Social Media a key driver in creating customer engagement

This was one of the key points made during a seminar hosted by the Capital Club Dubai, the region's premier private business club and a member of the ENSHAA group of companies, on the first Monday in June. The seminar was the latest in a series of talks, discussions, and workshops aimed at providing the Club's Members with current and relevant business development tools, such as Become a Black Belt Negotiator by Tom Flatau and Getting the Customer to the Heart of the Business by retail guru Kate Hardcastle.

The Capital Club's General Manager commented, "There has been a great increase in interest in personal and business development related activities and events from our Members. Through events such as this presentation by Omnia, we are looking to provide our Members with actual and tangible business-related tools and expertise."

Clive Primrose, the Director of Digital Services at Omnia, a fully integrated communications agency based in Dubai, shed light on how employing an effective digital strategy can raise brand awareness and increase customer engagement.

Primrose remarked that the traditional marketing campaign, where one large idea would drive the content sent through all of the various media channels, no longer holds true in the digital age. With digital media consisting of numerous already interconnected channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, and further creating connectivity between all of the more traditional channels, what is now needed is a strategy that targets each channel's specific use right from the onset of the campaign concept.

He emphasized the importance of thorough research that allows strategy to be developed for online, offline and on the ground marketing approaches stating, "The modern marketing campaign can no longer be like a nice set of matching luggage, even though it looks good, it can never quite fit everything that you need." Instead a strategy that contains several approaches, that have been designed to work specifically with different channels to meet a certain set of needs, is required.

Primrose also stressed that the use of social media had become one of the most important tools for real two-way communication between businesses and their customers, and that this communication gives companies the opportunity to greatly increase their customers' engagement and ultimately loyalty if handled correctly.