Itsfreedubai is an experimental instagram page that was born on the backseat of my friend's car after a friendly yet frustration induced rant of not being able to afford most of the things that Dubai had to offer while being students, from the weekly viral delicacies to new winter pop-ups.
With the assumption that there were people that belonged to the same category as me such as students and young adults. It's Free Dubai began modestly with simple screenshots of events from news outlets and websites. During my discovery journey, I realized that there was an equal amount of budget friendly activities and events as there were paid and expensive events, but it just wasn't advertised as much.
Leveraging Reddit's communities and Facebook groups, I was able to effectively drive initial traffic to the page. As the audience grew, I adapted the content, shifting from basic posts to curated carousels and well-crafted reels. And little did I know in this whole process I also became a "Content Creator".
Today, itsfreedubai is a community with over 14,000 followers and was recently featured on Khaleej times as the go-to guide for unveiling the city's free and budget-friendly gems.