Social networks have experienced spectacular growth in recent years. Many American consumers now wish to interact with their favorite brands, and social media is proving to be a tool perfectly suited to fulfill this objective. With nearly 1.5 billion people on social networks, implementing a relevant international strategy can be a complex task.

It is still common to see that some companies that want to develop their presence on social networks are content to apply the same tactics in different countries to communicate via social media marketing services, which can be counterproductive. A common mistake is to assume that what works in one market can be adopted and applied as is in another country. For example, a campaign that has given good results in Italy with Facebook, may be a failure in Great Britain. Practice shows us that it is difficult to use the same approach internationally, for the simple reason that the use of social networks by Internet users varies from country to country. The type of relationship that is established between the brand and the consumer, an element at the heart of communication via social networks, also depends heavily on culture, and will therefore evolve depending on the country and the positioning adopted by the brand.

Define the strategy

During the initial strategy definition phase, even before evaluating which social networks are the most suitable for a brand or a company, it will be necessary to analyze the culture and behavior of consumers in each of the countries of our interest. It will also be necessary to ensure the quality of the translations (LINK) that the campaigns are really adapted to the local culture, and thus gain the confidence of consumers.

Select the right tactics

Then, to develop an effective international strategy on social networks, it will be necessary to take into account the variations that exist in the use of a social network, and to ask why what works in one country may not work in another. Each country has its specificities, these differences will influence the strategy implemented. Twitter and Facebook are not always the best tools, and other social networks will sometimes be more appropriate in each of the different target markets. For example, Pinterest and Tumblr are popular social networks in the US, but is their use suitable for Italy or Germany? The positioning of the brand, which may vary from one country to another, should also be taken into account.

We can therefore see that instead of applying the same tactics indiscriminately in different countries, to create a winning strategy on international social networks, it will be necessary to define a framework common to all the target countries, and adapt the strategy at the level of each country. For example, we could set common objectives. Country-specific tactics will then be put in place to be able to achieve the objectives. It will also be necessary to create indicators allowing us to measure the success of the strategy in each of the targeted countries.

SMO should be part of your company’s best practice.

As it should be for SEO, you need to make sure that SMO is part of good practice within your company. It will therefore be useful to train different departments of the company (marketing, export, etc.) in these best practices, to ensure quality interaction with customers on the web.

The advantages of a comprehensive approach

There are many advantages to implementing a comprehensive strategy. In addition to increasing the number of your “fans” or “followers” around the world, you are able to achieve a higher level of engagement from the audiences you target by delivering locally relevant content. . The contact established during an action on social networks is the first step in a process aimed at obtaining the “conversion”, whether it is a sale, a request for information, a retweet …

 In addition, developing a presence on social networks on a global scale will necessarily lead to consolidating the marketing positioning of your brand in the countries that interest you, as well as improving your ranking in search engines, because these increasingly take into account the popularity of your brand on social media.