International business

Ten Considerations When Navigating Digital Platforms Across Borders

| By Barry Thomas |
it was recently announced that Facebook now has one billion global users and this figure is expected to grow exponentially. in todays world, digital and social media platforms are integral to peoples lives and they are also very quickly becoming fundamental to how businesses are engaging with their various stakeholders both locally and internationally. More than 70 per cent of global organisations are actively using social media and, interestingly, a report published by KPMG reveals that emerging markets are dominating this trend. in fact, it is the Chinese, indian and Brazilian based organisations that are more likely to use social media as a business tool than those located in the uK, Australia, Germany or Canada.

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International business

regardless of the community you are looking to engage, it is important to remember that a one size fits all approach will not persuade your audience. While corporate messaging should remain consistent across all markets, the approach, language and cultural references need to be market specific. With the ever changing digital environment and the popularity of platforms shifting rapidly, it can be difficult to know where and when to engage your audience. With this in mind, here are some key considerations to factor in your cross-border digital communications: Define Your Objectives Before diving head first into a digital strategy, identify what outcomes you want to achieve or what business related challenges you are looking to resolve. Digital is not always the answer and mistakes can be costly from both a financial and reputation perspective. Digital engagement is, however, fast becoming integral to how organisations or individual brands build their profile and can include the presentation of corporate information and marketing messages through to media engagement, recruitment, e-commerce and obtaining customer feedback. Keeping in mind the digital environment is a transient space, dont be afraid to test the water and try something different. Engaging with your online audience in a new way could yield some great results and alter perceptions about your brand. Conduct An Audit A well-executed digital audit will help to refine key objectives. You will need to consider the digital activity your organisation already has in place in each market; assess what competitors are doing; identify successful case studies that you would like to emulate; identify trends in other parts of the world that could be adapted; and agree on an approach that will meet your business goals. Know Your Audience Even if your organisation has a global digital strategy in place, one rigid approach will not translate well across borders. it is important not to make assumptions. Always conduct in-depth research to gain an understanding of the local culture, customs and demographics, as well as the regional digital trends and habits. in your research, consider where users are communicating online and identify the parallels

with your target audience. Even if you are looking to engage two countries that speak the same language, you will still need to adapt the content accordingly. Australian digital platforms for example host quite different content to what is published on us platforms. Also conduct research about preferred device usage in the region you are targeting. Emerging digital markets, including the Asia-Pacific region, tend to favour smartphones over PCs to access the internet. According to the Abode report, 40 per cent of internet searches in Australia and new Zealand are performed via tablets and 38 per cent from a smartphone. interestingly, China has the lowest levels of search-driven traffic from smartphones at just 6 per cent. Identify The Platform Digital platforms have different roles and functionality. For example, a blog can be a useful tool for thought leadership, to frame issues and to raise the profile of individuals, whereas Facebook is an interactive platform that can help to position the values and personality of an organisation. You will also need to be aware of region specific nuances and online trends. For example, in Japan there are over 30 million Mixi users; in China renren and Qzone dominate. Establish Clear Guidelines there are numerous corporate social media gaffs that we can point to and know just how vulnerable an organisations reputation is. to protect your organisation, brand and employees, it is imperative there are social media guidelines in place. A clear and succinct policy that outlines what is and isnt appropriate can help remove the potential for confusion or litigation. Separate Personal From Professional the lines between personal and professional social media platforms are becoming increasingly blurred. this has had a significant impact on the approach organisations have had to take when integrating social media as a business tool. Consider setting up business specific social media accounts and ensure those responsible for communicating via these platforms on behalf of the business are aware of the potential consequences of not thinking before posting. A good rule of thumb is to only publish what you would be happy to see printed on the front page of the Wall street Journal.

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Understand The Regulatory Environment Having a good understanding of local digital regulations, policy and politics across the markets you are engaging is essential, as it will differ between regions. For example, in a highly regulated market such as China, social network renren is the countrys version of Facebook. You will also need to be aware of how offline regulations translate to online platforms. Either seek professional counsel or assume that any rules and regulations you are bound by offline, such as making product claims, also apply online. Develop Locally Relevant Content Ensure both the format and content you publish is relevant to your target audience. it is possible to adapt global digital collateral for specific markets, but to do this successfully it is worth investing in local resources such as professional copywriters and content managers. People in Asia for example tend to access content on the move, using handheld devices, so information needs to be concise, interactive and varied. You will also need to consider what time of day is best to publish content. there are online tools available such as Google translate which may be helpful to you, however there are also inherent risks when using auto translation tools.

Monitor Profile And Presence Monitoring what your audience is saying about your organisation or brand is very useful for gaining insights about your organisation or brands visibility, impact and share of voice. it is also helpful for identifying emerging trends that can inform business decisions and highlight impending crises. By monitoring activity 24/7 you are also likely to be in a better position to respond to issues in a timely manner and prevent escalation. Given the digital world never sleeps, consider outsourcing your digital monitoring requirements so that youre aware of issues as they happen. Measure Impact All aspects of business should be measurable and accountable. Digital is no different. Measurement will help you to assess if you are meeting the original objectives you set and enable you to adapt your digital strategy if necessary. there is an abundance of online tools that can help you to do this, so there are no excuses not to review and revise. Barry Thomas is the Vice President and APAC Managing Director of Cook Australia. Barry has recently been awarded a 2012 Export Heroes Award from the Australian Institute of Export and has more than two decades of international leadership and expertise in pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

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