A screenshot of Huda Beauty's Instagram profile. We’re eight months into 2025, and the marketing landscape is changing significantly. Brands are increasingly using short-form video and UGC to engage audiences, build trust, and drive interactions. These strategies are not just global trends; they resonate deeply with local communities and residents across the GCC.
Everybody’s glued to their phones, and brands are cranking out short videos and all sorts of UGC to actually get people to care. It’s not just another buzzword fad; this stuff seriously matters to local communities in the region.
TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts are the new stomping grounds for brand storytelling. If you’re not on these platforms, you don’t exist. It’s where people are hanging out, scrolling for hours. TikTok users are spending an average of about 58.4 hours per month on the platform. Pretty wild, right? Reels and Shorts are catching up fast, too. Who wants to read long posts when you can vibe with a 20-second clip?
In terms of short-form content, TikTok is pretty much king. The stats don’t lie: the average user in the region spends nearly two and a half days a month on there. Not to mention, short videos everywhere are blowing up.
Here’s the thing people trust people. Not billboards, not some random brand account. UGC is where it’s at. Almost every marketer worth their salt says people believe content from other customers way more than branded stuff. On TikTok, UGC even outperforms slick brand ads by 22 per cent. You get way more bang for your buck when you let real folks do the talking.
Cadillac Middle East? They’re all about letting their customers share the love online. They don’t just talk at their audience. They let fans do the talking, and it’s working. They win loyalty, trust, and all that good stuff just by letting people tell their own stories.
Now imagine mixing these two short snappy videos and real people sharing their takes. That’s the secret sauce. Authentic, scroll-stopping, totally bingeable. It gets people hyped, brings communities together, and yeah, drives up sales.
Huda Beauty nails this. They’re constantly throwing up quick tutorials, customer shout-outs, and testimonials. What’s the result? A diehard fan base that keeps coming back, telling their friends, and doing the marketing for them.
Ultimately, if brands in the Middle East want to remain relevant and connect with real people, they better hop on the short-form video and UGC train. It’s what drives trust, attention, and revenue. Ignore it, and you risk becoming invisible.
By Sarah Araigy, Marketing Consultant.
