Cross-Cultural Social Media

This morning I woke up to some unexpected news. Facebook made a change in how you can set up your business page.  You used to be able to set up your Business Page so everyone who was not a fan or had not hit the “Like” button would land on a specific tab or “landing page” whenever they visited your page.  Businesses used this to:

• Get more people to like their page and build their Facebook audience
• Highlight offers
• Incite people to participate in a charity or a community
• And generally guide visitors to create a unique navigation experience on social media

Well this morning it appears Facebook took away this landing page capability. Now, this literally just happened and I still need to read something official from Facebook, so if you are concerned by this news, please read up about it on Mari Smith’s blog or the Social Media Examiner Facebook Page. I’m sure they’ll keep you informed.

At the time of writing this post, there is a question about just what this new change means and what will happen to the Facebook Business Pages currently using “welcome” tabs and other landing pages.  There is speculation this may be happening in phases and still no official news from Facebook.

But I want to share some cross-cultural insights on the impact of what happened in these first few hours because there are a few things worth noting and one of them is about how timing and communication is perceived by different cultures.

Latest Facebook Change

First, the short story…

Following the thread of how this news broke on the Social Media Examiner Facebook page, it appears a group of Facebook developers found they could no longer set up accounts to get new visitors to land on the customized tabs they had just created for their clients. And in this developers forum Facebook informed them that Facebook had changed their rules and Facebook users would not be able to do this unless:

• You are a Facebook authenticated business which means you have over 10,000 fans
• You asked your “Facebook representative” to do this for you, and this means you are an advertising client of Facebook where minimum monthly purchases are in the 5 figure range.

Businesses Losses

Again, I have to say it’s very early on and things may not be as they first appear. But if this is true, this change is particularly troublesome for businesses who are currently running a Facebook ad campaign. Their links are no longer going to their landing page as planned. Apparently at least some of them were not informed of the change the moment it happened.

This does not send a very good image of what it’s like to work with Facebook.  In fact, it could put a big dent in Facebook’s credibility from a business perspective. These new changes make it clear Facebook wants big business bucks, but this incident shows they don’t know how to play the big business game.

Cross-Cultural Losses

Unfortunately things get even worse when you consider this from a cross-cultural perspective.

Credibility. Different cultures use different frameworks to process credibility. It’ll be interesting to follow the different reactions from businesses in different countries.  It’s not going to be easy for Facebook to manage the loss of credibility across such a diverse set of followers.

Although businesses are adopting social media at a greater rate this year in North America, the climate is very different in other countries where businesses are still wondering what social media can do for them.  And I know many of the businesses around me here in France will have a good little chuckle and put the whole social media question aside to get on with “real” business.

Respect. The worst insight of this whole incident is the lack of respect Facebook shows towards their raving fans. They’ve put mud on the face of two of their own fan groups:

• The Facebook developers who sold Facebook services to their clients
• The businesses with ad campaigns linking to landing pages which are no longer working

Respect was lost because Facebook did not inform these two groups of fans in an appropriate manner at the appropriate time.

In some cultures this is very bad and should not be ignored by Facebook. People just don’t want to be associated with businesses who treat their own close “fans” with such disrespect. This is a “deal breaker” in many cultures.

Trust.  With the loss of credibility and the lack of respect there is a loss of trust. Trust is always very precarious in cross-cultural relationships. It’s very easy to lose trust between cultures, and much more difficult to build it up.

So businesses need to make an effort to lose as little trust as they possibly can. Clear upfront communication is one way to do this and it’s absence leads to mistrust.

The Impact Of Time On Cross-Cultural Damages

It’s interesting to look at how time and timing impact your communication from a cross-cultural communication perspective.  You see there are two things to look at:

• No matter what Facebook does from hereon in, the fact that this happened without informing people at the time it happened will mean a loss of credibility, respect and trust for many different cultures. And in cross-cultural relationships these take much more effort to build back up.
• No matter what the real situation is, Facebook needs to respond quickly because different cultures have different appreciations of time and of what has just happened.  There is only a narrow window to do this and get it right for a wide international audience at minimal cost.  Many cross-cultural mishaps become outright blunders simply because there is a lack of response within an appropriate time frame.

Immediate Reparation Of The Damage

Please remember, I’m responding to this news only a few hours after it broke and things may not be exactly as they seem.  But if all of this is indeed true, it’s not going to be easy for Facebook to find the best response for their wide international audience. Both the response itself and the timing of the response is critical.  Here’s what I suggest their response has to be:

• Elegant enough to repair some of the damage. Some cultures will respond well to a sincere apology which shows empathy towards them.
• Thorough enough to build up a bit of the trust  lost within the business community. This will take time and the next steps Facebook takes will be scrutinized.
• Very clear information to get this across well to a multicultural audience. And because many people believe their communication to be clear when it isn’t, this should proofed by someone with the right international communication skills.
• Within at least the first few hours of their head office opening today Facebook should at least give an acknowledgement that they will respond more fully within a maximum of a couple of days. It’s bad publicity when you put your clients in a situation where they lose business because of your actions. This is probably what happened to some of the people in the 2 “raving fan” categories above, and all businesses will be watching to see how Facebook responds.

Getting Beyond This Unfortunate Communication Incident

Because I’m writing this very early after the first incident, it’s important to note things may not be as they seem.  A close look at this situation, in this early phase, makes it’s easy to understand why you need to quickly respond with clear communication.

If Facebook is indeed changing the way how you can set up your landing page,  they will need to work on building trust.   Of course, businesses can still use URL redirects to drive people outside of Facebook towards specific Facebook tabs or landing pages because all tabs have a unique URL.

But Facebook should also try to show businesses a solution, or the path they see for businesses to use Facebook, and not just the big businesses who can afford Facebook advertising. Facebook needs to acquire a bit more of the social media mindset and come down to meet all of their business users. It’s important to have trust built at this level in an international environment.

Otherwise they will lose a part of the “raving” element of their “raving fans” because part of their international audience will not be able to connect with them in a strong way. This leaves a door open to competition. It’s hard to evaluate the cultural impact of “raving fans” from other countries because many cultures don’t really fit into this description. The image changes from one culture to another.

And this is probably where you can bring in parallels from traditional international marketing with the 5 different steps to becoming an international business. The idea being you need to learn how to create relationships with one country first, then a few different ones, and it’s only by acquiring these international skills that you can become a “global” business, like Nike for example.

With this is mind and if all of this is true, it looks like Facebook just showed it’s limitations. Despite the massive presence worldwide, it hasn’t yet learned the skills it needs to communicate with a global audience.

That’s looking at Facebook, but it doesn’t take into account the users. And Facebook’s future will depend on how their users will want to use their platform.

On a side note, I’d like to bring up one other thing.  Unfortunately working internationally you see a lot of people trying to cheat systems to make money. And my second thought to the Facebook change was this:

• The minimum amount of fans businesses need to be authenticated is 10,000 = too many for most businesses to realistically attain.
• The minimum amount businesses can spend to advertise on Facebook is 5 figures = big money most businesses cannot afford to spend on Facebook.

This probably means an onslaught of people figuring out ways to sell businesses large quantities of “fans”.  And this will probably mean people on Facebook will also have to deal with an increase in spam related issues. Will it all be worth it? Will this change the Facebook environment enough to make people leave?  Will this leave a big enough opportunity for another social media platform?

Now It’s Your Turn

• What other cross-cultural perspectives do you see in this incident?
• Do you think this incident will impact how businesses invest in Facebook?
• Does this incident make you want to invest more in your own blog or website?

Please leave your comments below.

Need Help?

If ever you need help in figuring out how to respond to a communication incident across a broad international audience, contact me and I’ll give you a quote.  With over 25 years in developing international markets, I’ve played a pivotal role in diffusing many a business crisis in cross-cultural environments.

More on Cross-Cultural Social Media

• How to Connect Globally With Social Media
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing
• Ethnic Origins On Social Media

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Cross-Cultural Blunder On Latest Facebook Change

Cross-Cultural Social Media

Jay Baer recently shared the social media quotes he uses most. Be sure to check out the SlideShare presentation he’s put together. These are some great quotes and I use many of them myself. But I’m based in France and network constantly with a broad international audience for my business.  So these quotes don’t always resonate the same with my international audience.

Here are Jay’s favorite social media quotes with some of my own thoughts on how these work within international social media.

Social Media Tips From An International Perspective

#1: “Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social.”

This is not always easy for people from different countries to understand because their ideas of “being social” are different. And this means people in different countries observing social media in North America can have a hard time picking up what “being social” means in social media.

For example in many countries “social” has to be in person. Here’s an example of how French people have integrated the French notion of being social in social media.

#2: “Social media doesn’t create negativity, it uncovers it.”

I personally have a hard time with this. One of the culture shocks I had, even after living in France for decades, was the negativity in the French blogosphere. Of course there are many great French bloggers, but every time I dive into this French environment I’m shocked by how negative it is and invariably close all my web browsers.

This makes me a bit wary of what negativity means to different cultures and how this can impact social media in different countries.

#3: “Social media is an ingredient, not an entree.”

Right now in European businesses social media often seems more like the unicorn mentioned below. It’s something you’ve heard about, but don’t really believe the business benefits exist.  So it’s hard to create any sort of “social media meal” at all.

But progress is being made and it’ll be interesting to see the differences in how social media is used within different countries.  Just like there are different cuisines throughout the world, there’s sure to be “culinary differences” in successful social media in other countries.

#4: “Everyone says social media is a unicorn, but maybe it’s just a horse?”

Or the Lochness Monster?  That’s the response most appropriate to what I hear here in Europe.

As North American businesses use social media more in 2010 it’ll be easier for businesses in other countries to come up with a metaphor they can relate to and then learn how to adapt it to their own cultural specifications.

#5: “Social media is the ultimate canary in the coal mine.”

Speaking of metaphors, this is one that doesn’t translate well. Hopefully in years to come we’ll see the cultural differences in social media as a flock of different exotic birds.

#6: “The goal of social media is to turn customers into a volunteer marketing army.”

Of course, this is fascinating to observe through a cross-cultural lens to compare cultural differences.

For example, creating a “volunteer marketing army” is different in “highly independent” versus “highly collective” societies.  And there will also be differences when comparing results in cultures with “high context communication” versus “low context communication”.

#7: “It’s not viral unless it is.”

I love this one.  It’s not always easy for non-native English speakers to understand buzz words. They can often take on new meanings when adopted in different cultures. And this quote reminds everyone to not get carried away in selling social media.

#8: “Linkedin is for people you know. Facebook is for people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know.”

Outside of North America this appears to be different. There are cultural differences in how people like to connect with others and there are cultural differences in how different generations use social media.

The younger generations around me here in France definitely use Facebook for the people they know. In international circles LinkedIn is not necessarily for people you know. In fact, I often hear people in the UK say they didn’t feel the need to be on LinkedIn. And there are still too many questions about Twitter outside of North America and it may not be the best place to make specific international connections.

#9: “Facebook Fan Pages are email newsletters with smaller pictures.”

This is a great social media quote, but it doesn’t work in cultures where most businesses don’t use email newsletters.

But it can give forward thinking marketers in those countries a great idea to try out in their market. Many business successes originated from adapting and being an early adopter of what works well in one country to another country.

#10: “Social media isn’t inexpensive, it’s different expensive.”

For businesses in countries where social media is still an enigma, it can appear to be very expensive.  This is because it takes so much time simply to understand the value and figure out how they can use this to their advantage.

#11: “Social media creates kinship between companies and customers, and kinship equals purchase intent.”

The cultural differences in how people connect with each other and do business impacts how social media can be used for business.

On the one hand social media should prove to be a great tool for some businesses in connecting with potential customers. And on the other hand, there are cultures where social media’s role in getting sales will not be obvious.

#12: “Social media changes the relationship between companies and customers from master and servant, to peer to peer.”

Although I agree 100% with this social media quote, in some cultures it’s very difficult to create “peer to peer” relationships without meeting people in person.

In some international markets, it may be possible to a certain extent and prove to be helpful, but it won’t be easy. And in these cultures social media localization is a necessity.

#13: “Activate your fans, don’t just collect them like baseball cards.”

As an international marketer this is one of my favorite social media quotes.  Social media makes it easy to connect with an international audience, but are you doing anything with these connections?

I meet many business owners who say they want to develop their international business, but don’t know where to start.  Social media can be a great starting point to learn more about your international markets. But it involves putting in the effort to take those social media connections further.

#14: “Social media is about people, not logos.”

This social media quote can help all businesses. In countries where social media is not used extensively for businesses it’s easy to miss this. And it’s also why social media can be valuable within an international communication campaign.

#15: “Every company is its own TV station, magazine, and newspaper.”

This is another of my favorite social media quotes because it represents opportunities for businesses interested in reaching international audiences.  It’s not easy and there are limitations, but social media gives you platforms to connect with international markets and get feedback. It’s a great international market research tool when used strategically.

All businesses with North American clients or wanting to develop there must use social media… and it’s surprising to see how many of them still not using the fantastic communication tools social media gives them.

#16: “Social media allows big companies to act small again.”

I love international business development tools and this is what social media can be for many companies.

#17: “Passion is the gasoline of social media.”

This quote reminds me of how Clotaire Rapaille refers to the American culture as being adolescent in his book The Culture Code.  The capacity of this nation to use passion as a driver is wonderful to watch in action.  But it also makes me wonder if something else will fuel social media in other cultures.

#18: “You must fight social media fire with social media water.”

This is a great quote and leads to another one: “You must adapt social media to work well in different cultures.”

Now, It’s Your Turn

• How do you adjust your social media for international audiences?
• What cross-cultural challenges have you encountered using social media?
• What’s your favorite social media quote for international markets?

Please leave your comments below.

More on Cross-Cultural Social Media

• How to Connect Globally With Social Media
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Cross-Cultural Blunder On Latest Facebook Change
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

18 Great Social Media Quotes With An International Perspective

Events

You’ll probably notice quite a few tweets and Facebook chatter about an event called Sugartone, the Sweet Business Blogging contest.

The Sugartone Sweet Business Blogging Contest is organized by BizSugar, the social bookmarking site for business articles, and Bloggertone the business bloggers community and it starts Monday March 15th.

Before telling you more about Sugartone, let me share with you why I’m involved.

BizSugar

My blog readers know that I’m always business focused.

Even when I talk about the soft people skills involved in developing strong cross-cultural skills, it’s always with a business focus in mind.

And even though I do a lot of social networking, all of my online presence is business related. I don’t have anything embarrassing online to hide.

This is why I appreciate BizSugar which is a social bookmarking site for business articles.  It’s a refreshing change compared to the rudeness or “snarky” comments encountered on other social bookmarking platforms.

The community on BizSugar is filled with like-minded professionals.  I even use it to develop my business network. And I enjoy the community there so much that I use it as a news reader and write a weekly review of the articles I find inspiring there for international business.

Bloggertone

I enjoy networking with the Irish social media community because so many of the Irish businesses are passionate about developing internationally.  Unfortunately most Irish companies need to generate international business to survive.  And as I’m also passionate about international business, and I enjoy their energy.  So I network with a number of Irish business folk online.

This is how I came to know Bloggertone which only launched a few months ago. And their growth has been fantastic. I really appreciate the strong community feeling in this blogging community. It’s a pleasure to network with them because they understand how to be social.

Bringing Both Business Communities Together

On the one hand you have a great community of professionals sharing their expertise by publishing articles on Bloggertone, and on the other hand you have another great community of professionals providing social recognition for business articles.

It was only a question of time before these two communities decided to do something together to help business professionals marketing their expertise online.

Sugartone

So, what is Sugartone?

Sugartone is the Sweet Business Blogging Contest for busy professionals to win $6921 in prizes to help them improve their marketing and generate more business.

It’s free to enter, easy for everyone to participate and there are lots of chances to win prizes.

Here are the 2 different ways you can participate in the Sugartone Sweet Business Blogging Contest:

• Write an original business article writer with a great title
• Vote and comment on the business articles submitted for the contest

There are 10 winners for the Top 10 Titles and 10 winners for the Top 10 Commenters

It’s that easy to enter the Sugartone Sweet Business Blogging Contest, so go check it out here

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Sugartone: The Sweet Business Blogging Contest

Cross-Cultural Social Media

I recently wrote about how our cultural differences effect how we use social media platforms from other countries and cultures.

There is a video by Erik Qualman that is popular online right now – it gives 30 different stats about the growth of social media.
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• Read the original article: Statistics Show Social Media Is Bigger Than You Think
• Read my comments on this video when it first came out: “Cross-Cultural Competence & International Skills” Posterous page
• Read the stats that Mashable highlighted.

Erik did a great job on this video and I will certainly be reading his new book “Socialnomics“. But I was not the only one with an international profile that found these statistics thought-provoking with regards to cross-cultural differences and how these will impact the evolution of social media.

Cultural Differences In Buying

Here is a quote from this video that really stood out to me:

In the near future, we will no longer search for products and services… they will find us via social media

The trouble here is that the US has a culture of consumerism.  Different cultures have different approaches to buying things. The examples of consumer differences in the US are numerous.

• The pull to keep up with the Jone’s or to buy everything shiny has a unique strength in the US.
• Many Americans think nothing of living on credit.

Cultural Differences In Selling

Here is another quote from this video:

Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like David Ogylvy. Listening first, selling second

Again, there is no question that businesses need to adapt their sales methods to the new consumer profile created by the web.  But there are too many fundamental cultural differences for one sales method to work well across cultures.

Cultural Complexities In Social Evolution

And then these statistics and the questions they raise remind me of the book “Megatrends Europe” by Adjiedj Bakas.  These new social media insights are only part of the picture. Other factors will also come into play. One obvious factor is:

• The change in demographics that many countries are going through will have a big impact on social media.

Erik Qualman’s Social Media Revolution video raises questions with regards to international social media and how different countries will use social media in the future.  As the social web brings us closer to each other, will there be a bigger cultural divide on social media in the future?  I would love to hear your thoughts, questions and remarks.

• How do you think the current trends in social media will effect international social media?
• Which cultures will listen to social media when making buying decisions?
• Will the social media trend of listening first and selling second impact different cultures in the same way?

More on Cross-Cultural Social Media

• How to Connect Globally With Social Media
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Cross-Cultural Blunder On Latest Facebook Change
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing
• Ethnic Origins On Social Media

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution

Social Media In International Web Marketing

Lately, I have had quite a few requests about how I “do” social media.  You see, there are quite a few case studies and examples of big companies using social media successfully.  But social media success stories from small businesses are hard to find.

As a small business owner, I know that this is probably because they are busy.  Small business owners are busy in general… and when you add the activities you need to carry out a successful social media marketing plan, that is a mighty long day.

The Social Media Hype

I have heard a few other comments though.  Some people feel there is a lot of hype around social media and that there are actually very few businesses doing something on social media.

Yes, there is a lot of hype about social media.

First you need to separate the talk about social media for the affiliate marketers and the talk about social media for offline businesses and online coaches and consultants.

Once you do this, most businesses still have a hard time:

• Sorting through this hype
• Understanding what social media can bring them
• Adapting to the social media mindset

All web marketing boils down to bringing traffic through your online hub.  This is usually your blog or website.  And then directing people to your sales landing pages.

Social media also helps to bring traffic to your online hub… with a difference.

Social Networking

The real difference between web marketing and social media is that social media is all about networking.  People networking.

Social media does not bring traffic to your blog or your website.  It is the social relationships that you form on the social media platforms that create the curiosity to get to know you better.

New People Skills

The social networking on social media platforms requires good people skills.  The social media platforms is a place for not old-school sales and marketing.  It is a place to get to know people in a more informal setting.

Some people believe that those who understood the dynamics of social media today will be in the best position to adapt to the future.  This is also another reason behind the hype.

The bad news is that the social media networking of today may morph into something different. And this means there is even more pressure to pick up these new people skills.

How Can You Sort Through The Social Media Hype And Get More Business?

This is the question many businesses are struggling with today.

Although I do not have a definitive answer to this question, I do think I have a key.

To pick up the new people skills:

• Simply to take action.  Jump in.  Breath. Give yourself time and you will pick up these new skills.

Social media involves improving certain communication and networking skills.  You need to get in there to pick up those skills.

Businesses Need To Find Their  ”Thing”

Beyond the new people skills, I think that social media needs to be personalized.  Humanized.  It is a business-to-people environment.

There are no formulas for success. The social media strategy that works for one hotel will not work the same way for another one.

Social media is communication and networking and the question is

• What are you communicating?
• What is the one thing your business has that is different?
• Why will people want to talk to you on social media?
• What will they want to talk to you about?

All businesses are different.

• They have different people working for them.
• They appeal to their clients in different ways.

All of this comes out in social media.

Some people can think of their one “thing” as a value proposition, or unique selling proposition, or an elevator speech.  But on social media you really need to be able to say your “thing” on a few words.  And it has to convey the essence of what you offer.  I think rules about what your “thing” is are not a good idea.  That is why I have used the word “thing”

Communicate This “Thing” To People On Social Media

There is miracle solution on social media to bring in clients.  It’s just another communication platform with extra powerful networking features that is in a customer driven environment.   This means that you need to learn:

• How your prospective clients respond to what you say on this platform
• How they want to connect with you on this particular platform
• What communication strategy you can have build, maintain and improve trust, credibility and good overall customer experience to make this a powerful networking tool for your business

And there are no fill in the blank answers.

Only you can find the best solution for your business, because you have the relationship with your clients.

• And you have your “thing”

Successful Social Media For Businesses

Some businesses have a better defined “thing” than others.  Some businesses will do better with social media than others simply because they stay focused the message they convey and go out and connect with people.  Social media success depends on:

• Getting your business strategy right in the first place.  You either have a business model that works, or you don’t.  You either have a market for your products, or you don’t.  And you either know what your one special “thing” is, or you don’t. Social media success starts here.
• Taking the time to connect with people on social media.  Use your people skills.  Make the connection.  Listen.  Respond.  Network.

This is how businesses get beyond the hype and use social media to develop your business.  And these steps are critical if you want to connect with with foreign markets through social media.

• How much hype do you think there is about social media for business?
• Where do you start to sift through the hype around social media for business?
• How can businesses see through the hype around social media?

More on Social Media In International Web Marketing

• How Do You Use Social Media For Business?
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype
• It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing
• How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?
• 12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Connecting With People On Twitter
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Likability For International And Social Media Communication
• New Marketing Taints Old Networking Tactics
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research
• International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype

Social Media In International Web Marketing

One of the important keys to successful web marketing is to remember that it is not about the tools or the platforms.  Your business strategy needs to be about connecting with people.

Online players come and go.

• Remember even Google was not around 10 year ago
• New social media platforms seem to pop up every week

Two things happened recently to remind me of this wisdom.

• Twitter is a big part of my online marketing plan.  And it had operating problems for a few days last week.  It did not really effect my Twitter access, but TweetLater did stop functioning for a few days.  This is the service I use for Twitter alerts and to schedule tweets.
• FriendFeed was bought by Facebook.

What Will My Favorite Online Platform Be Next Year?

Facebook buying FriendFeed is very sad news for me.  I love FriendFeed.  I have become too attached to a social media platform.  It is the haven I use to find out what is going on, without the spam and other noise pollution.

I use FriendFeed like others use their Google Reader.  The difference is that I much prefer reading news on FriendFeed.  It is so easy to put people into different folders and read things on the same topic.

Even if Facebook makes things “granular”, everything is set up where you have to turn off the “noise buttons” or block the applications individually.  There are just too many applications.  Too many friends.  I spend too much time clicking buttons on Facebook to maintain my preferred settings.

I dread to think of what will happen to FriendFeed, and I doubt it will remain the “noise-free” environment it is today.  I must admit, I simply have no faith in a company which hides the access to their must-have fan pages under an obscure link called “advertising”.

Facebook does not know how to make things logical and easy for me to use.  FriendFeed did.

One of the ways to go off track on social media is to focus on the tools and platforms.

In Social Media It’s Not B2B or B2C – It’s B2P

When setting up a social media strategy, some people ask questions about the differences in social media strategies between B2B and B2C companies.

This is not a good question.  It shows that people are still thinking in “old-school” practices. They have a learning curve to go through before they will be able to come up with social media marketing with real business results.

Social media is about connecting with people.  Web marketing is a Business-to-People environment.

• People like to connect with people
• People like to do business with people
• People sell to other people
• Social media is about connecting with people

This is why your company needs to find a “human” face to present itself on social media.  Marketers talk about “humanizing” companies.  Corporate speak, big logos and traditional marketing practices are not appropriate on social media.

Why B2P  Companies Win Online

The Business-to-People environment is the connection to understand how to go about multichannel marketing.

First, as a consumer it is easy to see how you use the web in your buying decision process:

• Searching Google for information
• Comparing data online
• Listening to what friends say on social media
• Remembering the brands in fun videos

We all connect with brands online in different ways and with different channels and tools. But the conversation is relevant for each one of these tools and platforms.

Second, once you understand that your business needs to talk to other people as a person, you will discover the web marketing strategy that is right for your company.

Businesses need to make this mental transition and adapt a Business-to-People approach.  This is how you will be able to figure out what to say on each different social media platform.

B2P Also Improves International Web Marketing

As soon as you approach your online presence with a B2P mindset, international marketing becomes a cinch.  You are no longer tackling large unknown markets at a distance.  You are simply connecting with people, one at a time.

Of course, you will need to collect the information you gather from each of these international encounters.  And you still have to do foreign market research and analysis.  This is afterall what international business is all about.  But these first Business-to-People encounters are much easier.

• How does your favorite online platform influence your company’s web marketing?
• Do you think you will use FriendFeed more or less now that Facebook has bought it?
• What Business-to-People international marketing do you do online?

More on Social Media In International Web Marketing

• How Do You Use Social Media For Business?
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype
• It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing
• How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?
• 12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Connecting With People On Twitter
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Likability For International And Social Media Communication
• New Marketing Taints Old Networking Tactics
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research
• International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing

Social Media For Business

The last few days I have written a few posts on social media.  This subject has been on my mind recently because an old client has asked me to make a product specifically on social media for small businesses.  His clients are small businesses and it is easy for him to find:

• Success stories about how big companies use social media
• Social media for the affiliate marketers and get rich quick crowd
• Information on how to set up social media platforms

But there is not much available to help the small business owner find out how to use social media for his business.

I run a small business in France and use social media to connect with international markets. Here is a link where you can read about my first social media success on Twitter.

In my recent articles here on this blog, I explained how I got quick results with social media through strategic communication, the role my cross-cultural skills played and the social media tactics I use.

Today I read an article on Business.gov asking for small business to share their social media successes and failure.  The questions in this article bring my recent articles into perpective.   So I thought I would share the answers here with you.

What is it about your use of Twitter, or blogging, or Facebook, or video, or any other combination of social media tools and tactics ,that you believe makes them actually work for your small business?

Results come from a great strategy. This means strategic content. You also need to learn as much as you can about your clients on these platforms and how the synergy works to get your strategy right.

The people who do not get it are usually lacking in these areas. You can read more about my experience here:

• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• 12 Social Media Tactis In My Marketing Plan

What does not work?

Inadequate people skills. If you want business results, you must learn good people skills without bringing in too much personal baggage.

I encounter many people who do not realize how much they let their personal likes and dislikes interfere with their business objectives on social media. Some people simply have a very hard time separating the “personal” from the “business” while still connecting with people on a more social level.

Wrong business objectives on social media. Another big problem for businesses is that they do not realize that they need to adapt their business goals to find the right fit for social media and then adapt this for each social media platform.  The difficulty for most businesses is that these objectives will evolve as they learn more about the people they want to connect with on social media.  The variables include:

• How the business might want to connect with people
• Everyone is evolving on social media, expectations and what is acceptable or appropriate also evolves

This means you need to be flexible  in adapting business goals or objectives for social media. And it also means that you need to jump in and experience the social nature of social media before you can find the right business objectives for your business.

How do you manage your time around all this?

First of all, I do not get into fancy tools. I set up my monitoring system to fit in with my usual business routine.  This is absolutely critical.  Otherwise I would not get anything done.  It is also one of the things that helps me to stay business focused.

A clear strategy also helps me to decide what I do where.  For example:

• Create content for my blog, Twitter and Posterous
• Use social bookmarking for online networking and to find useful resources
• Use social media RSS feeds for a wider social presence

A clear strategy also helps me to:

• Decide what content I put on each platform
• Re-purpose my content
• Use links to third party content
• How to use each platform to connect with people
• Where to deepen relationships

Everything is fairly flexible.

• Search never gets sidestepped, but often only takes a few minutes a day and is integrated with my first morning coffee routine.
• My blog is a daily top priority, it rarely gets bumped off the daily to-do list.
• But the other daily and weekly activities do move around a bit to fit my schedule.  This is why I have clearly identified strategic small tasks that are easy to do in small doses throughout the day.

I use social media during my “down” times throughout the day, and have regular patterns, so it is easy to get back on track after busy spells elsewhere.

Any social media activity that requires a large chunk of time is scheduled for a Saturday morning.  And things do get postponed to another Saturday morning to fit my family priorities.

How do you use social media for your business?

• How do you manage your time on social media?
• What social media tactics work best for your small business?
• What do you struggle with on social media as a small business?

Please share your thoughts and comments below.  I think that all small businesses can benefit from hearing what others do and what works for them.

More on Social Media In International Web Marketing

• How Do You Use Social Media For Business?
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype
• It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing
• How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?
• 12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Connecting With People On Twitter
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Likability For International And Social Media Communication
• New Marketing Taints Old Networking Tactics
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research
• International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?

Social Media For Business

I came across a blog post recently on 10 Blended Social Media Marketing Strategies A Company Might Want To Consider.  This caught my eye.  I like looking at specific social media tactics other businesses use.  So I decided to show you what I do with a similar breakdown with roles and time spent.

These social media strategies are listed in the order of time dedicated to each of them.

1 – Personal Blog

Role:

• Main hub for my online presence
• Create a professional online presence for my unique skill set
• Provide people with tips and useful resources to build cross-cultural and international skills

Reason: To make it easy to find me

Time: between 1-3 hours every day

2 – International Strategy Blog

Role:

• Create a base for a membership site
• Provide businesses with an easy strategy for international business development

Reason: This complements my personal blog very well, but I cover more serious business topics here.

Time: between 30-60 minutes most days and more depending on membership site development

3 – Search

Role:

• Monitoring my name, blogs and business markets
• Business intelligence gathering
• Up-to-date monitoring of cross-cultural and international topics with a focus on both business and skill development
• Collecting useful resources for my personal blog

Reason: I do not know what I would do without this search.  It is the first thing I do every day.  It really is about business intelligence.

Tools: Google alerts and other keyword search tools.  This includes FriendFeed as I use this to stay current.  And I just started using BizSugar to monitor small business topics.  Some of the folks there are obviously doing the same thing I do, but for small business topics.  So it is a great place to look for current quality articles on subjects of interest for small businesses.

Time: 30-60 minutes every day

4 – Twitter

Role:

• Create strategic conversations on my core topics
• Under the radar marketing
• Build credibility
• Up-to-date monitoring of what is going on around cross-cultural and international topics with a focus on both business and skill development
• Collect useful resources for my personal blog
• Network with key players in the field of cross-cultural and international business
• Identify key sources of referrals for my business
• Market feedback
• Connect with people I would never meet otherwise and who are important for my business networking.

Tools: TweetLater alerts emailed hourly & scheduled tweets.

Time: 30-60 minutes most days

5 – Social Networking

Role:

• Develop a strong international business network
• Identify good referral sources for my business
• Fundamental activity for developing my business.

Tools: Commenting on other blogs, engaging in conversations, the phone & Skype

Time: 15-60 minutes most days

6 – Social Bookmarking

Role:

• Collect useful resources for my personal blog
• Deepen actions in social networking
• Strengthen my online presence and visibility
• Find appropriate communities to establish social proof

Tools: I test different platforms regularly.  And have just committed to strengthening several of my social bookmarking profiles as a personal investment.

My favorite social bookmarking platforms are: BizSugar, StumbleUpon, Mixx and Delicious. I am also currently dabbling in Reddit, Sphinn and Tip’d.

Time: 15-30 minutes most days

7 – Community Participation

Role:

• Create a presence in specific communities linked to my business objectives

Tools: A few select groups on small business, social media, sales, web marketing

Time: 15 minutes most days

8 – Posterous

Role:

• The social networking platform of social media
• To share fun and interesting things that I find online that do not fit on my blogs
• To share guest posts I do elsewhere
• To connect with people in a social environment without the gimmicks and noise of Facebook

Tools: A sub-domain on my personal blog

Time: 15 minutes most days

9 – Facebook

Role:

• To be present in a favorite social hangout for some of my readers
  
• To share fun and interesting things that I find online that do not fit on my blogs or Posterous

Tools: A profile page, a group and two fan pages

Time: 15 minutes most days

10 – LinkedIn

Role:

• To be present in a favorite networking hangout for some of my readers
  

Tools: Nothing extra right now, but soon to use the SlideShare application on LinkedIn

Time: 5 minutes most days

11 – Community Development

Role:

• Sounding board and idea development with like-minded people with strong international or cross-cultural profiles.
• To share fun and interesting things that I find online that do not fit on my blogs or Posterous

Tools: Ning group

Time: Heavy front end time investment underway

12 – Microsite Development

Role:

• To increase awareness of individual service offerings

Tools: WordPress

Time: Heavy front end time investment underway

Strategic Content

I cannot talk about all of these social media tactics without mentioning the need for a strong content strategy.  It is this strategic content that makes everything work.   Social media is based on content marketing:

• All of the content is there to drive traffic to my blogs which act as a central hub.
• Content is written to bring this traffic towards the central hub.

And content is used strategically:

• Content is adapted to the social media platform
• Content is re-purposed in alignment with the connection made on that social media platform
• All content is created within my overall business strategy

The Results

The important thing to remember is that all of these social media tactics work together.  The synergy of everything combined is what brings clients to my business.

Although future clients find me through my social media presence, they rarely leave comments on any of the social media platforms.  People usually contact me directly.

Social media for business is a process of getting to know our clients. Our businesses are different.  Our clients tastes can change, and they can be very different on different social media platforms.  People will continue to evolve in how they use social media.

These are the 12 social media tactics that work well for my business today. I usually spend a couple of hours a day on social media. But these tactics work well for me, because I can adapt the time spent to the time I have available.

You have to know that I did not start out with so many tactics.  The first one was a blog, then a second one.  And I spent many long months defining the different audiences for both of these blogs. Next came Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.  And it was observing the synergy that happened with this little group that I slowly expanded onto other platforms.

How do I manage to do it all?

• Re-purposing my own content
• Actively sharing third party links
• Creating social network friendships

Although these tactics work well for me they may not work for your business in the same way they work for mine. And I would adjust my tactics for any other audience.As social media changes I may find myself using different tactics in the future.

What works for your business? Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

• What social media tactics do you use to connect with your clients?
• How many social media platforms do you use to market your business?
• Which social media platforms do your clients like to use?

More on Social Media In International Web Marketing

• How Do You Use Social Media For Business?
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype
• It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing
• How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?
• 12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Connecting With People On Twitter
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Likability For International And Social Media Communication
• New Marketing Taints Old Networking Tactics
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research
• International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan