As a business owner in the UAE, you’ve probably realized that nothing beats digital marketing. You’ve probably also realized that you need to distribute your digital marketing budget between Social Media (Facebook/Instagram) and Google.

To start, you can draw a clean line between Google and Facebook by asking yourself where you want to position yourself in the demand/supply equation.

Google Vs. Facebook For UAE Businesses

The most fatal mistake most UAE businesses make is building their campaign around targeting features. We recommend starting by asking yourself the following questions.

• Do I want to nurture and create new demand?
• Do I want to provide supply in response to existing demand?

Don’t be greedy now. Yes, it would be great if you could do both and you probably will end up doing both. But you’re choosing between hot and cold leads here; so variables like timing, creative capacity, landing page resources and budgeting can have a massive influence on the equation.

Bottom line: With Google, your ad shows up in response for a search query. With Facebook, your ads shows up in response to an interest that the client would have shown in your service or for services like yours. Google might sound like the obvious choice here, but the true effectiveness of either one lies in the maturity of your audience and the customer cycle that applies to your industry.

When We Recommend Facebook/Instagram

If you’re selling cars in the UAE, you can use Facebook and Instagram ads to show off your latest model or to invite people for test drives. But don’t expect to sell a car just because you posted an amazing video. On the other hand, if you’re selling Christmas gifts in November and want to show off your latest Christmas tree ornaments, Facebook and Instagram could very well be the way to go.

We recommend using Facebook when your business needs to reach new people who do not need to make a purchase decision on the spur of the moment; when they see the ad.

Facebook, along with Instagram, is the perfect tool for brand awareness. In addition, the majority of leads coming in through social media tend to explore their options and therefore place more pressure on your sales funnel to push them all the way through. This is also why most Facebook engagement campaigns tend to be cheaper.

Use Facebook when you want people to know that you’re an option – but remember that only 65% of consumers can recall a brand they saw on their mobile, so make sure you have a persistent ads strategy in place.

Read more about Facebook ads here.

When We Recommend Google

Again, if you’re selling cars in the UAE, you can use Google ads to show off your latest model or to invite people for test drives. But make sure that your ad-copy is value-laden, and your landing page is ready to provide the type of information that reels them in and convinces them to visit your showroom. On the other hand, if you’re a UAE business selling Christmas Ornaments in November, we would recommend bringing your incoming audience to an e-commerce website from where they can buy your merchandise through a convenient and user-friendly purchase process.

We recommend using Google when your business needs to reach people who are ready to make a decision. Just remember to make sure that you are ready to receive the incoming traffic. This means ensuring that your Google My Business listing is up to date.

Also, make sure that your website is ready and your landing page is primed to receive and convert audience. This can include running page speed tests, optimizing your lead generation forms, checking cross-device compatibility, etc. Users who click on Google Ads consume information quickly and quick to decide if they need to continue scanning through a search result.

Learn more about Google Ads here.

How Was Your Experience?

The UAE is at 99% internet penetration. UAE netizens spends an average of over 7 hours on the internet every day. This includes nearly 3 hours spent on social media and over 2 hours spent streaming content. How was your experience with Google or Facebook marketing? Vent a little in the comments section below and tell us what worked or didn’t work for you.