English reaches most of Dubai’s residents. Arabic reaches people English does not. It signals that a business is part of the city rather than passing through.
Who each language reaches
- English is the shared language of business in Dubai and reaches most residents and most visitors.
- Arabic matters for Emirati and Arab buyers and for government work. It also matters for family services and healthcare.
- Both together in one caption reach the widest audience for the least extra work.
- Other languages can matter in specific fields: a brokerage selling to Russian speaking buyers, a clinic serving a large Hindi or Urdu speaking community. Use them where your buyers are.
Ways to do it
- Bilingual captions. English first, Arabic below, in the same post. Simple and common.
- Arabic first on certain posts. Ramadan hours, national days, posts for families.
- Separate posts in each language. More work and only worth it when each audience is large.
- Arabic Reels with English captions, when the person speaking is most at ease in Arabic.
Write it, do not translate it
Arabic copy should be written or checked by a native speaker who knows the field. Marketing phrases often do not carry over and literal translations read as careless. For clinics and legal services a wrong term can mislead.
Other places the language matters
Your Google Business Profile description and your website’s key pages can carry Arabic too. A buyer searching in Arabic finds what is written in Arabic.
What we offer
Captions in English and Arabic are an option for every client. Leave it off and everything goes out in English.