Social Media: The Growing Potential in Oman

Guest post by Swati Srivastava - several sources have mentioned the growing potential of social media in Oman. The number of people making use of social media in Oman is increasing exponentially. The Oman Daily Observer reports that social media is being used by local businesses and residents on a daily basis.

Social Media Growth in Oman

The penetration of several Internet-enabled devices such as tablets, laptop, and Smartphones has increased the number of Internet and social media users in Oman. During the last decade, the Internet users have increased from 4 percent to approximately 70 percent of the population. These users are gradually being hooked to interactive social media services such as Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Facebook.

The increasing numbers of different online services, which fall under the social media range, include blogs, forums, micro blogging platforms, podcasts, etc. The awareness of social media marketing is also increasing among the business leaders in Oman who are using this platform to reach out to the potential and existing customers. 

Last year, Infinista Concepts highlighted the fact that social media use would be seen as a necessity rather than a desire.

Here’s a look at the growth of some well-known social media platforms in Oman.

Facebook:

Facebook is the top social media platform in Oman, as per the recent news on timesofoman.com. This popular social networking site presents a strong adoption rate among youth across the Gulf countries including Oman. Currently, Facebook users in Oman include a statistic of 548940 users, which shows a significant growth in the penetration of Facebook users in the country. Even after several years, Facebook is attracting more number of users for improving their brand profiles, building businesses, or enhancing career networks.

Twitter:

Twitter, another popular social media giant has seen a tremendous increase in its number of active users, which reached 38,000 in 2013 from 14,000 in 2012. Talking in terms of total number of accounts on the site, the figure reached 300,000 in 2013 from around 200,000 in the year 2012. Twitter has become a quick and convenient tool to view and spread news.

LinkedIn:

Though LinkedIn may not have registered the same level of growth as Twitter and Facebook users in Oman, the number still promises growth in the future. As of July 2013, the number of LinkedIn users in Oman includes 169,000. LinkedIn is a reliable business oriented social media platform, which recorded an overall increase in the number of users across the Arab world from 4294484 in June 2012 to 4716515 in May 2013.

With an increase in the Internet penetration and mobile subscription, the number of social media users is set to grow.

Swati Srivastava is an avid writer with a keen interest on the extensive domain of job search and career counselling. Currently associated with Naukrigulf.com, her articles are published on several reputed job search portals and online career magazines. Follow her on Google+