An International Content Marketing Strategy

International content marketing is a strategy for creating (or adapting existing content) to take into account the linguistic and cultural nuances of your target market.

The main objective of writing content for an international audience is to boost your business or presence in that specific market.

A well devised international marketing plan will connect your organization with your global target groups through relevant, unique and high-quality content that is precisely tailored to the individual requirements of local target markets.

Whether you are writing for a local market or an international market, the process of content marketing remains the same: using interesting content to make Internet users aware of your business, products or services and to persuade them to try these products for themselves

That being said, there are a number of considerations to take into account when putting together an international content marketing strategy for a global audience:

Target Market

In an ever changing world, where real time communication is just a click away, knowing your audience can be the difference between a great content marketing campaign and a mediocre one.

Identifying and understanding your customers is an essential part of your business and marketing plan. Not everyone is your potential buyer, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target market early on.

With a clearly defined target audience, it is much easier to determine where and how to market your company.

Without a solid understanding of who you’re targeting and how they’ll engage with your content, your marketing localization efforts could fall flat.

The questions you need to ask to ensure a successful content marketing plan are whether your target audience is similar in the culture that you're targeting or completely different.

Foreign market segments come with their own set of needs, wants, tastes and desires. These must all be analyzed and considered when you are defining content marketing strategies.

Different Platforms

Each market has particularities in terms of user behavior in the digital universe, whether in search engines or social media.

Distributing content in a different target market can be completely different when creating content for an international content marketing strategy than it is back home.

In North America and Western Europe the dominant search engine is Google whereas in other countries, local search engines can outnumber Google.

For example, the main target for search engine optimisation in Russia is Yandex, in China its Baidu and in South Korea it is Naver.

International brands that want to succeed on a global scale need to understand the variety of international search engines found globally and how to optimize for the popular ones in their desired areas.

Cultural Differences

In international content marketing, culture covers all the ideas, perceptions, traditions, and customs that shape the people of a given region or country.

There are many cultural differences around the world, too many to count, and the relevant ones must be understood when building a global strategy.

Religion

This can range from religious beliefs to manners and it is impossible to know what we don’t know – so doing your research is important here.

Humour

Humour can be a stumbling block when writing for a different culture to your own. What is considered funny in one target market might be highly offensive in another.

Type of Blog Post

Interestingly, some countries are more focused on certain types of content than others. For example, in the UK you would focus more heavily on the 'benefits' of a product or service, how it will overcome a problem or enhance your life.

This can be done by creating original and engaging content in the form of a credible resource or informative blog posts.

In Germany consumers would need much more specific details including the product specifications and the intricacies of the product offering. This lends itself to a regularly updated trend blog post on a professional business website.

Sufficiently Research Your Output

Importantly though, engaging and informative posts from an authoritative and credible resource works well in any target country.

Greater awareness and understanding of the key dimensions of culture and your target consumer can help us to communicate better with customers across different markets and regions in more subtle ways.

Legal Implications For An International Digital Marketing Strategy

Privacy Laws

Privacy laws differ in countries and regions. At the time of writing, 137 out of 194 countries have put in place legislation to secure the protection of privacy.

Any international content marketing strategy will need to take this into important legal aspect into account.

Freedom Of Speech

Freedom of speech is a right preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and formally granted by the laws of most nations. In practice, however, some countries protect free speech, some deprioritize it, and some outright suppress it.

If your target market specifically limits freedom of speech, your content marketing strategy should be amended accordingly.

Data Protection

Data protection laws may be different between your home country and your target country.

From a practical perspective, this may involve ensuring you have the correct privacy notices and such on your website.

GDPR wasn't the beginning of data protection legislation and it certainly won't be the end.

Strict data privacy legislation with extraterritorial applicability is appearing in more and more economies across the globe.

Content Marketing For A Specific Product Or Service

Some products or services may banned in one country but not another. Some may be heavily regulated and may require licensing.

If you are performing content marketing for a global audience then a knowledge of what is permissible in each jurisdiction is a per-requisite.

Political Climate

In addition to this, a changing political climate can also affect your ability to sell goods or services in a region, depending on the philosophy of those in power and the side effects of the process.

Ensure that you understand the relevant laws and how they apply to your international content marketing strategy for your particular market.

Seasonal Events

Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, Kwanzaa, Australia Day - these are all popular holidays in different markets. Significant in their own country but much less so elsewhere.

On the other hand, events such as St Patrick’s Day and Christmas are often celebrated in countries that have no specific tie to the celebration but that still enjoy taking part.

Only produce content marketing blog posts about seasonal events in target markets in a local language if you believe your target customer is interested in this.

Localization

Localization is not the same as translation and exists primarily to help you better understand the target audience of a foreign country.

While it may be tempting simply to get your great content translated and your company noticed, you may well lose the intended audience if you do.

Having your content written and reviewed by local native speakers will ensure that it is both culturally and linguistically accurate.

Compared to your original audience, the new audience in another country thinks and behaves differently on the internet.

Localization is sensitive to the local culture, thus catering to a specific audience that is native to that culture.

By localizing your marketing campaigns, you make sure that your product is well-represented and understood by the people in your target locale.

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In today’s globalized world, in which the internet, social media, and digital platforms connect us all, penetrating foreign markets is a genuine necessity and a coherent and feasible goal, especially when using international content marketing

Companies looking to use a focused marketing strategy effectively in more than one country or language need to build an international content marketing strategy that focuses on delivering value at a local level.

An international content marketing strategy that communicates your company’s values and style will set you apart from your competitors.