The use of social media has seen a rapid rise since 2018. The number of social media users worldwide increased by 13% in 2018. (Source Hootsuite January 2018). As of today, there are more than four billion social media users in the world. This number has risen since by 13% since 2017. With a market penetration rate of 53%, that is due to rise even more in the coming years.
The second trend, very common in the world of social media, is the use of mobile phones: 40% of the world population use their phones to check their social media, which is also increasing by 14% in comparison to last year.
Taking social media into consideration and its marketing strategy, which is called social media marketing. This is the process by which a business gains recognition, reaches potential clients and establishes a working relationship with its clients and prospects (by means of a contract).
The advantages of using social media for your marketing strategies are:
- Gaining recognition
- Having more website and social media viewers
- Having a better and more natural referencing system
- Improving your customer satisfaction rates
- It’s the best way in terms of quality and price
- Finally, it will allow you to have valuable marketing knowledge
Why should you have an international development strategy on your social media accounts?
Like a business gradually setting up in a particular geographical region expanding over multiple countries, you have to take this evolution into account in order to increase your international development. To find out more on this subject, download our guide on implanting an international business strategy on social media.
The first and foremost requirement in the creation of a social media business strategy is to understand your target audience. You will be able to interact with your clients and prospective clients, and with your target audience on a larger scale. However, you must be aware that a lot of the people who will discover your content may not speak your language. If you are aiming your product at the German, English, or Spanish market, what happens if all of your content is in French?
If you are planning to serve customers who live in other countries via social media, you should consider the following factors:
- Being accessible to a multilingual customer base
- Reaching a public who live in various time zones
- Taking the law into account, as this may vary especially in terms of copyright and GDPR.
- Understanding cultural differences, and different interests
- Finding the right social media according to the country
Why should you have an international development strategy on your social media accounts?
Define your target audience
- Which country are you aiming to sell to?
- Where do your clients live?
- Where do your international clients live?
- Do you have any qualified, identified prospective clients from countries other than your own?
Define your objectives
- Get more viewers
- Gain recognition
- Provide a customer service platform via social media
Choose languages
Should you be active on the same social media, translated in various languages, or should you have a platform specifically dedicated to each country?
Does the blog content need to remain the exact same for each country?
Learn cultural differences
In order to reach a target audience in another country, you must get to know their culture and their forms of communication. In order to ensure that your message is not misunderstood, do not hesitate to contact an agency that deals with localisation, which will save you from making a faux pas.
Choose the right social media
Each country uses a specific social media. For example, in England the most used social media network is Facebook, while in France it is YouTube.
Choose the performance metrics
Putting your international development strategy on your social media is essential. This will help to measure the impact of your activity. Clearly and carefully define your guide in terms of your objectives. This way you can identify what is working well and what needs to be fixed.
In order to reach an international audience, you must have both a global and local knowledge. The advantage of the internet is being able to respond to this double requirement. Do not hesitate to seek the help of experts in order to maximise your success rate.
Daphné Charpin-Lèbre Development Manager ACS Traduction