5 ways to ensure your global social strategy is done right

The aim of Social Media Around the World was to dissect how brands outside the United States are turning to social media over traditional programming to reach consumers in compelling ways. The entire discussion was engaging and thought provoking, but I wanted to touch on how true global social media should be executed. Here are 5 considerations to make sure your brand is a global superpower online:

 

1. Consider the Country

If you take local market teams, language, culture and level of social media penetration into account, it’s easy to understand why that amazing Facebook campaign you implemented in the States fails to get a even a handful of clicks in Brazil where Orkut is the dominant social networking channel. The bottom line is home country social strategies need to be tweaked for other countries beyond their origin. Research social channel usage in the country you’re trying to enter and determine the channels that make the most sense. Insights should always precede execution.

 

Premier social channels vary by country and continue to shift

 

2. Create a Global Toolkit

It’s generally a best practice to start off with a skeleton toolkit of guidelines, objectives and creative vision that can be exported to local markets around the world. This could include page moderation protocol, management roles and responsibilities and design templates. Ensure the toolkit isn’t too stringent—local markets need global direction but most want control of how to reach their local audience.

 

3. Tailor Programming by Region

Even with a global toolkit in place, though, a cohesive global strategy really comes to life through the contextual relevance conveyed in local programming. I think one company that really has their ducks in a row from a global perspective is Vodafone. They have numerous Facebook pages, YouTube channels and Twitter presences by country. The lot could easily become a mess from a management and cohesive structure standpoint but Vodafone manages to keep all of their presences in check with a clear vision for each. What’s really special about each of these presences is that they’re tailored to that specific region, deliver hyper local programming and exist for reasons beyond what an occasional update from an @vodafone presence could deliver.

 

Vodafone Egypt on Facebook keeps it local with country-specific programming

 

4. Establish a Linking Protocol Within Countries

Establishing a linking architecture between countries is a good idea to streamline user navigation and boost SEO, and I’ve found the easiest way to do this is on a country level. For instance, Vodafone’s German YouTube channel links to other Vodafone presences in Twitter and Facebook—a link to a Vodafone Spain page would be confusing and out of place from a user experience standpoint.

 

Vodafone’s German YouTube page links to other Vodafone social presences from Germany

 

5. Bring It All Together Under a Global Hub

What would the Empire be without the Death Star? Create a hub destination where users can navigate to see the entire global footprint in one place. This can be done in many ways, from an interactive tab on Facebook (Starbucks) to a designated web portal (Best Buy) to a YouTube channel that ports in other social presences (Twilight). Either way, having a global hub ensures online users see the totality of your brand’s international extensions … and it looks really cool, too.

Starbucks’ International tab appears on each of their Facebook country pages, linking all of them