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You don’t need us to tell you how unavoidable social media localization is today, in the business world and outside of it. You’re reading our blog, after all, and you most likely came to it through a Facebook post (if you didn’t, come and give us a Like!) or one of our tweets (if not, follow us!). Businesses in the United States have to leave an imprint on the social media landscape in order to reach the greatest volume of potential clients, especially the coveted 18-35 demographic. With more and more Americans each year turning to computers and tablets for all or most of their media consumption, outreach tools like television commercials and ad space in physical publications continue to lose their efficacy.
To grow your business, in other words, you’ve got to socialize. In the case of global expansion, the question is: should you localize your social media outreach, along with the rest of your documents? The answer: yes, generally. But as always with social media localization and with localization in general, the key is to think local. As with multilingual SEO, carry out a good bit of careful research before you start translating your tweets into different languages – it’s folly to assume that clients in different cultures will respond to your social media the same way your clients at home do! It’s a complex situation, but we can provide two broad pieces of advice. First:
Tweet like a local – studies have shown that when businesses make more general posts on social media outlets, these posts gain a higher volume of likes/shares/favorites/retweets than overtly brand-focused posts. Potential clients checking their Facebook feeds will be more apt to pay attention to an interesting piece of news or information than a sales pitch. Successful posts also contain one ingredient that can’t be faked: personality. But think of the shared cultural knowledge and references that help to make up an engaging personality. If American audiences love your witty, insightful tweets, can you be sure that Brazilian audiences will love them in translation? No, you can’t – in fact, something closer to transcreation might be in order here. Connect with a Brazilian Portuguese resource who can absorb your message, and craft postings that they’ll love in São Paulo just like they do in Cleveland. And second:
Go where the people are – you’ll need to have, and probably already do have, three keystones of a fruitful social media presence: a business Facebook page, a business Twitter handle, and a website. You can go far with these three basics. Yet you don’t have to look hard to see potential pitfalls. For instance, consider the massive share of the world’s social media interactions that take place on smartphones… and the website format isn’t known for being super-compatible with smartphones. Depending on your foreign markets, it may be prudent to invest in developing a companion app for your site, to bring the best of your desktop web content and functionalities to the smartphone screen. And beyond devices, know which social media platforms your multilingual clients are using, and how they’re using them. Developing markets may follow similar social media patterns to the United States; according to this 2013 article, Facebook is a significant force in India, and a good environment for your business page to grow. But don’t assume that the media channels in your comfort zone are universal. If you create and share videos (and you should), YouTube may not be the ideal place to share them in foreign markets. Research may steer you towards alternatives like Vimeo or DailyMotion, so it would be wise to investigate all outlets as soon as possible. China can be a particular stumbling block in this area – a huge market for an ambitious business… and one in which Facebook and Twitter, our most omnipresent social media tools, are off limits.
Remember: thoughtful socialization leads to effective social media localization. Social media began as a space for old friends to connect, and new friends to find each other. You can connect with foreign clients in this space in an impactful way, but you’ve got to meet them on their terms!
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