How to create social media content to target global audiences?

Extending your entrepreneurial objectives to a global level can seem challenging at first. Luckily, nowadays, you have the resources and tools necessary to obtain an international reach more easily than you could back in the day. The power of social media has made it possible for businesses from different industries to gain global exposure and it can do the same for you, as long as you pursue the right actions here. 

When marketing to a global audience on social channels, you need to pay close attention to your content creation practices. Adjusting your messaging so it becomes meaningful to new audiences means considering a few relevant factors. The topic is vast, but here are the primary suggestions to know about: 

Research audience behavior 

First things first – you need to get to know your audience in order to create content that actually resonates and provides you with the optimal results you desire. Determine the international audiences you’re planning on targeting through your content marketing strategy. 

Critical and diligent research is key here. Use the necessary tools, whether it’s Facebook Ads manager or another option, to estimate audience size and understand more details about your targeted groups. Your research should incorporate data on the behavior and volume of your audiences based on region, sub-regions, and features, such as emerging markets. 

As soon as you’ve established basic information on your target group, you can move on to the next step: analyzing the economic and cultural data of that specific audience. For your content to actually ensure meaningful engaging, you should understand users’ lifestyle and preferences, and you can manage to do that by optimally studying their online behaviors. 

Social listening tools allow you to better comprehend topics with specific cultural relevance. Focus on these few things when you are doing your research:

  • Emoji and hashtag use 
  • Social media conversation topics in comment sections or on groups
  • Cultural nuances based on location

Choice of words and tone 

Time of posting

Each one of these factors can help you build a solid content marketing strategy for different international audiences. All of these aspects can vary from one country to another, and that’s why you need to have things figured out here before creating content for specific demographics. 

Rely on clear, simple language 

Whether you’ll be using English for some standardized business content or you want to translate posts for specific targeted groups, the language you use should be simple and clear. For Facebook posts, for example, the platform has a translation feature available. This means even if you write something in English, global users might see your post translated in their own language. Using complex phrases and sentences will only make it more difficult for the end-user to actually understand your messaging. 

What you need to acknowledge here is that even a small translation error could affect your business’ credibility, whether it’s grammar, vocabulary or spelling-related. Besides trying to maintain a simplistic language, for more important posts, using professional translation services is recommended. PickWriters is where you will find translation tools and services that can help you maintain your content relevant, informative and engaging, regardless of language. 

To minimize translation mistakes, use these tips as well: 

  • Be creative, but direct in regards to the services or products you are launching or promoting
  • Stay away from idioms, which can easily get lost in translation and affect the quality of your written content
  • Don’t write in a promotional manner and don’t try to impress – a concise and simple approach is always the preferred options fort content success. 

 Use content localization strategies 

Another method you can use to improve user experience and make the most of your global marketing social media campaign is localizing your content. 

Social media users are usually more likely to engage with your content if it’s created around their specific needs, instead of appearing as a generic, dull brand message. Bigger brands choose to create accounts specifically dedicated to targeted groups from different regions, cultures or countries. This can allow you to easily write content in the languages of your international audiences directly and maintain your posts relevant to specific demographics. 

When planning to localize your social media content consider the following: 

  • Slang and idiomatic speech 
  • Pop culture references
  • Units and symbols of measurement
  • Cultural values

As long as you keep in mind these factors when you are creating content for your targeted group, engagement can be boosted. 

Conclusion

Social media gives you the opportunity to turn a local brand into an international one. Content is critical for a successful social media marketing campaign, and because you are planning to go global, having some pointers to follow will make a difference. Remember these few tips when you are mapping out the specifics of your content creation plan. 

BIO: Donald Fomby is a Digital Marketing Specialist with a Master’s degree in Advertisement. At a relatively young age, Donald has already amassed impressive experience as a freelance writer.

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