An entrepreneur at heart, Zafer Younis is the chief executive of The Online Project, a social media agency based in Jordan with offices across the Middle East. In 2004, Zafer co-founded Modern Media and started Jordan’s first independent English-language radio channel: Play 99.6 FM. Five years later, in 2009, “The Online Project” (TOP) was born. Bayt.com has recently met with this energetic marketer, or “music inspired foodie in constant pursuit of the next big marketing idea” as he likes to describe himself. More about Zafer Younis Zafer Younis is a marketing specialist who is paving new ways for companies to connect with their consumers in the digital space. He is the co-founder and CEO of The Online Project where his team develops and executes social media strategies for Fortune 500 companies and high profile organizations operating in the Middle East and North Africa. At the age of 23, Zafer co-founded his first company: Modern Media Ltd, a Jordanian media house that owns and operates two of the most popular radio stations in Jordan. Since founding The Online Project in 2009, Zafer has stepped down as General Manager of Modern Media. He remains involved as the company’s strategic advisor. Zafer is actively involved in several charity and non-profit organizations. In 2009, he joined the board of New Think Theater, a TED-like forum for the Middle East. He also advises the board of the Jordan River Foundation, a sustainable charity organization headed by Queen Rania that provides economic opportunities for women and children; and served on the Board of Directors for the Jordan Festival in 2010. Zafer is an advisor to many startups as he serves on the Mentorship Network of Oasis500, the Middle East’s premier seed investment program. 1. The Online Project is in Amman, Dubai and Riyadh. Is hiring different in each of these cities? Do you face different challenges or look for different skills? Yes, of course, because each market is unique. Although Saudi Arabia is a very attractive place to do business, it is the toughest market to recruit talents, especially because the best talents prefer to live in Dubai – not to mention the several restrictions on issuing residencies and work permits there. On the other hand, Dubai is a very competitive market. This means that we need to spend more time in filtering applicants who are constantly looking for jobs. In my opinion, Amman is the best market to recruit in, especially because talents focus on learning and harnessing their skills, while having realistic salary expectations. 2. What is the one thing you look for in all your new employees? We actually look for two things and not one: passion and discipline. As social entrepreneur and angel investor Maher Kaddoura says "Passion inspires, and discipline gets you there". One without the other is not that useful. Passion provides motivation, helps with the creative process and improves morale, while discipline ensures that there is endurance to see creative ideas through to execution while sustaining bursts of motivation. 3. What is the number one piece of advice you'd give fresh grads who want to enter the exciting world of online and social media marketing? Give it a shot first, and see if this is something you can see yourself in as a career. There is a difference between doing something as a pastime and as a career. Enjoying your time on Facebook does not mean you’ll enjoy working on a corporate page. Our job might sound like a lot of fun, but it is actually a lot of hard work, too. 4. You hire for very unconventional roles, like community management, that have only been around for a few years. What sort of skills do you look for and how can you predict future performance when the candidate does not have past experience? We are realistic with our expectations: this field of work is less than ten years old. So, we don't require past experience, instead, we look for people who can learn quickly. This is why we have invested in our orientation program, and make sure we hold regular learning sessions. 5. What makes a good online community manager? There are four main components that make a successful community manager: 1. Creativity in developing concepts for content and ideas for campaigns 2. Passion for the brand, writing and research 3. Strong writing skills in Arabic and English 4. Strong attention to detail 6. What advice do you have for companies wishing to retain top talent? We believe that loyalty is a two-way street: from our TOPers to us, and vice versa. Once your team is certain of your loyalty to them, they will give you their best and be loyal in return. Loyalty is in action, of course, not just in words.
