Note: This blog is based on the Digital 2023 Global Overview Report – produced in partnership with Meltwater and We Are Social. See Simon Kemp's article about The Changing World of Digital in 2023. Download the Global Digital Report 2024 and the Global Digital Report 2023 for free.
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As UAE embraces the digital transformation in the region, social media remains no exception. Rapidly becoming the way of life for people in Dubai, understanding the array of social platforms is essential in making market headway in the region.
With a soaring 10 million social media users in the region, your business needs to understand the space in terms of user trends, behaviours, demographics and much more to engage with your audience and drive your return on investment (ROI).
To get you started, this blog features all the UAE social media statistics 2023 that will help you to win your social media strategy.
Tip: We also have more general social media statistics for you. Also, take a look at the media landscape in the UAE.
So let’s get started!
Content
The Key Demographics: Who is your Social Media Audience in the UAE?
Breakdown of social media usage in UAE by platform
The Future: UAE Social Media's Future in 2023 and Beyond
The Key Demographics: Who is your Social Media Audience in the UAE?
It’s simple when your business knows who is likely to buy from you, you will most likely try to understand what’s important to them. Their preferences and where they are readily available to engage with your brand and your products will become a central focus for you.
Social Media Use in the UAE
The comprehensive digital report by Meltwater and We are social reports that in the UAE, there are 9.6 million internet users, with most having access to at least one of the social media channels.
The average daily time spent on social media in the UAE is 2 hours and 33 minutes, which we believe is enough for your business to make an impression.
With such potential opportunities, there’s a lot to discover about who are the users on social media and how much they resonate with your targetted audience.
Rest assured, we have the specifics!
Reasons for Using Social Media in the UAE
The five main reasons for why people in the UAE use social media are:
- Keeping in touch with friends and family - 46.8%
- Filling spare time - 33.8%
- Reading news stories - 32.3%
- Finding inspiration for things to do and buy - 30.4%
- Watching or following sports - 29.2%
69.6 % of social media users in the UAE are Male
Gender preferences have always been a critical aspect of a winning social media strategy.
Keeping that social media users in the UAE are predominantly male, businesses can tailor their marketing efforts to better appeal to this audience.
This could involve creating content that resonates with male interests, developing targeted ad campaigns, or using social media platforms with more male users, such as Twitter or Linkedln.
9.75 million users aged 18 and above using social media
The 9.75 million social media users in UAE aged 18 and above represent a broad range of consumer preferences, interests, and behaviours. It is a testament to the popularity of social media in the country and the fact that the UAE witnesses a more mature digital audience.
This means using social media to reach customers where they are most active and taking advantage of the unique features that each social media platform offers.
Now that we have covered the demographics Let’s narrow down to the top statistics for each social media platform.
Breakdown of social media usage in UAE by platform
Your social media strategy can only go right if you know which platform works best for your business, drives results, and meets your unique goals set for social media.
This is why it’s essential to know where your business’s investment should be at.
To help you learn more about what is happening in each platform, here are some channel-specific statistics for the UAE to help you focus your efforts on the right channel.
Most used social media platforms in the UAE
These are the most used social media platforms in the UAE:
- Whatsapp - 79.6%
- Facebook - 78.7%
- Instagram - 73.4%
- TikTok - 67.4%
- FB Messenger - 63.2%
- Twitter - 55.0%
- LinkedIn - 48.1%
- Telegram - 44.5%
- Snapchat - 41.2%
- Pinterest - 31.9%
- Skype - 24.9%
- iMessage - 19.8%
- Reddit - 14.9%
- WeChat - 12.7%
- Viber - 12.3 %
Facebook: Advertising audience overview in the UAE
- Total Facebook users in the UAE: 7.30 Million
- Potential ad reach increase between 2022 and 2023 is 100,000 (+1.4%)
- Decrease in ad reach between October 2022 and January 2023: 750,000 (-9.3%)
- Facebook adoption in the UAE is 77.0% of the total population and 88.9% of the eligible audience
- Facebook's ad reach in the UAE as a %age of the local internet user base is 77.8%
- Gender breakdown of Facebook's ad audience in the UAE: 26.9% female and 73.1% male.
Tip: Check out our Facebook Management Guide, learn how to create a Facebook Business Page, and check out some helpful Facebook Marketing Tips
Instagram: Advertising audience overview in the UAE
- Total Instagram users in the UAE are 4.95 million
- Instagram ad reach as a %age of the total population: 52.2%
- Instagram adoption in the UAE: 60.3% of the eligible (13+ age) audience
- Instagram's ad reach in the UAE as a %age of the local internet user base: 52.7%
- Gender breakdown of Instagram's ad audience in the UAE: 35.4% female and 64.6% male
- Potential ad reach decrease between 2022 and 2023: 300,000 (-5.7%)
- Quarterly decrease in ad audience size between October 2022 and January 2023: 400,000 (-7.5%)
Tip: Check out more Instagram statistics you need to know.
TikTok: Advertising audience overview in the UAE
- Total TikTok users in the UAE are 8.23 million users aged 18 and above
- TikTok ads reached 105% of all adults aged 18 and above
- TikTok's ad reach was equivalent to 87.7% of the local internet user base at the beginning of the year, regardless of age.
- 25.8% of TikTok’s UAE ad audience was female, while 74.2% was male
- TikTok's potential ad reach in the UAE increased by 1.5 million (+22.5%) between the start of 2022 and early 2023
- The potential reach of ads on TikTok in the UAE decreased by 21,000 (-0.3%) between October 2022 and January 2023, as per figures.
Tip: Check out more TikTok statistics you need to know and stay on top of TikTok trends.
Snapchat: Advertising audience overview in the UAE
- Total Snapchat users in the UAE: 4 million
- Snapchat's ad reach in the UAE was equivalent to 42.2% of the total population and 42.6% of the local internet user base, regardless of age.
- 48.7% of the "eligible" audience in the UAE used Snapchat in 2023, as the platform restricts its use to people aged 13 and above.
- 43.9% of Snapchat's ad audience in the UAE was female, while 55.5 % was male, according to data published in Snap's advertising resources.
- Snapchat's potential ad reach increased by 750 thousand (+23.1 %) between the start of 2022 and early 2023
- The number of users that marketers could reach with ads on Snapchat in the United Arab Emirates increased by 400 thousand (+11.1 %) between October 2022 and January 2023, according to the same data.
Twitter: Advertising audience overview in the UAE
- Twitter had 3.05 million users in the UAE in early 2023.
- Twitter’s ad reach in the UAE was equivalent to 32.2 % of the total population.
- Twitter’s ad reach in the UAE was equivalent to 32.5 % of the local internet user base (regardless of age) at the start of the year.
- 37.1 % of the “eligible” audience will use Twitter in 2023.
- 33.2 % of Twitter’s ad audience in the UAE was female, while 66.8 % was male.
- Twitter's potential ad reach in the UAE increased by 600,000 (+24.5 %) between the start of 2022 and early 2023.
- The number of users marketers could reach with ads on Twitter in the UAE increased by 200,000 (+7.0 %) between October 2022 and January 2023.
Tip: Check out more Twitter stats you need to know.
YouTube: Advertising audience overview in the UAE
- Total YouTube users in the UAE: 8.99 million
- YouTube's ad reach in early 2023 was equivalent to 94.8% of the United Arab Emirates' total population and 95.8% of the country's total internet user base.
- 28.0% of YouTube's ad audience in the UAE was female, while 72.0% was male.
- YouTube's potential ad reach in the UAE decreased by 0.8% between 2022 and early 2023.
- The number of users marketers could reach with ads on YouTube in the UAE remained unchanged between October 2022 and January 2023.
Tip: Check out all the YouTube statistics you need to know.
Now that we know all these social media statistics, you might be wondering how all of this information is valuable to you and your business in 2023.
How Can Social Media Statistics Make or Break Your UAE Business?
UAE is in the transformation phase under the influence of its digital economy initiatives.
The region is already fostering a culture driven by businesses and individuals looking to reap some benefits from the digital ways.
Knowing key insights and statistics for each digital channel can drive your business forward in the right direction.
Demographics, device usage, time spent, various user interest categories, the ad market, all these statistics can help you achieve:
- Targeted campaigns: Know where your audience is and what they prefer on each interest category on different platforms.
- Better ROI: Understand which platforms can give you the best reach and click-throughs for your paid campaigns so your money is invested in the right place.
- Customer Satisfaction: Get the best of the customer experience world by interacting with your customers on their preferred channels.
The Future: UAE Social Media's Future in 2023 and Beyond
A data-driven approach for your social media could always bring you outcomes that are more calculated and coherent.
As per the findings of the latest digital report for UAE, businesses like yours should focus on embracing a mobile-first strategy based on the increasing usage of the device type.
Moreover, categories like news, sports and entertainment are why consumers move to these platforms. So make your social media platforms knowledge hotspots in your niche which informs and gives customers a fruit for thought.
The report also highlights the popularity of influencer marketing in the region, especially on Instagram and the new wave of Tiktok for business. While Youtube remains a platform with the broadest user base making it a lucrative place for B2B and B2C marketeers.
Social Media is Ever-changing
It’s vital to understand that the world of data, especially in the social landscape, rapidly evolves and changes. With automation, an increase in digitalisation and a variety of new platforms, data keeps evolving.
To stay ahead, as marketers and business owners, keeping a sharp eye on the rapidly changing numbers and data is the key.
The full Digital 2023 report
You’ll find the complete report in the embed below (you can download the full Digital Report 2023 here), but continue reading past that to find our comprehensive analysis of what all these numbers mean for you and your work.
Disclosure: Simon Kemp is a brand ambassador for GWI and for data.ai.
