Repost from: https://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/3-content-strategies-to-plan-for-global-markets-02069571
The world has become a global village thanks to new technologies like the internet. Today, forward-thinking businesses are leaping and expanding their operations globally.
However, accessing and nurturing potential customers in international markets comes with its challenges:
- Language barriers. The foreign target market may not speak English.
- Cultural differences. The ways and mannerisms of the new market may be different from that of your local market.
- Distribution channels. The most popular content distribution channels in some countries may be different from what you are currently focused on.
These challenges encompass various sub-challenges that must be addressed by any business looking to get its products or services into an overseas market.
To break into new markets, you need a content marketing strategy that is tailored to the prospects from the specific regions you wish to expand to. Following the strategies below will help you come up with a results-oriented plan for your global marketing campaigns.
Localize Your Message
For your content marketing efforts to produce results, it is critical to understand the psychology and behavior of audiences in the markets you wish to enter. In most cases, you will have to translate and localize your content to the new prospects. Consider your business goals when crafting any message for your global market.
The best way of determining the results produced by your content is by measuring specific metrics. Come up with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your content marketing activities. Some of the things you can measure include:
Content reach and engagement
Leads generated
Closed leads and sales
Build a Content Matrix
Determine the “voice” of your brand that you would like to use for the content as well as the distribution channels. This means creating a content matrix.
Organize your content for easy distribution through the main platforms that your target market uses. The distribution channels may be similar to those of your current markets but may attract different prospects.
A basic content matrix chart should indicate:
- KPIs for the content (clicks, signups, social shares, comments, etc.)
- Types of content (articles, eBooks, videos, social media posts, etc.)
- Distribution channels (social media, websites, email, etc.)
- Localization strategy (your audience and goals)
With the rise of audios, podcasts and videos as a part of content marketing matrix, businesses are increasingly using it to convey their brand message to their target customers. These media formats are then transcribed into text format for further distribution across different channels. Adding a transcript plays a crucial role in the success of any audio/video campaign, as it enables search engines to crawl and index the information of your media, while also giving your visitors another option for consuming content.
Create Your Content
The final step is content creation. Create localized content that resonates well with the global markets you are targeting. Use local language experts or multi-lingual translation services to craft your content to speak to your target audience.
When creating content, keep your end goal in mind. What would you like your audience to do after consuming the content? Would you like them to:
- Sign up for your newsletter?
- Share the content on social media?
- Contact your company for a consultation?
- Register for a webinar?
- Download an eBook?
Every piece of content should work in helping the business achieve an end objective.
To succeed in the global markets, your company needs a localized content marketing plan that is tailored to the specific target audiences.
