Social Media Marketing Across Cultures

By Cindy King · 33 Comments

Earlier this week I posted a list of my 301 Twitter culture tips and international links. This list gives you quite a few interesting links to help you develop your international and cross-cultural skills.

A Social Media Marketing Plan

But there is something even more interesting about these 301 tweets. These tweets are what really started my social media marketing.

Just after I published this post, Michael Stelzner published an article on Copyblogger mentioning my twitter strategy for business.

When you look closely at this list of 301 tweets you can actually see the thread of my 5 daily scheduled tweets and the increase in third party links.

And remember, I am based in France… this is international web marketing for my business.

International Marketing On Social Media

Social media marketing can build relationships with your clients. And this includes your international clients.

But for international markets there is one big first step:

You need to identify the right social media to develop your business in each target country

And this takes a little bit of investigation… and also a trial run.

Different cultures use social media differently.
Different web channels are used at different degrees of maturity and with different degrees of sophistication
And, the intricacies of cross-cultural communication also come into play

I recently re-tweeted an article about Facebook increasing it’s number of users dramatically in Germany and Italy

Navigating The Different International Trends

In addition to learning how to use Twitter for business, there are two other trends to watch:

Customers all over the world are changing, taking control of sales processes… but at different degrees and with different nuances. It is a little like how “polite” can mean different things to different cultures.
Users in different countries are at different stages in the adoption curve of social media. And you do not market to people with different levels of sophistication or expertise in the same way.

For some cultures the cultural implications represent more than others…

“In China, blogs enable millions of citizens to express their opinions with reduced political risk simply because of the sheer number of like-minded opinions online. Facing these independent voices, the old ideological machine starts to crumble.” – Xiao Qiang

What this means is…

It can be hard to evaluate which social media to use in which foreign market.
Today you still need to use educated guesses and thorough testing methods.
Trial runs are needed to get to know people, and this is even more true in foreign markets.

More about social media marketing for international business development in the next post.

My social media marketing started last September when I joined Chris Garrett’s Authority Blogger course.

The main reason why I chose Chris above any other blogger was because of his superior social communication skills. Just follow his tweets and you will see what I mean.

A few lucky people are gifted in knowing how to bring people together and Chris is one of these people. It is this type of skill that sets you apart in social media.

Photos from Shutterstock.

Filed under: cross cultural social media

business global global marketing international International Social Media International Web Marketing Internet Marketing social media twitter business strategy web marketing

Cindy King

http://www.leilimckinley.com Brand4profit

The old method of advertising is interactive marketing. The term is misleading. Most people think it means that there is some type of interaction on the part of the person advertised to, and there is. But, it is not conversational. Instead, the advertiser wants you to interact with their campaign in a specific set of steps. Following the call to action and visiting a website for instance. It’s the push to make you do something. Live this image. Buy this now.

Social Media Marketing is just the opposite. It’s the pull of the tribe. The tribe already has your trust so the actions they take are ones you align with. On a larger scale, it’s the allure of belonging in the group as you take action together. “I am doing this so why don’t you do it with me?” On an individual level, the attraction is to behave the same way to get the same results that benefits your fellow tribeswoman or tribesman. “She looks hot! I want to look hot too. I want to go to her hairstylist” and you do. Social Media Marketing uses the power of attraction.

While advertising tries to use the same tactic, with a billboard for instance, of a gorgeous woman telling you the benefits of the salon, it doesn’t have the same impact because it’s pushing you to go. It is not pulling you in as a trusted friend. Your friends have your best interests at heart and advertisers do not. Social Media Marketing is based on building trust and that foundation will make Social Media a dominant player in Marketing.
- http://cindyking.biz Cindy
  
  Thank you for your definition of advertising. People from other countries do not always have the same definition of terms… such as interactive marketing. You always need to clarify definitions… and even this can take time.
  
  Another source of confusion I see is the current sophistication in American marketing tactics compared to the marketing tactics used in other countries. Different countries have different marketing environments. One marketing tactic which may work well in one country may not work in other cultures.
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http://www.belmos.com Message Forum

Thanks for this nice post about Internet Marketing On Social Media. Thanks.
- http://cindyking.biz Cindy
  
  Thanks for stopping by to leave such kind words!
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http://www.mindshare.dk branding

I know the imporatance of branding and getting it right. We had to launch a global product and at the last minute realized that the name was very offensive in the Philipinnes! Culture plays a very important role!
- http://cindyking.biz Cindy King
  
  I always find it interesting how new things can always pop up, even when you’ve got a bit of international experience.

Comments

Brand4profit · 3 January, 2009 ·
The old method of advertising is interactive marketing. The term is misleading. Most people think it means that there is some type of interaction on the part of the person advertised to, and there is. But, it is not conversational. Instead, the advertiser wants you to interact with their campaign in a specific set of steps. Following the call to action and visiting a website for instance. It’s the push to make you do something. Live this image. Buy this now.

Social Media Marketing is just the opposite. It’s the pull of the tribe. The tribe already has your trust so the actions they take are ones you align with. On a larger scale, it’s the allure of belonging in the group as you take action together. “I am doing this so why don’t you do it with me?” On an individual level, the attraction is to behave the same way to get the same results that benefits your fellow tribeswoman or tribesman. “She looks hot! I want to look hot too. I want to go to her hairstylist” and you do. Social Media Marketing uses the power of attraction.

While advertising tries to use the same tactic, with a billboard for instance, of a gorgeous woman telling you the benefits of the salon, it doesn’t have the same impact because it’s pushing you to go. It is not pulling you in as a trusted friend. Your friends have your best interests at heart and advertisers do not. Social Media Marketing is based on building trust and that foundation will make Social Media a dominant player in Marketing.
- Cindy · 4 January, 2009 ·
  Thank you for your definition of advertising. People from other countries do not always have the same definition of terms… such as interactive marketing. You always need to clarify definitions… and even this can take time.
  
  Another source of confusion I see is the current sophistication in American marketing tactics compared to the marketing tactics used in other countries. Different countries have different marketing environments. One marketing tactic which may work well in one country may not work in other cultures.
Choice Of Social Media For International Markets · 5 January, 2009 ·
[...] Let’s continue on from last weeks article on social media for international markets. [...]
Message Forum · 8 January, 2009 ·
Thanks for this nice post about Internet Marketing On Social Media. Thanks.
- Cindy · 9 January, 2009 ·
  Thanks for stopping by to leave such kind words!
Branding And Building An International Business · 12 January, 2009 ·
[...] International Web Marketing articles here: – Choice Of Social Media For International Markets – Social Media Marketing Across Cultures – Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing – What Is Marketing? – International Article [...]
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[...] International And Social Media Communication – Choice Of Social Media For International Markets – Social Media Marketing Across Cultures – Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing – What Is Marketing? – International Article [...]
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[...] International And Social Media Communication – Choice Of Social Media For International Markets – Social Media Marketing Across Cultures – Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing – What Is Marketing? – International Article [...]
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Top 10 Social Media Outlets for Businesses in 2009 « ServiceMe · 7 April, 2009 ·
[...] as in the United States. To read up on how to use social media for international business, follow Cindy King, who is an expert on how to use social media outlets in the international arena. Bebo was [...]
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[...] International And Social Media Communication – Choice Of Social Media For International Markets – Social Media Marketing Across Cultures – Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing – What Is Marketing? – International Article [...]
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[...] International Web Marketing articles here: – Choice Of Social Media For International Markets – Social Media Marketing Across Cultures – Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing – What Is Marketing? – International Article [...]
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branding · 26 February, 2010 ·
I know the imporatance of branding and getting it right. We had to launch a global product and at the last minute realized that the name was very offensive in the Philipinnes! Culture plays a very important role!
- Cindy King · 28 February, 2010 ·
  I always find it interesting how new things can always pop up, even when you’ve got a bit of international experience.