In today’s interview, Nilofar Humayun shares her unique perspective on social media marketing across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. Nilofar was born, bred and educated in Dubai, with roots from Pakistan. She set out to London to pursue a university degree in marketing and media studies, and has been living and working there ever since. 

Having previously worked for Gartner, HSBC and Gulf News in Dubai, Nilofar currently works as senior marketing manager at Charles Taylor InsureTech, where she leads all marketing activities. She now has 12 years of industry experience, with a focus on EMEA and B2B marketing.

Tune in as Nilofar chats with Kyler Canastra about her firsthand insight into marketing strategies in Europe and the Middle East, from both a consumer and marketer’s perspective. She explains how her multicultural background has helped her understand different cultures and build multi-channel campaigns. 

Nilofar also discusses the best LinkedIn features for marketing, the importance of planning and strategizing your social media marketing campaigns, and why there is no blanket approach to every industry or platform. 

According to Nilofar, you must tailor your messaging and imagery according to each channel and campaign. Above all, test and optimize. Don’t be afraid to try new content pieces, whether it’s a static image, GIF or video, to see what resonates with your audience. 

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, and listen to the podcast on Apple or Spotify.

Rapid-fire recs  

Top tips and takeaways: 

  • Plan your social media marketing campaigns in advance.
  • Test different creative ideas.
  • Keep a good work-home-life balance. 
  • Focus on your mental health. 
  • Spend time with friends and family. 
  • Meditate. 
  • Go for walks.
  • Upskill and keep up to date.
  • Network.
  • Learn from your colleagues.
  • Work as a team.

Learning resource:

“Before 2020 we were all in a rush. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. We didn’t take time to actually sit and live in the moment and breathe. Now I think that’s changed.”

Connect with Nilofar and Kyler on LinkedIn.

For more insights into EMEA social media marketing:

To read the full transcript, click on page number 2 below.