International Sales Professions

It’s easy to tell it’s the end of the school year because I’ve had several requests for international career guidance. As it happens, I recently attended my eldest daughters graduation from University and was lucky to be visiting her through the hiring process while she landed her first “real” job.

This reminds me of how starry-eyed life can be when you’re young and how this contrasts with the sometimes harsh world of international business.  But first let me answer the two latest requests for international career advice here.

Cross-Cultural Career

One reader asked me for advice on how to enter into a “cross-cultural career”. To me this seems like a bit of an odd question because cross-cultural skills are essentially strong people skills and can be used in many different careers. I don’t think there is really a “cross-cultural” industry which includes all “cross-cultural careers”.

As many of our country’s demographics change drastically in the next few decades it seems as if most of our working environments will become cross-cultural if they aren’t already so. And we’ll all need strong cross-cultural skills.

Cross-cultural professions therefore usually have dual competency: one traditional core business competency and a cross-cultural competency or what some people refer to as a “soft skill” or a “people skill”. So, cross-cultural coaches should have a core competency related to personal training. And cross-cultural marketers are marketers who apply cross-cultural competency to their trade for stronger marketing.

My advice is to focus on these two aspects in parallel. Learn a profession and build up your cross-cultural competency. This is how you’ll add on the cross-cultural dimension.

International Sales Career

Another reader asked for advice on how to start an international sales career. Well, it really does come down to… looking… and being a good fit to fill the job.

My advice is to jump in and work hard at it.

Start From The Bottom

And I think this leads to the biggest problem for those who want to immediately land a full blown cross-cultural or international career right out of school. There are no short cuts. You have to start wherever you can and this can mean:

• Taking any job you can get with cross-cultural or international exposure to develop your skills
• Picking up your bags and finding opportunities elsewhere

It may sound daunting when you are settled in a lifestyle you are familiar with, but you can only truly acquire cross-cultural and international skills by leaving your comfort zones. And for most people, it takes time. You can’t pick up these skills by reading a book or following someone else’s recipe for success.

Learn The Personal Skills

The work you need to do and the time it takes will depend on your own personal makeup and baggage. And it really takes work on a very personal level. You’ll be confronted with processing and digesting things about yourself you can’t begin to imagine because doing business with different cultures raises all sorts of personal questions.

It’s only after you’ve truly learned about yourself that you’ll begin to develop strong cross-cultural and international skills.

Give Yourself Time

Look for the opportunities around you to learn more about different people and get the most out of these opportunities as you can. You may need quite a bit of time to be able to see things from another culture’s perspective.  Everyone is different and we all have our personal baggage that gets in the way of understanding others.

It’s easy to recognize strong cross-cultural skills in others. And you’ll probably find other opportunities open up as you gain more and more cultural competency.

Manage your career in parallel to building your personal skills, and you’ll end up with your dream job before you know it.  Have faith that employers will recognize in you the personal qualities and skills they need to get a job done that requires cross-cultural and international skills.

Now it’s your turn…

• What actions are you taking to develop your international career?
• How do you think cross-cultural competency will help your profession?
• What do you like most about your international career?

More on International Sales Professions:

• 12 Reasons Why International Selling Is Harder
• What Is An International Business Development Executive?
• What Is An International Sales Specialist?
• What Makes A Good International Sales Specialist

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International And Cross-Cultural Career Advice

International Business Development Strategy

Have you got a great idea for an international business? It’s not always easy to find specific how-to information for international business development and this is why I provide some international business resources here on this blog, simply to help others.

But this leads to my getting emails with all sorts of odd international business requests. You see, I only help businesses at the point of new market entry, which is a very specific moment of time in the process of creating an international business… more about that below.

This is why I thought I’d share with you here the 3 main reasons why I won’t be able to help you with your international business. Here they are.

#1: Export Business Model

• “My grandfather has a cement company in Japan and I want to import his products in the US”
• “We are in Turkey and sell industry-specific pipes to manufacturing plants all over the world”
• “We are based in Mexico and produce large scale artwork and want to sell directly to international buyers”

In short, these examples are all about exporting and importing products.  To put it bluntly, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you here.

To be perfectly honest, I find import and export a bit boring. I do find this easy enough to do, but it’s just not what I like doing.

Besides, it’s a waste of my particular skills which allow me to get a much deeper understanding of:

• What would make people from a different country buy your products or services
• How to get them to buy
• What you need to do to get more international sales.

This is how I help businesses to adapt their products, marketing and sales tactics to get more international sales.

Now, I do occasionally help export businesses with general tips to get unstuck. But I can only do this if there is a real business functioning in the background, and most of these requests are only based on an idea of exporting products into a new market. There’s no actual business up and running yet, so I can’t help them get unstuck if they haven’t even started.

I can’t help people with ideas simply because it’d take up too much of my time, cost too much money and my interests are at another level as you’ll see below.

Tip

Get on the phone and talk to the people listed on my international business resources. Find the international trade lists for your industry. Talk with the Trade Commissioner from your country’s embassy in the foreign country involved. Listen and follow up the advice you get.

That’s just a starting point.

You’ll probably need to travel and meet with the right people.  You’ll need to hustle and learn how to ask the right questions in the right places. You’ll also need to develop your business knowledge. Commit to doing this preliminary business research properly.

#2: Unclear Business Model

Some requests are so fuzzy I have no idea what industry is involved and cannot get a good picture of where the business is and even if there is a business involved at all.

Brainstorming international business ideas can be fun, and I do enjoy this from time to time, but you need to articulate your idea well to get any value out of a brainstorming session.

If you are having trouble conveying your idea to others, you need to work on it some more. You should ask yourself whether you have a business idea at all, and if there is a business model somewhere behind this idea and one you can take abroad.

I often hear from people who do not have a clear understanding of the business model for their international business.  This is usually a company which “does everything” and wants to develop their international business on the same scale. This fuzzy bunch of “everything” translated into a big nothing. This just isn’t going to work. You need to start with a very clear business model.

Tip

Strengthen your primary business first. Before thinking about developing your international business you need to get a clear understanding of what you do, why it works in your country, who you sell to and why.  It’s scary the number of business professionals who contact me who do not know this. How can you expect to take your business into a different culture if you don’t understand what it is in your own culture?

And how well does your business work? If your business isn’t working in your own country, what makes you think it’ll work in another country? If you haven’t been able to resolve the challenges in your own cultural environment, how will you be able to do so in a foreign cultural environment? Hone your business skills first.

#3: No Business Model

Here’s my favorite “international business” request which comes in frequently:

• “I have a book and want to get it published in many different foreign languages.”

A book is not a business model. I’m sorry I can’t help you.  

Tip

Your publisher can probably point you in the right direction.

Bonus Tip

If you don’t have the money to invest in a professional translation by a native speaker, living in his native country with specific industry knowledge on the topic of the book, then don’t bother.

Where I Help Businesses Get Faster International Sales

I help established businesses at their point of new market entry when they are connecting with their new international clients for the first time. I help them to adjust their international business development strategy based on the initial feedback from this first connection with a new market.  I get sales and marketing tactics fine-tuned to bring in results from a new culture enabling faster international market penetration.

I usually only intervene for the first 6-12 months of a new market entry with the aim to provide the best operational guide to get sales in the new international market. I get involved in the international sales and marketing as this is where my cross-cultural and international skills enable me to interpret the real market feedback and learn how to adapt business tactics for best results.

Risk when managing the unknown and risk in cultural blunders are critical factors when entering new markets. So I also coordinate with senior management and other key players to closely monitor the risk factor. It’s valuable for risk evaluation to have people with strong international and cross-cultural skills involved at both the operational level and at the decisional level.

I have extensive experience in new market entry in traditional international business environments and I also have a few years in new media for international business development.

New media is taking up most of my time now. And to further develop these skills I also take on a few clients to hone specific marketing tactics such as blog editing, social media promotion and online community building.

So, if you have a new international business idea:

You’ll need to:

• Get a clear understanding of your business model
• Do all of the preliminary research for your new international business.

Look at the links under the resource section to get you started. But you’ll still need to dig further and do the groundwork needed to start your international business.

When you’ve done all of this preliminary work, set up a company and are just beginning to make sales in your new international market you’ll probably find that you need to adjust your tactics. You’ll find that all of the research you’ve done is not quite right, things are taking longer than expected, you’re not getting the results you expected. You might even hit a barrier or two. What works on paper and looks good in research usually needs adaptation when you start your real business.

And this is where my particular set of skills and expertise can help you.

Now, over to you…

• Do you have a clear understanding of your international business markets?
• What are you doing to develop your business into new international markets?
• What are your favorite resources for international business research?

Please share your comments below.

More On International Business Development Strategy:

• 3 Reasons Why I Won’t Help Your International Business
• 5 Actions To Start Developing Your International Markets
• Action Strategy For International Business Development
• Aligning Your Questions To Build Your International Business
• Are People In Small Countries Better International Business Developers?
• Are You Outsourcing Too Much?
• Define International Business
• Global Or International Business?
• Is The Expense Of Foreign Travel Stopping You From Getting International Clients?
• Market Research For International Business Development
• New International Business Development Phase Today With The Right Marketing Mix
• Online Success? Study Traditional Paths To International Business Development For More
• Plans With Adaptability, Flexibility And Agility
• Small Businesses Need To Take Action To Uncover International Business Opportunities
• When Discrimination Is Useful In International Business

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

3 Reasons Why I Can’t Help Your International Business

International Links

Last week I found several interesting links on international social media and a few others for international business. I particularly enjoyed reading the first one in the list below: the Forbes article on the shift in trade routes. It’s a bit long but well worth reading.

International Business

• The Future Of Finance Shifts From West To East – Enjoyed reading this article by Michael Geoghegan of HSBC on how the CIVETS are joining the BRICs and why trade routes are changing. Are you seeing these changes?

Facebook Business Page on International Business:

International Marketing

• Why Did Paris Hilton Drop Her Guard In Brazil? – A look at how a beer company skilfully took culture into consideration to get the results they wanted. -

Facebook Business Page on International Marketing:

International Sales

• Negotiating With Chinese Companies. In Real Life – Here is a review of “When Chinese dreams meet the real world: Western negotiators in China need to keep their heads out of the clouds” by Andrew Hupert with great insights into negotiating in China.

Facebook Business Page on International Sales:

International Social Media

• StatCounter Global Stats – Have a look at this infograph comparing popularity of different social media platforms worldwide. You can also select world regions and see the differences there. It’s interesting to see how StumbleUpon does in North America compared to Europe. Like all social media stats, I wonder how accurate these are.
• Official Google Blog: Integrating virtual keyboards in Google search – Difficulty typing in foreign languages on your keyboards? Have a look at these virtual keyboards with different alphabets.
• 8 Social Media Strategies to Engage Multicultural Consumers – A great read by Jessica Carter from Technicultr. What other social media strategies would you use for multicultural audiences?
• Twitter analysis: Development organizations and their listening skills – Christian Kreutz has a look at social media strategies of a few development organizations. I’m interested in seeing how things evolve over the next few years. What about you?

Facebook Business Page on International Social Media:

Now It’s Your Turn

• What interesting links did you find recently?
• What do these international and cross-cultural links inspire for you?
• Which international link is your favorite?

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Links: Week 17 2010

International Links

I shared a number of interesting international and cross-cultural links last week on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s a quick summary.

Cross-Cultural Topics

• Ten things we have learnt about Africa - Some interesting stats here on different African countries.
• Investing in Foreign Land – this article brought up things I hadn’t thought about.
• A Popular U.S. Export, the $100 Bill - ”A big part of the demand comes from the use of American currency in stores and at street vendors in many countries, including some in which citizens have little faith in their own currencies.” An interesting look into the new $100 bill.
• Reverse Japan’s insularity - Are there less Japanese students abroad now?
• Eufeeds – over 1000 newspapers, updated every 20 minutes - An incredibly handy online international newspaper rack found via Adam Vincenzini

Facebook Business Page on Cross-Cultural Communication:

International Business

• Who Are America’s Exporters? - ”While forming the bulk of U.S. exporting companies, SMBs ship only a fraction of the value of U.S. exports.”
• Understanding Cultural Differences in Offshore Outsourcing - Here’s a look at cross-cultural challenges when outsourcing.

Facebook Business Page on International Business:

International Marketing

• What Was Tiger Woods Thinking? - Great points made by Elliot Polak of Textappeal (@CultureShocks on Twitter). Different cultures don’t have the same response to “personal scandals” of celebrities. It’s interesting how Nike played this out.

Facebook Business Page on International Marketing:

International Sales

• Size no barrier to export success - A look at how Australian small businesses are now selling more to China than to the European Union.

Facebook Business Page on International Sales:

International Social Media

• Skype By the Numbers: It’s Really Big - I use Skype daily and when I first started I lost lots of time dealing with French speaking North Africans who use Skype as a “dating chat tool” and who culturally take a long time getting to the point. I also notice how some people use Skype exactly like a phone, they just call whenever they see want to. … While others realize this tool is more than a traditional telephone when used in a new environment and send a Skype chat message first. What’s your experience of Skype as an international networking tool?
• How Tech Start-ups Like Foursquare and Meetup Are Trying to Overthrow Old Media - Several things stood out in the article, including adapting social media to different cultures within the same country and the lack of women in social media start ups. This is a bit long, but a good read. What stands out for you?

Facebook Business Page on International Social Media:

Now It’s Your Turn

• What interesting links did you find recently?
• What do these international and cross-cultural links inspire for you?
• Which international link is your favorite?

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Links: Week 16 2010

International Links

Here are the international and cross-cultural links found last week.

Cross-Cultural Topics

• Baidu Integrates Real-Time Translation into its Browser - Putting the Google/China story aside, this is proof the tools for International Marketing are getting much more interesting.
• Asia’s Expensive Restaurants - Part of the fun when travelling is trying the local food. I wonder what extra these restaurants have to offer.
• For Japanese Women, The Past Is The Latest Fad – Here’s an interesting read on Japanese culture today.
• Globish, Technology, and the Plight of the Japanese Language - A very interesting read on how Globish impacts other languages. Grab a coffee, there are lots of videos too.

Facebook Business Page on Cross-Cultural Communication:

International Business

• The India Way Of Doing Business - This is a fascinating read even if you are interested in doing business in a culture other than India. It highlights the cultural differences in doing business.

Facebook Business Page on International Business:

International Marketing

• Cross-cultural Communication Strategy – the 4 Building Blocks - Read Amadou M. Sall’s article on how to build a cross-cultural marketing strategy with a Global Mindset, Global Knowledge, Global Cross-Cultural Skills & Global Business Skills.
• One Piece Localization or Censorship? - Click through and watch this 4 minute video to see an example of a Japanese anime cartoon localized for the American market. What do you think of this?

Facebook Business Page on International Marketing:

International Sales

• A special report on America’s economy: Export or die - Do you think American businesses will need to rely less on selling to Americans and more on selling abroad?
• History of American Sales Culture - Here’s an interesting look at the American sales culture by Alen Majer. If you have insights about other sales cultures please let me know.
• SarahLacy.com: My Favorite Books about Emerging Markets - What are your favorite books on emergying marketing?

Facebook Business Page on International Sales:

International Social Media

• In Canada, .ca is replacing .com - Here in France most French websites use .fr What’s the trend in your country?
• Multilingual SEO: Things to Remember - This is a good read on Search Engine Journal to get you started with multilingual SEO. Do you have any other tips to add?
• Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Working with multi-regional websites - Read this for guidelines on how to structure multilingual blogs and websites to reach different markets.
• How To Add Languages That You Speak To Google Chrome - Here’s a useful tip for multilingual Chrome users.
• What translation means for SEO – Blogs & Content - Here’s a look at the difference of translation for SEO and for advertising or marketing. What do you think of the translation solely for SEO purposes? We don’t usually do it in English. But it seems some websites need it to reach global audiences fast.
• Cause for concern – The Personal videos Campaign - Here’s a video case study of how an Israeli TV show used free social media as its only source of publicity. The results: 4.7% rating for the season debut and 1,800 mentions in blogs, social networks & newspapers in Israel.
  Do you have any other video social media case studies to share?

Facebook Business Page on International Social Media:

Now It’s Your Turn

• What about you? Did you find any interesting links recently?
• What do these international and cross-cultural links inspire for you?
• Which international link is your favorite?

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Links: Week 15 2010

International Links

Here’s another weekly roundup of all of the useful and interesting links I share on Facebook and Twitter.

Cross-Cultural Topics

• The rich cultural heritage that is Germany - Here’s the story behind the Gretschen Question and a look at German cultural heritage.
• 7 Habits of a Happy Expat - A good read to make a successful international move.
• A List of Free International Education Resources - David Comp over at the International Higher Education Consulting Blog shares his resources for information on international education. Do you have any others to add?
• How To Avoid Burnout Learning Japanese - Tempted to take up Japanese? Rainbowhill Language Lab advises to make a long term commitment.

Facebook Business Page on Cross-Cultural Communication:

International Business

• Taking Your Small Business International - Are you a small business and need some help in understanding the legal terms involved in doing international business? Here’s a short summary to help.
• Going Global: Is an Online Strategy Enough? - Here’s a good read on Bloggertone about remembering your whole marketing mix when using International Marketing online. I particularly like the warning about not jumpint into website localization too soon. How are you integrating your international web marketing with your offline marketing activities?
• Five myths about China’s economy - Here’s a look at some of the misperceptions about China and it’s impact on America and the rest of the world.
• Setting Up Your China Rep Office. What It Really Takes. - This is an easy read, good if you are just beginning to think of opening an office in China.

Facebook Business Page on International Business:

International Marketing

• DR4WARD: Wish I Thought of That (Ideas From Around The World Worth Sharing) - There is a good selection of videos here to get you thinking about international marketing. Which one is your favorite?

Facebook Business Page on International Marketing:

International Social Media

• Social Networking Habits Vary Considerably Across Asia-Pacific Markets - I just read something yesterday about how Malaysians need to empathasize with people and then I came across this press release by comScore. It’s really interesting to look at social networking stats with a deeper understanding of each culture. Are you surprised by any of this info?
• Have Indian IT companies missed the Social Media bus? - The author here notes the lack of use of social media by large IT companies in India. There are some interesting questions here and it highlights the cultural differences in being social.

Facebook Business Page on International Social Media:

Now It’s Your Turn

• What about you? Did you find any interesting links recently?
• What do these international and cross-cultural links inspire for you?
• Which international link is your favorite?

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Links: Week 14 2010

Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews

You may have already seen the list of cross-cultural and international people I recommend following on Twitter, if not be sure to have a look.  Many people share great cross-cultural insights in their Twitter feeds.

Below are the recommendations made by 21 people during my cross-cultural Twitter interviews.

Cross-Cultural People to Follow on Twitter

1. If you’re interested in China: @leslieforman – Anne Fox is an interesting lady so I’ve suggested she starts Tweeting about what she knows about this field etc @foxdenuk – @deborahswallow
2. @culturalworld Peter Fordos is a cross cultural trainer and I will be keeping an eye on his tweets – @ohh_la_la
3. Again, don’t really like picking favorites eg @TransDomo @intercultureNet @AAAtranslation @ExpatCoachMegan are good tweeps- @HoeferleConsult
4. You introduced to the discussion topic, so @CindyKing and friends like @HoeferleConsult – @dkiernan
5. Out of many a great person to follow is Olivier Blanchard @thebrandbuilder, a Business & Brand strategist living in Greenville, SC, born in France & tweeting about social media marketing & more – @transdomo
6. The person I’d recommend for cross-cultural tweets is @DeborahSwallow – @culturematters
7. Besides you? Difficult task… @RevezNexus is a Spano-French in London w shows how culture is crucial in 2.0 world – @tdebaillon
8. One cross-cultural person to follow is @CultureShocks Elliot Polak shares great cultural insights & case studies – @DR4Ward
9. I like @ChinaBlogTweets; @ExpMyCulture; @christinelu and of course my co-author Yang-MayOoi @fusionview – @XCulture
10. I don’t think I could name only one. But @classyadele is very smart. – @jackyan
11. That’s another tough question. I talk with so many people living here and there around the globe. But… @mayafrost She moved the family down to Buenos Aires, and has written a book about her experiences. Great insight/info. – @CotterHUE
12. I like Carmen ( @newdemographic ); she’s always interesting; and I recently discovered @CultureShocks via your list – so tx – @DoreenatDMS
13. I like @collazoprojects – US / Latam focus and international outlook – @pocketcultures
14. The Dalai Lama @OHHDKInfo ~he reminds us that we are all responsible for each other; to be kind for humankind – @psitutor
15. @culturalxroads , @vesnpalmer , @maelguillemot , @Travelwriticus , @GotSaga , @pplambert , @ralphtalmont , @Klearchos + all in the list: @culturalrealms/multicultural – @culturalrealms
16. One of my favorites is @suzannewhitby She possess exceptional cross-cultural skills. – @mintblogger
17. @chrisgarrett Bio: “Web geek and co-author of ProBloggerBook.com” He did a great podcast interview w/ @hdbbstephen. – @lyceum
18. I would recommend @HoeferleConsult. He works w/Volkswagen in Cleveland, Tennessee. Demonstrates the changing South(ern USA). – @SeanJamesOliver
19. I like following @bghansel & her blog “Intercultural Eyes” – @DavidComp
20. Oh, there are so many great people to follow! Here are a few I really like: @langwitches, @mscofino, @hcrompton — wonderful educators who are living the cross-cultural life. @MBAintheUSA – she writes for incoming int’l students, @chrisguillebeau – traveling to every country in the world – @CateBrubaker
21. In addition to the cross-cultural people I recommend here, I also like reading @openculture – @CindyKing

Who do you recommend following on Twitter for cross-cultural topics?

• Do you have any favorites in the people listed above?
• Who else do you follow for cross-cultural insights?

Please share your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

21 Cross-Cultural People to Follow on Twitter

Twitter

Here is my article which was first published on Social Media Examiner:

Posterous is a social media platform where it’s very easy to post just about anything—photos, videos and words. You can set up your account and publish content simply by sending an email. Yes it’s that simple!

Posterous is known as the most “social” networking place of social media. It’s also the ideal solution for sharing content that’s too long for a tweet and too short for a blog post.

There are many different reasons and motivations to create a free Posterous account. Let’s have a look at the 7 most common reasons for businesses to use Posterous.

#1: Can Replace Your Blog

When a regular blog is not for you, Posterous can give you similar advantages to a regular blog without the work of setting up a blog and maintaining it. All you have to do is send in your content by email. It’s that simple. This is why Posterous is great for lifestreaming.

This can be a good starting point for businesses hesitating to create their own blog. Posterous can provide a place to learn more about social media and develop the right content strategies.

#2: Fills a Gap Between Blogging and Microblogging

Posterous is an easy way to publish more content to reach different audiences. Steve Rubel says, “I still see a big space in between blogs and Twitter that allows you to have a hub and spoke strategy and post in multiple formats.”

And as Ted Villa says, “Posterous is clean and nimble, simple to use and a great tool in any organization’s social media toolkit. It’s a great way to extend a client’s footprint online and increase links to their site as well as their social media sites.”

This can fill a gap in your presence on social media.

#3: Can Improve Your Visibility

Posterous can help you improve your visibility in search results in two ways.

First, you have more updates for search engines to find. If you like to share photos and videos online, Posterous makes it very easy to do this (see reason #7 below for more details). And with photo and video publishing made this easy, you end up sharing more content to increase your online search results.

Second, you can publish your Posterous content on your own website. Unlike other social media platforms, you can set up your Posterous account on your own URL. This means you can set up your Posterous account on:

• Your own domain name separate from your company website
• Or even use a sub-domain of your current website or blog

This is something important to keep in mind as the social media landscape changes over time.

#4: Gives You Another Voice on Social Media

Many business professionals also use Posterous to post content that would be off topic on their main website or blog and engage with a different audience online.

Posterous provides an easy venue to share different “social” content. A separate platform makes it easy to create an additional point of connection with your audience, with a different style, to engage different mindsets. As Debbie Weil says, “There are distinct differences in how you talk or write for the different platforms. Simply put, you write in a different ‘voice’ and, generally, talk about different topics.”

This makes it easy to reach out to different audiences.

#5: Makes it Easy for Groups to Publish Content

Posterous allows you to set up group accounts too. This means you can set up:

• Posterous pages for individual team members
• Collaborative Posterous pages for different company employees to post on the same page
• Collaborative Posterous pages to bring people outside your company to collaborate on one Posterous page

Here’s one example of how Posterous brings social networking to a higher level: ClickIdeas

#6: Helps You to Segment Content for Different Audiences

You can use your Posterous account to create different points of contact with your audience. Pat Kitano says, “I originally intended this slideshow (How to create a blog without “writing” one) for local businesspeople who wanted a blog for marketing purposes, but didn’t have the inclination to start a blog due to writing and time commitments. After posting the slideshow, I received feedback that Posterous was a great method to create new ‘blogs’ on a variety of topics and interests that were parallel to the principal blog. One mentioned how fast Posterous blogs were indexed by Google.”

This makes it easy to test different market segments outside of your main blog or website.

#7: Is the Easiest Option to Share Photos

Posterous is simply the easiest social media platform to share photos and videos. All you have to do is email your photo or video to Posterous and it does everything else. This means you can publish your favorite photos and videos from any location where you have access to your email, even from your mobile phone.

This is why many users choose to post all of their photos and videos to Posterous and set it up to feed their Facebook, Twitter and other social media profiles.

Bonus: Makes You Easy To Connect With

Sometimes a personal touch helps you to create a stronger connection with your audience on social media. This is why some business professionals use Posterous as a place to provide a unique glimpse into their personal lives.

Jason Falls does a good job at providing both personal and business insights on his Posterous page: Falls, Off the Rocker. He links to these Posterous posts from his Twitter account and invites his Twitter followers to get to know him better.

A Step Toward Creating Social Connections

Creating a social presence and adapting to different social media platforms are not easy for many businesses. Posterous provides a way for businesses to make a social connection between their own website and other social media platforms as they learn more about incorporating social media into their current marketing tactics.

Ready to Give Posterous a Try? Here’s some good resources to check out:

• Read Mashable’s Posterous Guide.
• Have a look at Guy Kawasaki’s Twelve Tips and Tricks.
• And remember to subscribe to Social Media Examiner. There’s more to come on Posterous and other social media platforms.

Now It’s Your Turn

• What are you interested in getting out of Posterous?
• Do you already have a Posterous page?
• How is Posterous helping your social media marketing?

Share the link to your Posterous page below and tell us what your experience has been so far in the Comments section below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

7 Ways Posterous Improves Your Social Media Presence