Social Media Localization

It’s funny how things sometimes happen in a series. Last week all of the North Americans I spoke with asked me the same question:

“Do you need to adapt your social media communication to different cultural audiences?”

It intrigued me that all of these questions came from North Americans and I think I have an answer as to why this happened… more on that later. I want to answer this question first.

By the way, for those of you who are not familiar with the term “localization” this refers to adapting all of your communication to different local cultures. It’s much more than just translation and includes all aspects of communication. Localization means adapting your communication make sure your message gets across in the right way.

Adapt Your Communication For International Audiences

The short answer is: yes.

To create genuine communication you must adapt how your social media communication to the different cultural audiences you want to reach.

Adapting your communication always gives you better results when communicating with different cultures, and sometimes it’s critical to do so. If you don’t adapt your communication you can lose relationships which leads to losing clients and business.

More Cultural Differences Are Visible On Social Media

But there is also a longer answer because the localization of social media communication goes deeper than cross-cultural people skills. Social media communication can be a little bit more challenging than other traditional forms of communication such as print communication or emails.

Here are two characteristics of cross-cultural social media that magnify the cultural differences others see in you.

Your cultural differences are obvious. It’s hard to hide from who you are on social media and this means

You get close when you’re social. Social media gets you closer to people. It is a social environment and people tend to let their guards down when they are behind a computer. It’s easier to say things online that you wouldn’t say in person. It’s easy to forget about trying to respect the other person’s cultural differences.

This is why you should always pay attention to the messages you are conveying to others and how they are perceived on social media.

People Skills To Connect With Different Cultures On Social Media

Good cross-cultural social media skills require both:

• Strong “soft” skills or people skills
• Good cross-cultural skills

Over the years I’ve noticed how most North American business professionals don’t have time for these “soft” skills.  They prefer to focus on the skills that are easy to measure and ones you can learn through courses. This may be why this question seems to crop up more often there than in the other cultures I network with.

Cross-cultural skills are not so easy to pick up or develop, they:

• Require some personal work
• Usually require international experience

Localization Of Social Media

Some of the people I spoke with needed some more insights

Here are the personal observations I shared with them regarding cross-cultural differences on two popular social media platforms.

Different Networking Practices On Twitter

Prior to my cross-cultural twitter interviews I chat with my guests and try to learn more about how they use Twitter in their country.  For some people it may come as a surprise to learn that English speakers in different countries do not have the same habits on Twitter.

Some cultures are more at ease in striking up instant friendships, and some cultures need a bit more time.  This impacts the relationships you form on Twitter.  And if you use Twitter for international networking it also means you need to use cross-cultural communication skills even on Twitter.

Different Job Hunting Practices On LinkedIn

One of the people I spoke to yesterday needed to advise his clients on business networking on LinkedIn.  Communication on LinkedIn is just the same as any other communication.

Every time I navigate on LinkedIn I’m struck by it’s the strong North American atmosphere. In cross-cultural terms most of the people I run into on LinkedIn have very strong traits of “individualism”.  Obviously LinkedIn is mainly a job hunting platform which brings out these North American traits even more.

Even if you come across people from different cultures on LinkedIn there is a very strong probability they use it differently than a North American on LinkedIn.

Different Perceptions Of The New Like Button On Facebook

It’s easy to see how different people use Facebook and thanks to the newly improved Insights box on Facebook Business Pages you can monitor some international metrics.  But the fun thing I’m noticing lately is the differences in appreciation of the new “Like” button.  So many of the North Americans in my network seem to identify more personal endorsement just because the button is now called “Like” and not “Become A Fan”.

The reaction to this small little word reminds me of the need to localize social media buttons in some Eastern countries.

• In most Western cultures having a real photo creates credibility and in some Eastern cultures it creates discomfort. Cartoon gravatars work much better.
• In Western cultures it’s easy to use the notion of being a “friend” on social media and in some Eastern cultures the use of the term “friend” creates uncomfortable situations for fear of offending others by not being their friend.

Those are extreme reactions to small things in social media.  And when you dig deeper and analyze communication on Facebook, you’re sure to encounter subtle differences in perception which can have significant impact on your Facebook marketing.

No Standard Social Media Localization Plan

Even with the knowledge of some of these differences you still cannot expect to come up with a standard international social media localization plan or generalizations for all international markets.  It’s hard to do. Social media marketing for international audiences is still evolving due to a number of reasons:

• Some countries are still catching up to social media and at different speeds.
• The cultural differences between generations within different countries makes it difficult to provide a cookie cutter solution for using social media.
• We should see growth in online communication from several countries thanks to recent changes by ICANN to allow URLs with different alphabets.
• The demographics in many countries are undergoing dramatic changes and this will eventually impact cross-cultural communication with these countries. Cross-cultural generalizations established in the last century are rapidly becoming obsolete.

Social media marketing in different cultures follows the same basics as in your own country: you need to get to know your audience well before you can create an effective communication plan. The good news is that you can use social media to help you get to know your audience if you take the time to go slowly and do the person-to-person networking you need to learn how to adapt your communication.

Now, Over To You

• Have you adapted any of your communication on social media to different international audiences?
• What are your favorite social media platforms for your international audiences?
• What cultural differences do you notice on the different social media platforms?

It would be great to hear from you. Please share your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Do You Need Social Media Localization?

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Personal Development

This is Day 4 of the 30-day challenge to focus on your personal development in cross-cultural communication. Each day there is one short topic to reflect on.

Day 4 – Communication Skills for Cross-Cultural Competence

We previously talked about:

• How your own mindset and where you begin your cross-cultural communication is important
• How curiosity is the key to beginning cross-cultural communication
• How empathy is the foundation of all cultural skills

And before we go any further we must look at the subject of cross-cultural competence right in the face.  You need to have good communication skills for cross-cultural competence.  The stronger your communication skills the more competent you will become in international business.  You own communication skills are the tools you use for communicating effectively across cultures.

Communication To Connect Across Cultures

There is no universal ideal way to communicate.  Our communication style depends on may different factors: our culture, education, personality to name a few. We can all become good at cross-cultural communication.  The key to do this is be aware of:

• The different levels of communication

In cross-cultural communication we tend to focus on the language, but don’t forget that communication is much more than just language.  Becoming competent in cross-cultural skills involves becoming proficient in listening, reading and communicating on all of the different levels of communication.  This is why communication skills are so important.  Because there are many different communication skills.

Steps Towards Developing Good Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

Here are some practical steps to take to improve your communication skills.

First, remember that although you do not feel “weird” in any way, you will appear “different” to other cultures.  So pay attention to your own communication and  pay special attention to:

• Clarity in what you communicate
• Consistency in what you communicate

Next, begin slowly by paying attention to different aspects of the communication:

• Body language
• What is said
• What is not said
• How things are said
• When things are said
• Who says what

Learning how to filter all of this information at once and make sense of it takes experience. Learning exactly what to pay attention to also takes experience.  The main takeaway here is to know that you need to look for communication on many different levels.

Good Communication Skills

There are many great benefits for people who take the time to improve their communication skills.  Good communication impacts just about all aspects of our lives.  For us here it:

• Improves all aspects of international business
• Improves cross-cultural communication
• Avoids cross-cultural blunders

Main Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges

For beginners the main challenges to improve your cross-cultural communication skills are when you:

• Are unaware of obvious communication difficulties
• Assume others understand you perfectly.. and continue
• Make wrong assumptions
• Do not take the time to open your ears and listen – hint curiosity helps you here too

Always Verify Understanding

There is a simple trick to help you as you become more skilled in cross-cultural communication

• Regularly verify mutual understanding

Now sometimes people get over zealous with this.  You don’t want to appear too fearful and raise any doubts about anyone’s communication abililties.  There is a skill in making this seem natural.  If you listen well enough you will know when it is wise to double check everyone has the same understanding.

And remember the same words spoken by two people does not mean they have the same understanding.

Your Actions Today

Here are a few tips to start with:

• Take things slowly – find the right sequence for your communication
• Ask questions
• Ask questions when something seem slightly odd
• Summarize your understanding at regular intervals and ask if this is right.

Where To Get Your CCCC Tips Every Day:

• Here on this blog: Four Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges In 2009
• Follow me on Twitter in March, June, September and December

Need Cross-Cultural Business Coaching?

Do you need help in navigating the cross-cultural minefields of international business? Sign up for confidential one-on-one coaching sessions.  Email me and ask to set up a call.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Personal Development In Cross-Cultural Communication – Day 4

Improve Your International Web Marketing

Last week I told you how I implemented one tip I read in the ProBlogger book and how it dramatically increased the number of visitors to this blog in March.

• 92% More Visitors In March With One Tip From The ProBlogger Book

How To Get A Free Copy Of The ProBlogger Book

• The ProBlogger Book by Chris Garrett and Darren Rowse.

Would you like to get a free copy of the ProBlogger book?  It is easy…

Answer this question:

What other series would you like to see here on this blog?

The series has to fall somewhere within the broad topic of getting international clients with better cross-cultural communication.

I have already written a series on:

• Watching Movies To Improve Your Cultural Skills
• Cross-Cultural Communication Tip Challenge

It is up to you to tell me which other series you would like to read here.  You can have a look at the list of resources on the right for inspiration.  It can be on a serious topic or a lighter one.

There are 6 books to be given away.  So there is room for some fun suggestions and everyone has a good chance of getting a book.

Post Your Answer: either in the comments below or in a message to me on Twitter @CindyKing

Deadline: Wednesday April 15th.

Then on Thursday April 16th through Friday April 17th we will vote for the best ones and the books will be mailed just after that.

More To Improve Your International Web Marketing

• 92% More Visitors In March With One Tip From The ProBlogger Book
• How One Tip From One Book Increased My Web Marketing Results
• How To Get A Free Copy Of The ProBlogger Book
• Winners Of The Free Problogger Book Contest & New Blog Post Series

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Don’t Miss:

• International Web Marketing
• Improve Your International Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

How To Get A Free Copy Of The ProBlogger Book

International Business Networking

Online networking for international business development using social media brings in results.  International social media networking does work within cultures that are comfortable with direct communication. There are times when there are culture clashes between direct and indirect communication.

You can read more about the behavioral scales in different cultures on Get International Clients.

As a person with a direct communication profile and cross-cultural communication skills I find these clashes a bit painful.  I always seem to regret giving them too much of my time.  And this is an awkward position for a solo entrepreneur to be in. You see, I know there could be a valid opportunity for some sort of valuable international business connection.  But social media networking does not work as well with people who are used to doing business with an indirect communication style.

• They need more time.

Besides email and online communication is just mined with cross-cultural communication barriers.  You need real human contact to be sure you understand each other. Here are some examples where I have been approached with an indirect communicator:

Facebook

A message on FaceBook: I am interested in cross cultural communication

Skype

I have also had several very similar messages come in through Skype where they contact me first:

• Them: Hello
• Me: Hello
• Them: How are you?
• Me: What can I do for you?
• Them: It is nice meeting you?
• Me: Yes, is there anything I can do for you?
• Them: Hello
• Me: Yes, hello
• Them: I like international business
• Me: Yes, an interesting subject

I also get a slew of  similar Skype messages any time I inadvertently leave Skype open for any length of time.  These are mainly from Northern African users who use Skype similar to Meetic. These are messages with at least 5 lines of “hello” after which you understand these are  men who want to chat about personal things with women. They are always very polite when you tell them you only use Skype for business.

I have also had several Skype message conversations with translation companies in Asia. Similar to this:

• Them: Hello
• Me: Hello
• Them: You want translations?
• Me: No thanks.
• Them: I do best translations in the world
• Me: Sorry I am not interested in translations
• Them: I good service
• Me: Try contacting translations agencies
• Them: I good all languages
• Me: Sorry I cannot help you
• Them: (a list of languages)

And usually the English is even more riddled with mistakes.

Emails

The most frustrating indirect communication contacts come in my email. Here the email basically says:

• I have a great product (without telling me what the product is and who else thinks it is great).
• I want to sell to international markets.

And occasionally there is also:

• I only pay commissions after sale.

And a few of these emails have also included:

• I am desperate.  You are my last hope.

Cross-Cultural Business Communication

Now, as I said before, I am sure that most of these contacts were sincere. But they cannot be aware of my reality as a solo business owner.  These conversations take up too much of my time.  And I simply cannot spend 30 minutes for every contact. If these people contacted me with a more direct communication I would probably have been able to give them an idea of who they should contact. What about you?

• How do you go about international business networking?
• What do you like most about international business networking?
• What are you biggest challenges in international business networking?

Please leave your comments below.

More on International Business Networking:

• Networking With The Wrong Questions
• 2 Habits To Grow Your International Network
• The Biggest Mistake In International Networking
• Follow Up With Your First International Clients

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Online Business Networking When Cultural Communication Styles Clash

Marketers are on the path towards more segmentation.  This is true today and it is also true for the years to come.

The Bad News

In an economy of downsizing and increasing job responsibilities, this is probably bad news for most marketers.

You see, segmentation means more number crunching.  You know, the roll up your sleeves type of task.

Segmentation will involve number crunching even if your company invests in good software to track the numbers.  These software solutions simply need to be used properly to get the right information out of them… and this also involves rolling up your sleeves.

Why Segmentation?

As a cross-cultural marketer segmentation is part of my world.

This is easy to understand.  International marketing has always inherently involved market segmentation.  The geographic segmentation is obvious and businesses rapidly understand the need for cultural segmentation.

But I also notice other marketing segmentation trends.  And there are a few of them today.

Generational Marketing

The generational marketing trends in North America talk about Boomers, Generation X’ers, Generation Y’ers.

This generational marketing can be challenging for some marketing segments where Boomers are tech savvy for example.  And it can be confusing for some international marketers where markets are not as clearly defined.

Segmentation can help you find the answers you need for effective marketing.

Ethnic Marketing

The election of President Obama has placed ethnic marketing in the limelight, even if this trend was well established prior to this.

Researchers have  recently highlighted how several leading countries, including the US and France, will have ethnic majority populations in our lifetime.

This means that marketers will need segmentation to improve their ethnic marketing.  Ethnic marketing will definitely be needed during this period of change.

And again segmentation is key to ethnic marketing.

More International Sales

The good news is that as marketers are being forced to the task of segmentation, budgets and processes will be aligned to meet these needs.

The improvement and development of segmentation will benefit international sales.  Businesses will be able to apply these processes to developing international sales more effectively.

And this is something I am looking forward to.  Several current marketing trends will help businesses in developing their international sales.

Earlier this week I wrote about the similarities between good international communicators and good social media communicators.  With the rise of customer-centric marketing and social media, this also means that more people will have the soft skills needed for international business development.

With soft skills and good measurement processes international sales will be easier to target.

More On International Web Marketing

• Define International Marketing
• How Too Many Contributions Spoil International Communications
• International Article Marketing
• International Email Marketing
• International SEO For Quick Results
• Marketing Segmentation
• Mindset Differences Between Offline Marketers And Online Marketers
• More Segmentation = More International Sales
• My Own Case Study – Small Business Flexibility In An Online World
• The Difference Between An eMarketer And A Geek Marketer
• Ways To Enter International Marketing
• What Is Marketing?
• What Is Your Definition Of International Web Marketing
• Your International Marketing Choice

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

More Segmentation = More International Sales

Internationalize Your English

A question came up the other day that got me thinking.  Follow me through…

Here is the first question:

• Is it responsible of a company to send someone who only speaks English to conduct sensitive business discussions with people who do not speak English well?

Well first, to answer this question…

If the person did not have any international exposure, then, yes, the company is irresponsible.

Besides changing people on one side or the other, the company had another option…

The company could have used a tactic used often enough between Western cultures and Middle-Eastern cultures: Hire a third party to act as a cultural interpreter.

International Communication Online

But this question got me thinking about the websites I encounter online.  And the desperate solopreneurs or very small businesses that contact me frantically looking for a miracle to get them international clients.

Business is based on relationships.  Even if you don’t think the relationship aspect is significant for your current business, it is very important in international business.

Remember, prior to the web, companies always assumed they needed face-to-face meetings with international clients in order to develop an international business.  And this is still a general principle held by many people.

You Still Need Relationships

Email marketing, global websites and even outsourced call centers can lead the younger generation, or the businesses wrapped up in saving money, to forget that you still need to cultivate relationships with real people to develop a thriving international business.

Of course, if you have a good offer and good online visibility you can make international sales.

Back to this question again…

…but with a twist.

• Is it responsible for a company to send out English communication, to market their wares and sell their products to countries, with different cultures who do not speak English well?

That’s fairly easy to answer…

Irresponsible maybe.  Foolish yes.  Income lost?  For sure.

Another twist…

• Is it responsible for a company to send out English communication, to market their wares and sell their products, to countries with different cultures?

Well, this is where a little common sense comes in handy. And this question brings up a series of other questions.

• Is this company really interested in getting international business?
• Does this company understand the basics of good international communication?
• Does this company have a measurement system in place to see where it needs to improve communication?

International business today is cheaper than before thanks to international web marketing.  But you still need to put in the time and effort to create the relationships.

Relationships start with your communication.  Get it right.  Be polite…to your foreign readers.

Even if you are on a tight budget you can adjust your communication for the people you are targeting.

You can even learn to do this yourself, just as people did prior to internet with face-to-face meeting.

• Start off slowly.
• Make connections, real connections with your prospects in one specific country.
• Build the relationship slowly.
• Learn how to communicate well.

There was something else I heard early this week…

• Most people today don’t want to learn to fish…they just want you to give them the fish.

Building international relationships and getting your communication right for your international markets is work.  And it is work you need to learn how to do yourself.

Need a method?  A step-by-step action plan to help you get started?

• Read the 8 step International Sales Road Map on Get International Clients.
• Sign up for the action guide with the Get International Clients newsletter.

More on Internationalizing Your English:

• A Multicultural Writer Gets More International Readers?
• Adjust Your Own English Communication To Meet Other Language Levels
• Americans Need International English Too
• Culture-Free Communication
• Customize Your Content For Different Cultures
• English For International Appeal
• Global English To Avoid Miscommunication
• International English For Better Communication With Global Audiences
• Internationalize Your Own Communication
• Is International English In Your Future?
• Translation Friendly International English
• What Flavor Is Your English?
• What Is International English?
• Where To Learn How To Write International Or Global English

What you need to know about International English:

• International English Guidelines
  

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

• International English
• Culture Customized Content

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Focus On Your Cultural Communication