It’s that time of the year again, when the overall ambience and atmosphere in the MENA changes. When people fast, pray, and get together with their families to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Besides the changes in the social realm, Ramadan also changes the digital and consumption behavior of people. This presents an amazing opportunity for businesses to prepare for Ramadan in order to connect with their audience, as 51% of shoppers globally report purchasing more during the Ramadan season. This also results in a peak of social engagement and advertising. Last year alone, Twitter reported an increase of 18% in tweets during the month of Ramadan. As the work week is shortened and consumption behaviors change to accommodate the seasonal shift in lifestyle, people spend more time online in the evenings, consume more content and engage more with brands online.
As we gear towards the holy month, we’ve created the below guide to help prepare your business. From customizing your messages across all platforms, to creating eye-catching content and promos specifically for that month, we created our guide to help you make the most of this opportunity.
Related: Is your small business ready for Ramadan? Your ultimate Ramadan guide
Prepare your business for outstanding performance this Ramadan
The key to a successful Ramadan is planning ahead. 51% of people who celebrate Ramadan start planning their purchases at least 2-3 weeks before the holiday.
Whether it’s to find the best deals or identify all the relevant items they need, the importance of marketing correctly during the Holy month is unmeasurable. Below are five top tips to help you prepare your business for Ramadan:
- Localize your messages
- Create dedicated assets and campaigns
- Discounts and Ramadan sale
- Boost your corporate social responsibility
- Focus on video
Let’s explore each element in detail...
Localize your messages
During Ramadan your audience will have different needs, interests and pain points during different phases of the month. According to Think with Google, your audience will go through 4 different phases:
- First phase: Pre-Ramadan. The two-week preparation period.
- Second phase: Weeks 1-2 of Ramadan. The excitement phase.
- Third phase: Weeks 3-4 of Ramadan. Getting ready for Eid.
- Fourth phase: Post-Ramadan Eid. Eid: A Ramadan of its own.
Your brand needs to take that into account when you’re preparing for Ramadan and crafting your digital marketing strategy. You’ll also need to localize your brand’s messaging to connect with your audience during this period, otherwise, you might be at risk of being disconnected from the trend.
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When you’re drafting your social and digital messaging, make sure that you’re respectful of what this month is about. Try to incorporate themes of giving, togetherness, family and charity in your marketing campaign as they are effective in encouraging engagement with consumers over the month.
Create dedicated assets
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As people are planning their purchases, you need to pre-plan your content and assets too. You’ll notice that your audience will be using social media for inspiration and information to make purchases. When you’re creating your content and images, embrace symbolism such as the moon, stars and lanterns as it helps localize a brand and connect them to its consumers.
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Discounts and Ramadan sale
53% of consumers surveyed in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will spend more money during Ramadan, of which 93% expect to increase their spend on food, drinks and groceries.
Ramadan is the time when people are most likely to purchase, whether it’s gifts, clothing, food or jewelry, there is a chance for your business or brand to sell. And the best way to do so is by providing your customers with dedicated promotions.
These promotions can be in the form of discounts, promo codes or cashback. To attract customers, try to make promotional content as creative as possible, which you can then post on your website or e-store as well as social media.
Related: How can you reach your audience through Ramadan offers?
Boost your corporate social responsibility
Ramadan is known to be the month of charity.
There are a number of organizations that will run CSR campaigns in this month, in addition to the excellent work done by not-for-profit organizations such as the Emirates Red Crescent and Dubai Cares. Your brand or business can make the effort to get involved: from donating food items, packing food parcels for distribution or to getting on the road and handing these packages out to needy people.
Focus on video
Video content’s popularity is exploding across the web, and YouTube viewing is parallelly on the rise in Ramadan. This offers your business an opportunity to create unique videos and ads to entertain your audience during the busiest period of the year.
According to Statista’s survey, 43 percent of respondents reckoned that the usage of television and video-on-demand apps across the Middle East and North Africa would likely increase during Ramadan.
One of the best techniques to create engaging videos is through storytelling. You can create a story line that includes both Ramadan and Eid messaging. Besides creating traditional videos, try experimenting with reels and TikTok style videos.
Related: Your guide to create viral Ramadan ads
Prepare for Ramadan, the earlier, the better
As you’re gearing up for Ramadan this year, GoDaddy is here to help with the tools you need to prepare your business for that time of the year.
Leverage the busy period to drive your business forward with the Arabic Website Builder or E-Store and get a 3-month premium subscription of Over by GoDaddy to help you create amazing content for whichever channel you need.
