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.

As Ramadan commenced, an Arabian Business headline caught my eye: Over 100 hospitalized in Qatar after overeating. This appears to be the effects of a Ramadan celebration gone awry, but as an expat, recently relocated to the UAE, I can sympathize. I’ve been lucky enough to eat the buffets at brunches and Iftars, and while I’ve never had to resort to hospitalization, I can see the importance of self-regulation and self-control.

The Online Project (TOP) family extends its wishes to all Arabian Bytes on the advent of the Holy month of Ramadan. The Online Project released its second industry report in 2012, which is under the theme of exploring user behavior trends during Ramadan. Our rationale was that the nature of the Holy month, affects the personal and professional schedules of people in the Arab and Muslim worlds dramatically. It all started with Ramadan 2011, when our analysis team, which is tasked with keeping tabs on all activity related to the pages of our clients, noticed an interesting change in user behavior on Twitter.