The Middle East and North Africa are quickly becoming key sectors in theFacebook population. Since the beginning of 2012, the regions have grown 29%, adding more than 10 million new users, according to a new study.
Analytics company SocialBakers dove into the Facebook usage of these new users and found the areas developing as companies are realizing the influence a social network can have on brand presence.
Qatar, Libya and Iraq top the list as the fastest-moving countries within the social media market, growing in number of users more than 115%, 86% and 81% respectively. Egypt has the most Facebook users in the region, with 17 million logging into the platform. The country has had 2.5 million new users since January 2012, the highest absolute user growth of countries studied.
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The biggest brands on Facebook within the area are media groups, followed closely by e-commerce and airlines. Fashion and alcohol brands had the fewest number of Facebook fans.
SocialBakers also found that while brands are connecting on social media with their customers, they have yet to master user engagement. The study found that more than half of the companies on Facebook have a response rate to posts of below 65%. Socialbakers attributed the low conversation rate to the brands closing off Facebook walls from user comments or posting only infrequent updates.
Check out more in the infographic below:
