Cindy King's International Business Blog » region

How to Connect Globally With Social Media

Cindy King — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:00:05 +0000

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

Do you know how to use social media to target a global audience? After all, social media provides a low-cost solution to engage your prospects, customers and partners located in different regions of the world.

As Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motor Company, says, “U.S. brands looking to leverage social networks internationally know that while their messages need to stay consistent regardless of the region, the language, cultural reference points, platform and tactics, all need to be tailored for each market.”

He continues, “Whether it is customer service, IT, HR or product development, there are a number of uses for social media. And when you add to that all of our constituents—customers, employees, shareholders, dealers, retirees—it becomes a very complex assignment.”

Here’s a look at a few of the difficulties and how you can overcome them…

The Information Available

In the past, statistics on social media were difficult to come by and they were not always relevant. But there are more Internet statistics available today even for social media. McCann’s Wave 4 Power to the People report is one resource available to gain insights into how to use social media internationally.

The trouble with an international social media strategy, as Erik Qualman of Search Engine Watch points out, one size does not fit all. Having more relevant statistics does not get you very far. You still need to learn how to adapt what you do on social media to effectively connect with people in other countries. And before you can do this, you need to know a bit more about what social media is like over there.

Social Media in Different Regions of the World

A good place to start is to look for general insights into the social media environment in the places you would like to reach.

The Nielsen report Global Faces and Networked Places clearly explains why localization has won the day in many countries and says, “Succeeding in China takes more than producing a translated version; it requires investment in a local infrastructure and a mentality of running a Chinese social network that understands the domestic nuances of social network behaviour rather than simply rolling out a generic social network in Chinese.”

Here are more insights from two social media players well-known in their own countries:

Have a look at this interview of Laurel Papworth in which she gives an analysis on what’s happening in social media in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Fred Cavazza says, “The main differences in France‘s social media are based on the local offering and local players: Dailymotion, Skyblog, Viadeo, Dofus, BlogSpirit, CanalBlog, OverBlog… and there are 3 distinct groups in France around culinary, political and IT gadget blogs.”

Fred Cavazza raises a good point. Let’s have a look at the main challenges presented by local offerings and local players. These are areas where you will need to adapt to fit in with what works in the local social media environment.

Cultural Differences in How People Respond to Social Media

Cultural differences always impact how people use social media. Here are some insights from a few culturally minded social media players.

Engagement—Jack Yan says, “There seems to be a gap between Americans and New Zealanders on Twitter usage, for instance. Kiwis, for the most part, seem to engage a bit more and there are relatively fewer accounts, proportionally, made up of automated tweets. There seems to be more of a demand on American tweeters, for instance, to provide a lot of content, and I suspect that this drives the automation. This arguably comes back to the different cultures: one historically more collaborative, the other historically more individualistic.”

Hesitation—France shares a trait with many countries: hesitation and observation before engaging in new social media. Thierry de Baillon says, “Where Anglo Saxons are prone to quickly dive into new platforms and get new habits, Frenchies stick with old ones, watching others acting while taking their time.”

Networking—Lucy Chatburn sees more networking activity on both LinkedIn and Facebook in Turkey than in the UK. “This could be because networking doesn’t come naturally to many British people. And a LinkedIn profile is definitely not seen as an essential career tool in the UK.”

Shyness—Mixi, a leading social network in Japan, added a special feature to make it easier for people to make friends.

Of course, there are many more ways cultural differences impact social media. Before you can find the right way for your business to connect with people on social media platforms in different countries, you do need to:

Develop cultural awareness
Do your research
Adapt your communication and social approach

Evolution in Local Players

Other challenges in international social media are related to changes in popularity of social media platforms. A snapshot of the social media environment in any country may not remain current for long. Social media environments change.

Facebook’s growth has had an impact on many countries outside of North America. Orkut’s popularity in Brazil and India is changing.

This is why it is difficult for businesses to know how to:

Anticipate where to spend time
Identify the most relevant social media platforms for their business

Good monitoring practices and a local presence are keys to success.

Can Social Media Help Your International Business?

There are many reasons why this is a tough question to answer. As we have seen above, statistics do not always reflect how people use social media. There are also:

Different speeds of adopting social media
Differences in how locals use social media
Differences in how businesses can use social media in different countries

On the one hand, local statistics can be misleading. Another culturally minded social media player, Martin Lindeskog points out that “The broadband/high-speed Internet connection is very common here in Sweden.” However, he also notes that “you can’t find many examples of companies that have embraced a new type of media strategy in full scale yet. There is a lot of talk about Twitter, but you don’t see many companies microblogging.”

On the other hand, although statistics only tell part of the story, a detailed view of the local social media environment can give you valuable insights. According to Fred Cavazza, the social media market in France was evangelized long ago by local players, and this made the road to success easy to maneuver for Facebook in France.

Successful International Social Media

If you are serious about using social media within an international marketing strategy, you will need:

Strong cross-cultural skills
Local professionals

The right people will help you through the complexity in finding:

Preferred offers
Communication preferences
Use of different platforms
Where and how the people you want to reach use social media in their country

A Source of Inspiration

In addition to connecting with business networking partners abroad, there is another good reason to keep an ear open for what is happening in international social media: there is richness in diversity. And this can help you stay in tune with social media as it evolves for everyone.

Monitoring how businesses in other countries use social media helps you to:

Get ideas for new things to try in your own country
Spot new trends in other areas of the world which might, in time, affect your own industry

As different people around the world adapt social media to their own cultural tastes and the driving forces in their local markets, we are sure to see:

More innovation
Different uses for social media in business
Opportunities to adapt the strategies and tools we are familiar with to new international markets

Observing these changes and understanding why they fail or succeed increase our understanding of what social media is all about. Although North American businesses are using social media more than businesses elsewhere, there are many examples of innovation and inspiration to be found outside of North America. This alone is why following international social media is useful to many businesses.

Now, over to you…

What have you learned by observing social media in other countries?
What is the most interesting difference in international social media to you?
What anecdotes can you share about social media in different countries?

Please share your comments with us below.

7 Ways To Find Your International Markets

Cindy King — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:00:06 +0000

International Business Networking

Most of the business owners I speak with say they want to develop their international business and then end their sentence with a “but”… and something usually related to “risk“. In digging a little further I find that part of the reason behind this “but” is because they do not know where to start.

Although you may have clients from all over the world this does not mean you are in control of an international business. An international business means you know how to adapt what you sell and how you sell it to different cultures. This is how you begin to develop a truly international business. And this always starts by learning how to:

Sell to one country
Start with one product first
Target your marketing and sales practices to sell this one product to people in this one country

But many people get stuck on the very first step above.

Where do you start?
Which country should you target?
Which country would be easiest to sell to?

International market research is easier to carry out now than ever before. Most businesses can do parts of their market research in-house. And they probably should do this in-house simply to come to terms with the “risk” involved.

The problem is that you need a clear plan to help you find where your best international market opportunities lie. Here are 7 things you can do to help you make that first choice: the first country where you want to expand your business.

1 – Research Your Own Client And Prospect Data Base Thoroughly

It is worth the effort to go back as far as you can in your international sales records and try to identify any trends in the sales you made.

Are there any similarities in previous sales?
Did sales come from a specific country or area?
Were sales made following an event or particular circumstance?

If you can identify any trigger events influencing your international sales, you have valuable international market knowledge to use to generate future sales.

This is the most useful resource you have because it is the most relevant one to your own business. If you have any international clients this is always a good place to start to identify the first country to develop. But don’t forget to do the following research.

2 – Identify Where Your Competitors Are Overseas

Have a close look at what your competitors are doing abroad.

Is there a particular country where your competitors seem to be doing well?
Can you identify a country where you competitors want to get into?
What trends do you notice and are there any obvious trigger events?

In addition to identifying your competitor’s international penetration, what can you find out about the answers to the questions above with regards to your competitors? You can pick up a wealth of information just by observing others.

3 – Research Industry Data

Be sure to research the differences in industry standards and regulations on the foreign country.

Are there any reasons why an international business would be difficult to establish in these countries?
What are the hurdles?
What trends do you see in current international business in this industry?

This will help you evaluate how to proceed in developing your international business.

4 – Research The Press

When you research the press, don’t forget to look for what is published both in your own country and in the foreign country as well as in the world region you are looking at. Use the free online instant translation tools to give you an idea of what is in the news.

Can you identify current key players?
Can you identify any current topics of interest to you and your business?
What local topics could impact your business opportunities?

Try to get an up-to-date analysis for your industry in the foreign country you are interested in. Use your knowledge of recent events to connect with people when networking for further research.

5 – Do Some Local SEO Research

Once you have a short list of countries, check out the most popular local search engines and do some keyword research in those countries. Start by using the advanced search options on the free keyword research tools.

Does this information give you ideas on how to position your products in these markets?
Can you see any trends in keyword results?
What differences and similarities do you notice?

This will give you a better idea of who your real competitors are in these countries.

6 – Go Beyond Online Research

Once you have the names of the players and have identified possible trends be sure to move to direct local contact. The best option is to move from online research to the telephone. Although networking for international market research on the phone can yield great results:

Don’t start off with your most valuable contact. You might need to practice your international phone networking skills first.
Be sure to aim to speak to people with real insider knowledge of your industry in your foreign country.
Look for various sources from different angles to get a broad view.

Telephone conversation can provide you with more background information faster than you can get over the internet. And telephone networking has another great advantage; it helps you to adapt your mindset.

7 – Talk To Your International Clients

Do not underestimate the value of speaking to your current international clients.

Ask them why they bought from you to uncover possible trigger events.
Try to uncover the emotional hot buttons that triggered the purchase and try to get beyond your own cross-cultural filters to understand this fully.
Find the reason why they chose your company and your product.

If you are not happy with the amount of information you get from speaking with your international clients, spend some time improving your cross-cultural communication skills. It is well worth the investment as speaking to the international clients you already have provides you with so much valuable feedback for your business.

Allow Time For Market Research

International market research takes time. The best thing to do is to allocate time to do the online research and then allocate a fixed amount of time each to do the networking tasks.

Consistency in doing these networking tasks will bring you the answers you need. So although you can do your online research in large chunks at a time, you will probably get more from an hour or two of international networking each day over a period of several weeks to a few months.

International Networking Is A Fundamental International Skill

Many of the businesses I meet say they want to develop their international markets but they are afraid of the risk. The one main advantage to carrying out this type of market research in-house is that you will have a better understanding of the risk involved.

The other advantage to starting with this type of research is that the skills you acquire in doing this type of international research through networking will help you to choose which product to sell and learn how to adapt it to your new foreign market.
What about you?

How do you carry out your international market research?
What do you like most international business networking technique to improve your market research?
What are you biggest challenges in international market research?

Please leave your comments below.