Social Media across Cultures

Although social media websites have been around for over five years, they’ve never been as significant and influential as they are today. There’s hardly an Internet user who hasn’t heard of social media, with Facebook and Twitter now home to nearly a billion accounts the world over.

Plenty of businesses have realized the potential of the social media and started utilizing it to promote their products and services, to get feedback from clients and to conduct PR campaigns. Thanks to the global reach of the internet, companies can interact with people back home as easily as they would with clients in China or the Czech Republic.

But before you jump on the social media bandwagon, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Is it worth it?

The main problem with social media marketing is that you can’t see a clear picture of your return on investment. Social media doesn’t reflect directly on your sales, however, being able to monitor your brand reputation, gather important feedback and answer to criticism are all benefits you can’t afford to miss.

A survey of 1100 small business owners conducted by market research company Ad-ology revealed that social media is an all-important marketing tool.  Proprietors identified the ability to keep up with developments within their field, to generate leads and to monitor the online conversation about their brand as the greatest advantages of social media marketing.

Content is king

Social media marketing is just one of the many pieces of the jigsaw you need to take your business beyond cultures and borders. Keep in mind that social media input is not all that different from any other web content. Try and update it as often as possible, engage in conversations about your business sector and remember this is an ongoing process, not just a one-off marketing endeavor.

One size doesn’t fit all

Although Facebook and Twitter have a massive share of the social media pie (around 750m and 200m active users, respectively), there are plenty of potential clients out there using different social media platforms