By Remco de Bruijn, Managing Director, Digitude Panama
With all their vast resources you would say that multinational companies would make optimal use of Social Media Marketing in their international target markets right? A quick scan of foreign multinationals in commercial & logistics hub Panama however, showed that this is not the case. On the contrary, the majority of those companies are not using Social Media Marketing effectively (if at all) to support local business goals. But why?
This article explores the potential and provides actionable insights for businesses looking to leverage local social media strategies effectively. Let’s first start with why social media should play a key role in a company’s international business development.
Why Social Media should play a key role in a company’s International Business Development:
- Increased Brand Visibility Social media provides a platform for companies/brands to showcase their products, services, and values. Consistent, engaging posts can boost visibility among potential customers. They help build brand awareness and recognition, which is critical for establishing trust in new markets.
- Thought Leadership Sharing industry knowledge, tips, and relevant content on social media establishes a business as a leader in its field, enhancing credibility and attracting potential customers and partners.
- Cost Effectiveness. Compared to traditional methods (e.g. advertising, visits), social media is a highly cost-effective tool for business development. Organic reach can be very impactful and paid social media ads can be run at relatively low costs. This makes it particularly attractive for companies that want to boost their awareness and sales in target markets without a huge budget. Plus everything you do on Social Media can be measured, seeing the results of your efforts and comparing them with your targets and budget spend.
- Customer Engagement & Customer Service Social media enables direct interaction with B2B & B2C and a 24/7 customer service through comments, messages, and conversations. The feedback help companies understand international customer preferences and cultural nuances better. It also fosters stronger relationships with clients, which is key to long-term success in international markets.
- Targetted Marketing. Social media platforms offer sophisticated tools for targeting specific demographics, locations, and interests in the form of paid ads. This allows businesses to create tailored marketing campaigns for international audiences, ensuring that their message resonates with the cultural, economic, and social preferences of each market. For example, you can run different ad campaigns for users in Europe and Asia, each with content adapted to local needs.
- Data & Insights Social media are a treasure trove of data that businesses can use for market research. Insights such as trends, data on competitors and customer behaviour can help businesses adapt their offerings to better meet customers needs. It allows companies to identify potential demand, understand local preferences, and detect emerging trends in international markets.
- Competitive Advantage Companies that utilize social media effectively often gain a competitive edge by staying ahead of trends and being more visible than competitors who might not have a strong digital presence. Social media can help businesses enter new markets faster and more efficiently than traditional methods, giving them a competitive advantage.
From the recent webinar “Leveraging Social Media for Business Development in Panama“, that I had the pleasure to moderate and some further research, we can discern a number of “Golden Tips” to consider when you want to reach a local audience with content that reasonates with that audience. A few of them were:
- Design & Adapt your content with the local audience in mind, taking cultural and language issues into consideration. Message, tone, language.
- Analyse you audience. know who they are, where they are and how you can reach them
- Experiment, Innovate & Come Up with New Ideas
- Make it about Brand Awareness, not Sales.
- Be authentic & stay true to your Brand.
How most multinationals in Panama do it….
When I analysed social media accounts and content of multinational companies in Panama, I found that most commmunicate from HQ Global Accounts, followed by Regional Accounts (Latin America) and then there were the few that had a Local Social Media account in Panama, which in my opinion is the most effective solution to reach a local audience, but of course also the most costly one if you aim to do that in every market you are active in. You could however decide this on market size and/or potential or other criteria.
You can reach local audiences via global social media accounts with messages adapted to the cultural, economic and social preferences of each market, but in a targetted way this can only be done via paid ads. Paid ads do not have the authenticity that organic posts have, consistent and frequent use of ads in multiple markets will prove costly and local people that start following the global account will also see the many organic postings that might not reasonate with them because they lack local or regional links.
Moreover, that you can reach local audiences with global accounts does not mean its effective. To increase brand awareness in a market and build a relation with a local audience, you need to create a regular stream of engaging content that resonates locally. And that is best done with organic content, from a local or otherwise regional account & team and with content made for that market or adapted to that market (message / tone / language).
So why are so many multinational companies not doing this and not exploiting this unused potential? From meeting with business developers in Panama and a attendee poll launched during the beforementioned webinar, I found a number of challenges or reasons:
Challenges of “Going Local” with Social Media in target markets
- Lack of capacity within the foreign subsidiary (or elsewhere)
- Lack of budget on a regional or local level
- Lack of knowledge among local staff (strategic & practical)
- Policy or restrictions from HQ
- Lack of priority (e.g. because of market potential) / awareness at HQ, regional HQ or subsidiary
- Difficulty understanding local market behaviour
- Difficulty creating local content
- Difficulty to quantify the ROI
- Difficulty in building an audience
Conclusion & Recommendations
Whichever reason a multinational has to not use localised strategies focused on promising target markets, it is missing opportunities. As we saw in the start of this article, by unleashing the power of social media for international business development, they can unlock this untapped potential, increase brand awareness, establish trust and increase sales. It thereby helps business developers in achieving their targets and obtaining results, easier and faster.
In modern international business development, the use of social media in local target markets is deeply integrated and used as an asset. Building a strong social media presence takes time, effort, a budget and consistency, but the reward will be worth it and you can start gradually. Of course it should be done strategically, smart and in close coordination with HQ. Being aware of the unused potential now, the next steps are to discuss it internally and gathering more information.
For inspiration & good practises how four of the World’s Top Brands use Social Media to leverage Social Media in Panama and the wider region, watch the webinar recording “Leveraging Social Media for Business Development in Panama”. With the Brand & Marketing Specialists of Heineken Panama, Maersk, Adidas & Upfield LATAM.