Today the expansion of the internet around the world spurs businesses to pay more attention to powerful social media marketing venues. During March, 2015, Facebook served more than 1.44 billion active users, for instance. That figure potentially represents a lot of interested netizens viewing company postings. Many firms seek to transform a significant social media presence into more effective international advertising promotions.
Here are five useful steps businesses can take to help construct dynamic international social media marketing campaigns:
One: Translate Posted Materials Carefully
Accurate translation and the use of subtitling services on videos sometimes assist marketing campaigns. However, establishing a correct cultural context remains vital when these materials reach a social media platform attracting a global audience. For instance, humorous stories abound concerning awkward translations causing unexpected problems and misinformation. A few years ago, a sign in Delaware urging parents to supervise their children wound up translated incorrectly into a Spanish language warning that without a permit, children would find themselves “susceptible to police action.”
Even large corporations sometimes find culturally correct translations challenging. A famous cosmetic and fashion company, Clairol, once tried to introduce a new curling iron named “Mist Stick” to the European market. Initial sales in Germany proved sluggish. Puzzled advertising executives resolved the problem when they discovered that the word “mist”, so beautiful in English, means “manure” in German.
Two: Frame Products with an Awareness of Regional Taste Differences
One company which has earned high praise for targeting products accurately in local markets is U.S.-based Dunkin Donuts. The company appreciated when it expanded into overseas markets that popular taste preferences sometimes vary significantly by locale. It promotes some product lines directed towards specific local markets. For example, in Lebanon, the firm developed a popular Mango Chocolate Donut. It reportedly added pork and seaweed to donuts sold on mainland China. By recognizing distinctive regional taste preferences, Dunkin Donuts created greater customer loyalty.
Three: Respect Local Manners
Social media campaigns must also avoid causing offense through blatant cultural insensitivity. Ignoring prevailing local manners and mores in regionally targeted postings can rapidly antagonize entire groups of social media visitors.
One clear cut example exists with respect to the negative symbolism associated with the sole of the shoe in many nations. As the dirtiest part of footwear, the bottom of the shoe holds disgusting connotations in some cultures. Yet many people from other places in the world fail to appreciate the local significance of this powerful imagery. Following the First Gulf War, for instance, a hotel depicted the face of a U. S. President in a mosaic covering the front entrance. This act impressed some visitors as an expression of gratitude; but they may have misconstrued the compliment, since lobby patrons literally walked over the image with their shoes.
Four: Clarify Geographic Locations
Companies in the USA need to remember when they prepare posts for consumers living in other places that not everyone automatically identifies well known U.S. place names. For instance, someone residing overseas may find references to “Washington” confusing, unless the marketer specifies either Washington State or Washington, D.C. Similarly, failing to take locally popular place names into consideration when writing material intended for another country’s consumers can generate confusion. When speaking of “San Carlos,” for instance, does the writer mean the city in Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Uruguay, the USA, or the Philippines?
Five: Use Accurate Technology Targeting
One important item social media advertisers must consider closely concerns the prevailing technology used in different locations around the world. For example, while many online visitors in developed nations still depend heavily on standalone personal computers and laptops, the lack of infrastructure support in some emerging markets means that large numbers of the world’s least affluent online citizens use hand held mobile technology more extensively. To reach these audiences utilizing social media campaigns, companies need to ensure that their pages will display well on smaller PDA screens.
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Written by Robert Cordray,
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