Marcus Evans will be presenting the first Social Media Marketing Conference at Hyatt Regency Dubai on the 29th and 30th May 2011. It is undeniable that social media has fundamentally transformed and evolved the architecture of business, communications, and the dissemination of information and influence. In July 2010, Facebook announced it had over 500 million users worldwide, of which at least 15 million were in the Middle East. 

 

Organizations are looking to take on a move towards a customer-centric approach, which focuses on services while goods become appliances for service delivery. A personalized service now can be done at a low cost by social media. Businesses also need to go through dimension shift from purely “selling” to making connections, utilizing small campaigns and one-to-one communication. 

 

Transparency is a must and organizations are highly encouraged to be personable as well as facilitating engagement through accessibility. As a result, organizations both globally and locally are leveraging on the feasibility in utilizing social media as a tool to increase customer loyalty, while ultimately contributing to their bottom line results.

 

One of the speakers at this conference, Ms. Madelyn Clous who is the Social Media Manager Europe, Africa and Middle East of Kodak , United Kingdom comments, "When it comes to activating social media within your organization, we at Kodak follow the four E's: Engage, Educate, Excite and Evangelize. The Social Media Strategy Conference in Dubai is a good place to start. I will be talking about how we make these four E's work for us on every level of management and interaction. Let Social Media become integrated into your 360 marketing and communication.”

 

Also from the United Kingdom, Mr. Alastair Sherriffs, Social Media Manager from Vodafone will discuss on finding the best fit social media tool tailored based on specific organizational needs to avoid conflicting usage goals while assessing the benefits and downfalls of social media in the changing world of media today.

 

With Mr. Zeid Nasser, Founder of mediaME as the distinguished Chairperson, participants at this two-day conference will be exposed to the intricacies of corporate social media strategies tailored for your industry. Participants would gain insights to maximizing the usage of social media, and establishing and maintaining a good relationship with consumers, thus effectively introducing their brands online and engaging long-term relationship with the audience.

 

Featuring a half-day workshop by Mr. Richard Margetic who is the Director of Global Social Media of Dell, USA on executing a social media plan that works for your business, participants would also be at the forefront of mastering the fundamentals of social media. Featuring an array of key industry experts, this is one conference not to be missed. Businesses that choose not to adapt to the new culture will be at an increasing disadvantage, as their customers slowly build personal relationships with their competitors. 

 

Other speakers include Mr. Sivakumar Thangaratnavelu, Global Head of Customer Experience of HSBC Amanah, UAE, Ms. Bénédicte Hennebo ,Marketing and Innovation Middle East and North Africa of BT Global Services, UAE, Mr. Arto Joensuu ,Head of Digital Marketing MEA of Nokia, UAE, Mr. Robert Singleton , Online Marketing Manager of InterContinental Hotels Group, UAE, Mr. Ibrahim Elbadawi, Strategic Planning Specialist of UAE Federal eGovernment, Ms. Randa Elhimyari, Senior Events and Communication Manager of Aswaaq, UAE, Mr. Jailan Attia Kramer, Social Media Specialist & Events Coordinator of General Motors Middle East, UAE, Mr. Akvile Pareigyte, Digital Marketing Manager of Jumeirah Group, UAE, Mr. Michael Stellwag, E-Marketing Manager of Qatar Airways, Qatar and Mr. Joseph Sindaha New Media Relationship Specialist of Nestle Middle East.