Guest blog post from Feras Hilal of The Online Project

Ever wondered when’s the best time to engage with your Facebook fans and Twitter followers during Ramadan? We did too. And to help brands in the region, we’ve delved into the differences between the user habits on Facebook and Twitter during the Holy Month.

Ramadan has a significant impact on people’s behaviors and daily routine in the Middle East. The pressure now is on brand managers and social media strategists who need to know the differences between their audiences, and make adjustments to their marketing messages accordingly.

After weeks of monitoring, and with the help of an internal tool specifically developed for the purposes of this research, we were able to extract insights and identify trends to guide brands in managing their communities day in, day out. The data covers Facebook and Twitter users from nine different countries in the MENA region and gave insights on how and when users engage on both platforms including: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, KSA and the UAE. We found Facebook engagement increased by 30% during Ramadan compared to other parts of the year. Similarly, we found Twitter engagement during the Holy Month rose by 33%. Furthermore, in this report, we monitored Facebook and Twitter activity, on an hourly basis, to identify the best times to engage.

We also noticed that people engaged on social media predominantly after Iftar and before Suhour times. Moreover, some countries experienced more dramatic changes in user behavior, such as Jordan and Egypt. Whereas countries where more expats are located, such as the UAE and Qatar, the effect of the Holy month was less pronounced.

The insights of this research are not set in stone; we urge you to observe your communities as each one comes with its own set of circumstances. Our findings are merely to help you connect with, and strategically engage with your audience using the two platforms with high quality content.

You can explore our previous reports on ‘Facebook Marketing’, ‘Tweeting in Ramadan’, ‘Facebook Benchmarks in the Middle’, and ‘How Much Does a Facebook Fan Cost in the Arab World?’ here.

To learn more about the Arab User Habits on Facebook and Twitter, make sure you check out The Online Project’s full report here.

Social Media in Ramadan; Exploring Arab User Habits on Facebook and Twitter – Infographic from The Online Project