This holiday season, Meta is running a social good campaign “#LoveLocal”/ “حب المحلي#” across Instagram and Facebook to support small and medium-sized businesses across the Middle East and North Africa region. The campaign’s goal is to generate consumer demand by mobilizing public support for these local businesses.

Aiming to amplify the voice of local small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the MENA region and inspire people to rethink the significance of their individual action, #LoveLocal brings together local influencers, content creators, and communities to support SMBs across the region.

As part of the campaign’s teaser, Meta partnered with various prominent public figures and content creators in the MENA region such as Mohamed Henedy, Faisal Al-Saif, Fatima Zahra EL IBRAHIMI, Chef Leyla Fathallah, Hadia Ghaleb, to join the #LoveLocal campaign by changing their Facebook cover photo or posting on their Instagram “Space for rent, only if you #LoveLocal”. Throughout this week, they will be offering space on their Facebook and Instagram platforms to advertise the SMB they love and support.

The #LoveLocal consumer campaign was revealed through a new official announcement video inviting people to support their local small businesses by also changing their cover photos on Facebook and posting on their Instagram feed. Fans of the local SMBs and shops were encouraged to tag the handles of these businesses including the hashtag #LoveLocal.

Derya Matras, VP Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Meta, commented:

“SMBs are a key priority for us at Meta as they are the heart of our economies and communities. Going into its second year, our #LoveLocal initiative captures our commitment to bolster the recovery of local SMBs across the MENA region. Through our consumer activation on Facebook and Instagram, we were inspired to see the creative engagement of content creators, celebrities, and communities across the region sharing their personal stories and experiences with SMBs, reflecting the campaign’s tagline ‘’It’s Not Business, It’s Personal’.”

As a Meta initiative, #LoveLocal was launched in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic across Meta technologies including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp as part of the company’s commitment to supporting businesses, particularly SMBs, during difficult and unprecedented times.

To find out more about #LoveLocal, the available Meta grants programme, courses and webinars, business owners can visit https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/events