Search and social media marketing for international business need to be done with more nuance than traditional digital marketing. The culture and norms of international business vary with geography and these need to be taken into consideration.

Your marketing strategy will also need to adapt to a non-native English-speaking audience. A good approach would be to prioritize your target markets, which will then determine your content and channel strategy for social media and search.

There are lots of things that go into marketing for an international audience. Let’s take a look at some of the top tips that you need to keep in mind.

Search and Social Media Marketing for International Business

It is safe to say that Facebook is the global leader when it comes to social media. But did you know that Facebook is banned in China and the VKontakte is more popular than Facebook in Russia?

A search and social media marketing strategy for international business will have to adapt to such changes almost on the fly, as changes on social media happen at a rapid pace.

Take into account the demographics, language, and culture of your target audience and the local laws governing promotions of products and services (e.g. GDPR in Europe).

A global audience also necessitates the use of a highly customized channel strategy.

While you can always use the likes of Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, you’ll have to expand your reach to other channels such as Sina Weibo, Qzone, WeChat, Xing, or Viadeo depending upon the region you are targeting.

When deploying search for an international audience the fundamentals of SEO and SEM remain the same. The differences arise with the content and keyword approach that varies from region to region.

Customize Your Content for an International Audience

Your content strategy should reflect the tastes of your international audience. Social and search content for your non-native English-speaking audience should preferably be translated to the local language.

Work with a professional localization partner to help you create your marketing collateral. These can range from blogs, brochures, and sell sheets to eBooks and white papers. Collaborating with the right partner can help you navigate the region’s cultural nuances as well.

For example, content in the UAE is highly regulated and it is important to understand their cultural values before creating any content for search or social media marketing. Similarly, people in Germany prefer factual data and quotes more than pretty pictures in social posts.

While the first level of customization starts with the language (e.g. UK English vs. US English). The second level starts with the content taking into consideration your international audiences’ idiosyncrasies and content consumption habits.

Analyze, Assess and Tweak for Better ROI

Search and social media marketing are complex. Add to that the dynamism of international audiences, you’ll need to be on your toes all the time to see how your campaigns are performing!

Once you’ve got your buyer personas figured out (by geography), closely track the conversations you are having with them on social media and the leads that are coming in from search.

There will be a wealth of data for you to analyze, which can be cumbersome to handle if you don’t have a social media management software or professional help. Audit your search and social media campaigns regularly to extract insights into regional performance.

Your brand might be weak in the mind of certain international audiences and strong for others. Analyzing your data will help you unify your brand perception by taking correctional measures and learning what works and what doesn’t across audiences.

A/B test different ad copies on search and social media and pay close attention to how different buyer personas react to it. For example, you could run an A/B test to identify words that are associated with your brand across different countries.

Your campaigns will need to be contextualized for the markets that you operate in, and the only way to do that is by analyzing the data you create and tweaking your campaigns for better ROI.

To conclude, a tailored approach is the best approach when it comes to digital marketing for an international business. Each audience is unique, even more so when they are from different countries and cultures!

A holistic search and social media strategy that adapts to different international markets while being diligent about measuring performance will be able to respond quickly to global changes and position your brand more cohesively.