New business ventures and experts are revolutionizing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Saudi Arabia using social media platforms that are also a launchpad and an accelerator of new businesses, experts told Arab News.

One of the essential priorities of the agenda of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 efforts is to strengthen entrepreneurship and build up the small and medium enterprise environment, since the Kingdom is gradually diversifying its economy by eliminating the decades-long connection of the country with crude revenues.

In a conversation with Arab News, Albatul Al-Harthi, who works as a marketing and partnerships manager at TASC Outsourcing in Saudi Arabia, added that the prevalence of social media and various other digital tools has made businesspeople in the Kingdom able to start their businesses without the huge expenses.

“It has enabled upcoming entrepreneurs to gain visibility, create brands, and meet customers in a manner that was not available before by reducing the traditional barriers to entry,” said Al-Harthi.

She further said: “Entrepreneurs no longer need to make intensive initial investments in retail spaces or conventional marketing; platforms themselves are now a potent storefront, marketing vehicle, and customer engagement.” Similar sentiments were reflected in a study report by GoDaddy published in July, which claimed that half of Saudi Arabian small businesses now go online in the first instance, where they use websites, marketplaces, or social media to sell.

As the GoDaddy survey claims, almost 94 percent of the entrepreneurs in the Kingdom feel that social media sites should be included in their sales strategy, and a definite majority of 68 percent are of the view that the tools are very important to achieve their business objectives.

The report also stated that social media is now the best place to get information on how to run a business, with 74 percent of businesspeople seeking information on the sites compared to traditional learning materials such as books and blogs at 35 percent, and even artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT at 47 percent.

Nirmal Chhabria, professor of the practice and director of the EMBA-Dubai Program, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business, told Arab News that social media has essentially changed how SMEs in Saudi Arabia can compete and scale by driving out traditional impediments to business success, which include the accessibility of capital, location, and network aspects.

“Saudi SMEs will be able to demonstrate how their products are made, re-share consumer experience, and sell the aspiration via lifestyle content. The visual aspect makes it especially one-dimensional for fashion, food, handcrafted products, and design companies,” said Chhabria.

Karim Sarkis, Strategy consultant at Strategy& Middle East – a member of the PwC network – also echoed a similar observation and indicated that social media sites will assist the entrepreneur to see opportunities and market trends before the company is developed.

“Social media is useful in the pre-establishment stage of an organization by enabling the entrepreneur to conduct research on customer needs, trends, competition, product ideas, and product-market fit. A product that is live needs social media to collect feedback on customers so as to enhance the offering,” Sarkis said.

According to Al-Harthi, the demographics of Saudi Arabia are among the most significant aspects that ensure social media tools play a central role in the work of entrepreneurs, and young people in the Kingdom are strongly affected by Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.

“The number of people using social media in the country is very high, and the capability of utilizing social networks will enable entrepreneurs to test their products, receive feedback immediately, and grow their services within a very short time. To most people, the path to an idea and a successful business starts with a feed that has been carefully curated, a viral video, or a group of followers, built by the community,” said Al-Harthi.

The bright side

Al-Harthi argues that social media networks act as a catalyst and an accelerator of the ecosystem because they provide a dynamic marketplace of ideas, generate customer behavior, and community building around brands.

She added, “these platforms will also assist in bridging the gap between the traditional and digital business models and may assist businessmen in accessing a larger audience that was previously unreachable.”

Social media is closing the gap between the traditional and the digital business model as it assists the startup in accessing the new audiences that were previously unreachable. Notably, it is aligned with the Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia, which has made digital transformation and innovation a priority as a driver of economic development, according to Al-Harthi.

She also said: Social media platforms are emerging as dynamic and real-time focus groups to entrepreneurs.

They do not use conventional market research alone but use features of live customer feedback, interactive polls, and analytics dashboards to understand the changing consumer preferences.

This enables businesses to track new trends, experiment with new ideas, and react to products or service changes with rapidity.

According to Sarkis, it is great, as social media assists businesses with generating awareness, getting clients, and bringing revenues, and the number of likes on these media can be simply converted into sales and financial gains.

The Strategy& Middle East official went further to state that with the help of social media, entrepreneurs are able to develop strong personal brands, and this would, in turn, generate a halo effect on business and products. “Personal branding can lead to the attention of investors, and moreover, it will be easier to finance businesses. It only takes a partner a step closer to an entrepreneur working on social media. This allows them to enter new markets, have a greater variety of suppliers, and expand distribution,” said Sarkis.

He also wrote: “Importantly, both personal and company brand reputations established through social media interaction may generate talent and quality differentiation of a business when talent is limited and in demand.”

Entrepreneurs can not do without social media in transforming ideas into products, prospects into customers, and revenues into profits.

Cultural and societal norms

Al-Harthi explains that cultural norms play a critical role in determining the way Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs use social media as a business tool, and Arabic language content is the most helpful to them, as it also empowers women in business leadership roles.

“Saudi entrepreneurs have different values; instead of focusing their digital plans on individualism and disruptiveness that are typical in many Western markets, they base their messaging on trust, community, and family values,” Al-Harthi explained.

She also wrote: “Social media has become a strong enabler to women entrepreneurs, especially. Instagram and Snapchat have allowed female entrepreneurs to build and develop their businesses more visibly.”