Google. Maybe a cringe TikTok video or two. And yet—your brand still feels like that awkward kid at the party nobody wants to talk to. I’ve been there. Watching the “reach” numbers trickle in like they’re doing me a favour, wondering if I should just start a lemonade […]
Digital Marketing Opportunities for Small Businesses in Dubai — Let’s Get Real About It
Ever tried shouting into the void hoping someone would hear? That’s what marketing felt like for me a few years ago. I was helping a friend run a small cafĂ© near Jumeirah. Great food, top-notch coffee, but crickets when it came to footfall. We’d stand there watching tourists snap pics of the Burj Al Arab […]
Friday to Feed Day: Why Weekend Posting Strategies Are Different in the UAE Market
You ever post something on a Thursday night, thinking it’ll pop off Friday morning—only to check your feed and feel like you tossed a pebble into the ocean? Yeah. Been there. Done that. Cried a little. Here’s the thing: if you’re treating weekend content in the UAE the same way you treat it in New […]