What is social media marketing, and what does it include?
By Nancy Reda
Published 2026-10-04 ยท Updated 2026-10-04
What does social media marketing include?
Most people think social media marketing means posting every day. Posting is only one part. A full service has six parts that work together.
| What it covers | What you get | |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy | Goals, audience, platforms, tone of voice, content pillars (the 3 to 5 themes you post about) | A written plan that every post and ad follows |
| Content | Posts, Reels, TikToks, Stories, carousels, shoots, captions in Arabic and English | A monthly content calendar and finished assets |
| Community management | Replying to comments and messages, handling complaints, moderating | Faster replies and fewer lost customers in the inbox |
| Paid social | Ads on Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, X and LinkedIn, with targeting and budgets | Reach beyond your followers and measurable sales or leads |
| Influencers and UGC | Creators who post about you; UGC means user generated content, real customer style videos | Trust and reach inside communities you cannot reach alone |
| Reporting | Monthly numbers, what worked, what to change | Decisions based on data, not guesses |
If a provider only offers the content row, you are buying design, not marketing. Ask which of the six rows are in the scope.
Which platforms do people use in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE?
Platform choice changes by country. The numbers below are ad reach, meaning how many people each platform says its ads can reach (DataReportal, Digital 2026, data from October 2025).
| Egypt | Saudi Arabia | UAE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media user identities | 51.6 million (43.4% of people) | 38.6 million | 12.5 million |
| 51.6 million | 17.7 million | 9.70 million | |
| TikTok (adults 18+) | 48.8 million | 38.6 million | 12.5 million |
| YouTube | 49.3 million | 27.5 million | 8.37 million |
| 21.7 million | 18.2 million | 8.05 million | |
| Snapchat | 20.6 million | 25.3 million | 5.13 million |
| X | 4.64 million | 15.0 million | 2.85 million |
| LinkedIn (members) | 15.0 million | 12.0 million | 10.0 million |
Some Gulf figures are higher than the adult population. DataReportal notes this can come from duplicate or business accounts, so treat them as reach signals, not head counts.
What this means in practice
- Egypt: Facebook and TikTok are the mass reach platforms. Instagram reaches a smaller audience that often spends more.
- Saudi Arabia: Snapchat and X matter far more than in Egypt. Skipping Snapchat in KSA means missing a big share of the market.
- UAE: LinkedIn is unusually large, so B2B brands should plan for it. Content often needs English and Arabic.
What is the difference between organic and paid social media?
Organic means the posts you publish for free on your own pages. Paid means ads you pay the platform to show to chosen audiences.
| Organic | Paid | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Trust, brand personality, customer service | Reach new people and drive actions |
| Who sees it | Mostly current followers | Anyone in the audience you pay to reach |
| Speed | Slow, builds over months | Fast, results within days |
| Best measure | Engagement, saves, shares, message quality | Cost per lead, cost per sale, ROAS |
You need both. Ads send people to your page, and your page decides if they trust you enough to buy. A strong ad landing on an empty or neglected page wastes money.
How do you measure social media marketing?
Pick metrics that match the goal. Followers alone tell you very little.
- Awareness: reach, video views, CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions).
- Engagement: engagement rate, shares, saves, comments with real questions.
- Leads and messages: cost per lead, reply time, lead to sale rate.
- Sales: purchases, CPA (what you pay for one customer), ROAS (revenue divided by ad spend).
- Brand health: growth in searches for your brand name, messages asking for you by name.
Review ads weekly and content monthly. Every report should end with what you will change next month.
What it looks like when all six parts work: Blue Bus
Blue Bus is an intercity bus operator in Egypt. Our idea was simple: sell the journey, not the bus. We ran lifestyle shoots, a video series and destination content per governorate on TikTok. We added two influencer campaigns, UGC for trust, a new tone of voice, and full funnel media buying.
In 12 months, ticket sales grew more than 30%. The content passed 100 million video views and engagements, and one TikTok video reached 4.9 million views. Facebook passed 562K followers and TikTok passed 108K.
How we approach it at OneKind
- Start with the business goal: sales, leads, app installs or awareness. The goal decides the platforms and the budget split.
- Audit what exists: page health, past top posts, ad account history, reply times in the inbox.
- Build 3 to 5 content pillars and a tone of voice in Arabic and English.
- Plan the month around local moments: Ramadan, Eid, White Friday, back to school, Saudi National Day.
- Make video first. Short vertical video does most of the work on TikTok, Reels and Snapchat.
- Run paid and organic as one plan. The best organic posts become ads.
- Report monthly with clear next steps, not just charts.
Related guides
How to use Meta Ads Manager: a simple guide
What is influencer marketing, and how much do influencers charge?
Sources
DataReportal, Digital 2026: Egypt
FAQ
What are the main types of social media marketing?
The main types are organic content, community management, paid social ads, influencer marketing and UGC. Most brands need a mix, with the split decided by the goal.
Which social media platform is best for business in Egypt?
For mass reach, Facebook and TikTok, which each reach close to 50 million people in Egypt (DataReportal, Digital 2026). Instagram suits premium and lifestyle brands, and LinkedIn suits B2B.
Is social media marketing worth it for small businesses?
Yes, if you start with one or two platforms and a clear goal. A small budget spread across five platforms usually achieves little.
What does a social media marketer do?
They plan content, write and produce posts, manage comments and messages, run or brief ads, and report results. In an agency these tasks are split across a strategist, creatives, a community manager and a media buyer.
How long does social media marketing take to work?
Paid ads can bring leads or sales within days. In our experience, organic growth and brand trust usually take three to six months of steady posting.
Want one plan for content, community and ads in Egypt or the Gulf? See our social media management service