When it comes to social media, should you opt for one global presence, or create a number of different properties tailored for different countries and cultures? This presentation explores the pros and cons of each approach, provides a framework for decision-making, and offers examples of brands that have used each approach successfully.

1. can one size fit all?
when it comes to social media,
should brands go global or local?
simon kemp • we are social • #smwf singapore, 02 sep 2011

2. simon kemp
@eskimon
we are social

3. we are social

4. we are a conversation agency

5. we are helping many leading brands...
we are social

6. ...from offices all over the world
London
Munich
Paris
Milan
Singapore
Sydney
São Paulo
we are social

7. singapore office opened 01 sep 2011
London
Munich
Paris
Milan
new
!
Singapore
Sydney
São Paulo
we are social

8. </sales pitch>

9. vs
one global many local
presence presences

10. 3 questions:
what are the pros and cons of each?
which approach is right for you?
how can you implement it?

11. proof: “
local facebook pages
“ work much better
than the global ones.

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13. torture numbers
and they’ll tell you
anything

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24.7M

15. 14,842 > 3,410
average actions average actions
per post on per post on local
global page pages combined

16. *
( this sample is hardly
representative, but... )

17. generally speaking,
global pages drive
greater total activity;
local pages drive
higher average activity.

18. PHOTO: © PICTFACTORY ON FLICKR
the gravity of crowds

19. “ human beings
are herd animals.
we do what we
do because of
other people.
“
mark earls, “herd”

20. in light of this, it seems
that a single global presence
could work for brands

21. indeed, it’s much easier to
maintain brand consistency
with a single global presence

22. but there are many
advantages to adopting
a localised approach too

23. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

24. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

25. PHOTO: MASTUDENTSITE.ORG
language

26. there are thousands of different
social networks, built around
different needs and interests

27. but they all have
one thing in common:
conversations

28. without
conversations,
social media
aren’t social

29. but in asia alone, there are
2,000 spoken languages

30. OMG! LOLz
...not to mention ways of
actually speaking them

31. so is it realistic to expect our
audiences to engage if we’re only
‘communicating’ in one language?

32. ฉันไม่ได้พูดภาษาอังกฤษ
( )
would you consider a
single language approach
in any other media?

33. how can you make it as
easy as possible for audiences
to join your conversations?

34. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

35. PHOTO: © ESKIMON
culture

36. many asian cultures
are guided by the
concept of ‘face’

37. as a result, asians often
exhibit less ‘social volume’
than their western peers

38. brands may need to explore
different ways of inspiring
asian audiences to interact

39. where and how does
your audience want to
connect with your brand?

40. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

41. PHOTO: © TED OLIKKALA (MADABOUTASIA ON FLICKR)
affinity

42. top websites across asia
country top website reach
china baidu 89%
hong kong yahoo! 85%
indonesia facebook 70%
japan yahoo! 81%
south korea naver 84%
malaysia facebook 76%
philippines facebook 92%
singapore facebook 82%
taiwan yahoo! 92%
thailand facebook 76%
vietnam zing 64%

43. china: 15M
qzone 18M
531M south japan:
korea: mixi
cyworld
hong kong:
india: facebook taiwan:
facebook 4M
9M wretch
29M
vietnam:
zing philippines:
15M facebook
11M 25M
thailand:
facebook
malaysia:
11M facebook indonesia:
facebook
the preferred 2.5M 39M
social network singapore:
facebook
also varies across
asian countries

44. people use social networks
for many different reasons

45. sometimes it’s because they
want to connect with brands

46. but more often it’s
to stay in touch with
friends and family...

47. ...to meet new friends and
people with similar interests...

48. ...and to express themselves
and show off their skills

49. brands need to understand
these motivations, and connect
with audiences on their terms

50. even being able to relate with
your audience in the simplest of
ways can make a big difference

51. how can you demonstrate affinity
with your audience, and add
value to their social experience?

52. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

53. PHOTO: GO MAGAZINE (VIA KEVININLIBERIA.BLOGSPOT.COM)
hq vs local

54. !
NEW
local markets will often have
specific needs that could be well
served with social media activities

55. but a single global presence
can only add basic value
to local marketing activities

56. meanwhile, a lack of local
involvement can result in a
‘not invented here’ attitude

57. how will you support local
marketing teams’ efforts?

58. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

59. PHOTO: WWARBY ON FLICKR
practicalities

60. the legislation governing
marketing activities varies
greatly between countries

61. timezone management is
a critical factor in managing
cross-border communities

62. the ability to respond to events
in real-time can help to bring a
brand’s social presence to life

63. is it feasible to meet all
your different needs
with a single presence?

64. conversation
challenges culture
country needs commonalities

65. global advantages local advantages
simpler management responsive to local needs
brand consistency higher average engagement
the ‘crowd’ effect cultural and language needs
global challenges local challenges
lower average engagement more costly
legislative issues brand consistency issues
supporting local activities ‘dispersed’ communities

66. IDEA
how can you put your
chosen strategy into action?

67. there’s no ‘silver bullet’ answer
that will work for every brand...

68. but let’s take a look at what
some successful brands are doing

69. the ‘multi-local’
approach

73. the ‘glocal’
approach

75. the page remains the same, but
the language visitors see depends
on the country of their ip address

76. hello! !
the multilingual
global approach

78. the page only posts in english, but
has conversations in many languages

79. this is consistent in the brand’s
other conversations channels too

80. plenty more inspiration at
www.facebook-studio.com

81. 3 questions:
what are the pros and cons of each?
which approach is right for you?
how can you implement it?

82. global advantages local advantages
simpler management responsive to local needs
brand consistency higher average engagement
the ‘crowd’ effect cultural and language needs
global challenges local challenges
lower average engagement more costly
legislative issues brand consistency issues
supporting local activities ‘dispersed’ communities

83. what’s right for you
depends entirely on
your brand’s context

84. we are social can help

85. !
but no matter which
approach you adopt...

86. remember that you should
always start with the
audience, not with the brand

87. Q & A

88. simon kemp
@eskimon
wearesocial.sg
simon.kemp@wearesocial.sg