Are you sure you thought about every aspect you need to succeed in a new market?

You have researched your new audience, created new business personas, found the right keywords to rank in search engines, and translated your website.

But you may have underestimated the potentiality that Social Media can offer you to make your business popular in a new market. Social Media helps you create the brand exposure you need to create an online community of followers and potential customers.

International Social Media

Commonly, directors and marketers think that, if their Facebook, Twitter, etc. channels are giving great results in their existing market, there is no need to create a new strategy dedicated to foreign markets.

However, they are forgetting two important aspects. Audiences have different cultures, and they use different kind of social media. International Social Media are not only the ones used in US and Western countries.

Just to make two quick examples: in Russia, VKontakte monthly users are more than twice the Facebook ones. Sina Weibo is the equivalent of Twitter and Facebook in China. And it counts 66 million daily users.

International Social Media Optimisation

International SMO is the process of making changes in your social media strategy to make it easier for your audience to share pages of your website to gain visibility in social media and search engines in the countries where you will launch your products.

Is SMO different than SEO? Yes, it is a completely different thing. It helps you create an online community of potential clients that interact with you. However, a good SMO can bring benefits to your SEO strategy if you can catch the attention of local bloggers and media that may link to your sites or your social media channels.

Steps to optimise your social media strategy internationally

Step one: A strategy

First, you have to define the objectives and goals of your strategy. You must be clear in your mind about the achievements you want to reach with your strategy. You do not want to be on Social Media, just because your competitors are. This approach wastes your time and your money.

A strategy is based on clear objectives. Do you want to redirect the traffic of your channels to your website? Do you want to gain visibility of your brand? Or maybe, you want to improve your credibility and trust, creating direct relationships with your customers?

Step two: Choose the right platform

Once you know your objective, it is time to think about the network to use. It is very important to know the social media scenario of the country you are targeting to find the right channel for your campaign. Depending on the audience you are targeting, develop a better presence in the network that best suits your needs.

If you are targeting the Chinese market, many people would suggest you have a business page on Weibo. It may be a very sensible decision. However, in your strategy, you decided you want to create a personal and one-to-one relationship with your Chinese clients. In this case, WeChat would be a much better option for your strategy.

Step three: Localise your content for the new market

You know how important content is for your business. You can provide useful information to your customers and give them the chance to share your pages with their followers and friends.

However, many companies forget to localise their content and social media channels. Translating your content in a new language won’t be enough to get the attention of a new audience. There may be cultural differences and references that would not work in a new market. What works in one country probably won’t work in another. Always ask yourself if the content you are publishing relates to your audience.

Step four: Build a relationship with your audience

Once you have published a bunch of good posts and content, your audience will interact with you with comments and suggestions. Talk with your active customers. It does not matter if you want to create one-to-one relationships with them or not.

Do not use the excuse you do not have employees speaking the target language. You can hire a copywriter, a social media administrator, or even better, a language service provider to manage the social media relationships with your customers on social media.

Remaining silent would be a sign of negligence.

Conclusion

Social Media optimisation for international markets can be a springboard for your business abroad. However, you need to have a professional and serious approach to new platforms and audiences. A well-organised strategy can set your business apart from your competitors in a new market.

What are your experiences with social media audiences abroad? Have you tried any strategy or technique to engage your target customers internationally? Tell us your stories in the comments.