Female online forums boost web ads

Female online forums are all set to raise their share of online advertising substantially, despite the increasing presence of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter since the beginning of 2009.

Hawaaworld.com, a top online female forum, counting 2.7 million unique users per month, said it was devising solutions to increase its share of online female advertising to between 40 and 50 per cent. The plans are expected to roll out in three or four months – in time for Ramadan, according to advertising representative NetAdvantage. This will also increase the online forum's share of total online spend from three per cent to a range of seven to ten per cent.

The new developments include the introduction of new technologies, profiling users, using key optimisation tools and developing hyperlink advertising.

Mustafa Mohamed, General Manager, NetAdvantage, said: "We currently generate 25 to 28 per cent of the female ad spend online, and with an expected 50 to 60 per cent growth in online advertising in the region, we are geared towards growing as well."

He added: "Online advertising must have started in the region as early as 1999, but until 2008, we were still begging advertisers to be online. During the crisis, however, marketing managers were facing a challenge to get exposure at a low cost and in an effective way.

"That is when we started to see a shift to affordable media networks; apart from online platform there are pay TV networks and secondary TV platforms. At a later stage online marketing will become an essential tool. We already have early comers to the online space becoming more sophisticated in their view of the digital media and demanding integrated and sophisticated solutions."

Brendon Ogilvy, Regional Director of Mena, Effective Measure, said: "Forums are huge, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Saudis resort more to online communications because of the cultural and social restrictions. Some of the largest websites in Saudi Arabia are forum-based, including Hawaa World. According to our analytics, Hawaa World attracts close to 200,000 unique users a day, primarily females."

Ikoo advertising network had reported that female forums counted between 27,000 and 1.6 million users. Forums include Hawaa World, lakii.com and sedty.com, etc.

According to statistics, the UAE falls second in number of users on Hawaa World in the region. The forum is ranked ninth in the UAE after global sites such as Google and Yahoo.

Verity Mace, Associate Director of Digital Planning, OMD said that Hawaa World was not seeing the same rates of growth as it was two years ago. She suggested this was because of the new trend of social networks, especially Netlog. Mace said online forums would soon lose thier appeal as women grow sophisticated and advanced in online interaction. So these forums need to change their content sooner or later from the current more household oriented discussion boards to match the increasing profile of working women.

Carrington Malin, Managing Director, Spoton PR said: "The reason why Saudi Arabian net users in particular and GCC users in general are more available on forums is the fact that those platforms have a longer history than other social networking sites. Also forums have a local flavour."

Mohamed said: "We have done a competitive analysis between Hawaa World and other sites, and if we consider the duplication factor, I can assure you in Saudi Arabia about 70 to 80 per cent female users are on this forum. In the region, we account for about 25 to 30 per cent of female users, mainly from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Palestine."

The number of Saudi online users is currently estimated between eight and nine million users, of whom 30 per cent are women. Mohamed said: "Social networks are gaining hype, but most importantly, it never occurred that a total migration has happened among internet users to one social network or the other. The traffic has changed. The traffic reports in the past six months have seen no decline. In fact, we have grown by 51 per cent this year. We are also planning to link the forum's community to Facebook."

Mohamed said: "Every now and then there is a new trend in the online world, starting from basic chat to forums to real time communication and interaction. However, so far, the Arab World still needs time to endorse all the changes that are taking place in the world. Besides, a forum like Hawaa World is restricted and private, which is preferable by users in the region. They are more protected. In fact, very few use their real names, but engage in bold discussions related to family, marital and social issues. Other social networks are more open and less private."

Yet, the limitations and restrictions of the forum are exactly what scares many advertisers away. Aside from pop ups, for certain cosmetics and juices brands, advertisers face a resistance from the conservative users on the forum who tend to control what they want to see and what they don't want to see.

Mace said: "We have realised that forums have a large user base and we have been working on advertising on those forums for several years, mainly with FMCG brands. However, there are limitations. Forums such Hawaa World and others are restricted in their spaces and layouts. Also some of them have strict regulations as to what visuals appear on the landing page linked to a banner or an xml. There should be no women, and users complain about a lot of other culturally-sensitive content on advertisers' websites".

Mohamed agreed: "Advertisers regard the internet as a free medium that provides more space than traditional media in a conservative society such as Saudi Arabia. However, when it comes to Hawaa World, and for that matter other top ranked forums, online users are just the same as the offline audience, hence the restrictions. The users of the forum control to a certain extent what we do for the website. They have a strong opinion on what should be displayed and what shouldn't. Saudi women, in particular, regard online forums as their second home, a safe environment for interaction."

Mohamed said: "To a certain extent, we also understand that the registered users on the forum are people who join because they feel comfortable in that space. The way it is designed and the way content is categorised is exactly what they feel they need. Through our surveys with the users, we have found a majority is resistant to drastic change in the design and structure of the forum because that is how they like it"

Hawaa World had undergone a makeover, recently, said Mace, adding enhancements to the interface of the female forum.

Mohamed said the change is a gradual and long process to keep the users happy and comfortable with the website. "We are working on it and our next step is to start profiling our users and later be able to design advertising solutions that could beat around the restrictions and ensure that advertisers can reach out to 2.7 million users easily and without compromising their limitations."

Meanwhile, forum users tend to use brand names quite often, while discussing their experiences in cooking and beauty and fashion. Emirates Business observed many of the forum members would even take pictures of certain brands and post online.

A recent shoppers' survey by Integer Mena showed that word of mouth is one of the top most motivations to purchase brands, with 52 per cent of shoppers making decisions based on friends recommendations.

Based on various indicators, advertisers and online forum owners see a larger opportunity in recruiting users and members to blog on brands and become online brand ambassadors.

Mace said some clients are currently working on a plan for recruiting online brand ambassadors for female consumes. "This is something that we recognise as having a huge potential and we are looking into this for a number of our current clients, in a long-term, strategic focus. This does, however, come with its challenges – ensuring transparency, lack of control over feedback, and difficulty in quantifying in the traditional sense".

Mohamed said: "We have discussed brand placements in a subliminal way. We are going to add customised advertorial sections with links to brand sites, in addition to creating sub-communities or spaces to frequent users to form their own base of followers through transforming into a blog-like form". He added: " Online brand ambassadors are not a revenue source, yet."

The forum seeks to monetise its services while controlling the activities of brand representation on the website. "At present, even if women were chosen to speak for a brand, which

I doubt due to the current complications of the platform, it would be on a very limited scale and would soon be discovered," said Mohamed, who explained that a proper profiling system is expected to be in place in the next four months.

However, Mace conveyed that a number of women who are active on forums are in the process of being approached. The compensation would vary based on the type of the brand and the requirements of the chosen women.

"Some ask for money, and some want free products. They will be free to propose their terms, provided they are passionate about the brand they represent, use it and are ready to talk about it to others," said Mace.

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