5 Things to Consider for an International Digital Marketing Strategy

5 steps for executing an international digital marketing strategy

Below are the steps every business owner should take when pursuing an international digital marketing campaign. While it’s possible to rush out online ads or social media to reach out to prospective customers in other countries, the results may not be optimal if you don’t do the following.

1. Find the most effective methods

Your first step is to choose the most appropriate digital marketing strategies for your needs. There are many possible methods and the effectiveness of each one depends on what you’re trying to achieve. However, two methods are considered fundamental: search engine optimization and social media marketing.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must for all businesses that seek to establish an online presence. It’s not just about topping the rankings for search engine results. It’s essentially about putting up the right information about your company online to inform both search engines and human viewers about what you’re offering.

Social media marketing is also considered fundamental, given the role it plays in the consumer market. Almost every potential customer has a social media account these days, so it’s an excellent platform for delivering marketing messages. Other methods to consider include content marketing, email marketing, video advertising and affiliate marketing. [Find out why every brand should have a YouTube channel.]

2. Establish the scope

Don’t try to reach all or too many international markets at the same time. Going international with your digital marketing campaign doesn’t mean you have to simultaneously target all or most countries. Identify the top markets that will most likely give you the new customers you need, and then focus your marketing on them. You should realize that targeting numerous markets at the same time is going to be extremely costly and risky.

It is advisable to start small, and then expand as you see fit. “Start small, one country, then scale,” said Ahlem Mahroua, growth marketing consultant for tech, gaming and educational technology startups, “See what works, what doesn’t, tweak along the way. Of course, track and document everything you do.”  

Study your options to determine the next moves for your product expansion. Let the success of your initial promotional campaigns guide you to the next target countries or regions gradually. If your marketing efforts don’t seem to pay off in Asian markets, for instance, maybe you need to focus your efforts in more receptive places. “My top tip for scaling would be to use your learnings and data, find where you’re doing great and then double down,” said Mahroua. 

Additionally, if you want your international digital marketing efforts to succeed, you can’t just throw out a one-size-fits-all campaign. Different countries or regions require different localization projects and teams. Likewise, they most likely need custom marketing strategies that appeal to different cultures. Digital marketing campaigns that work in Scandinavian countries, for example, are unlikely to work in China or Indonesia. [Related article: International Business Etiquette from Around the World.] 

3. Develop flexibility and scalability

Create an adaptable digital marketing strategy. The international market is never homogenous. That’s why you need to customize your approaches depending on the situation on the ground. Seeing the world from a singular point of view, said Katherine Cartwright, principal/partner at international media buying agency Criterion Global, is one of the biggest mistakes a business looking to break into an international digital market can make.

Additionally, your plans must adapt to changes or unexpected developments. What do you do, for example, if the government in your target market releases a statement that the main ingredient of the mosquito repellent solution you’re marketing is ineffective? You would need to swiftly react by citing other authoritative research or advisories to counter the local government’s assertion.

Moreover, your marketing plan needs to be scalable depending on the conditions of the market. Avoid creating a plan that is too anchored on certain personalities, places, pop culture references or competing products. Make it easy to expand your plan by not necessitating major changes in your product pitch or the functions of the people involved in implementing the plan.

4. Build relationships

Emphasize customer connections. International digital marketing may sound like an enormous and generalized venture, but it should feel as intimate as possible. Your goal is to make customers feel special so they are compelled to buy your product or subscribe to your service.

Be responsive to inquiries and always aim to improve your customer service. Address complaints or questions as soon as possible. If you’re trying to attract new consumers, don’t make them feel taken for granted or like one of many people your business deals with impersonally. Invest in a multilingual customer service team. Customers are more likely to buy something that’s pitched in their language, and prospective customers develop a more positive first impression when their inquiries are addressed in their native language.

It’s not just customer relationships you need to nourish. Cultivating strong business partnerships and connections is pivotal to international marketing success as well. ”The most valuable advice is to treat localization as a strategic priority, not an afterthought,” said Luca O’Neill, head of growth marketing at Access Partnership. “Building relationships with local experts and conducting deep cultural research ensures that campaigns are relevant and respectful.”

5. Monitor and evaluate

Document the implementation of your international marketing plan and measure its performance. Keep up with everything that is happening with the plan. Record your progress and assess whether or not your efforts have achieved what they were meant to. Develop performance metrics and evaluate whether your business is getting something out of the endeavor.

The money you spend on online ads, social media promotions and other forms of digital marketing should translate to something palpable. That could be in the form of increased brand awareness or a bump in sales. Based on the results, either maintain or tweak your strategy and continue to revisit it periodically to ensure your methods continue to pay off. You’ll also want to keep up with digital marketing trends to maximize the opportunities to reach customers.

Types of international digital marketing strategies

In some ways, your international marketing strategy may look similar to the campaigns you produce for a local audience. It’s just important to understand how to fine-tune your strategy for international audiences. Here are some marketing strategies for businesses expanding their global digital presence. 

Optimize your website for multilingual audiences

You must update your website to your target audience’s local language. All of your other marketing efforts will be in vain if your potential customers can’t read all about your product or service offerings. When revising your website for an international audience, consulting an expert is crucial. If you don’t have a fluent team member available, this task can’t stay in-house. “Translation, or rather localization, needs to be outsourced,” Mahroua explained. “Anything customer-facing [has] to be outsourced. Honestly, a bad translation is worse than no translation at all.”

If you’re thinking outsourcing can be done via AI, think again. Cartwright underlined that this is not an area to cut corners. “Natural language processing has pushed the field of translation considerably,” explained Cartwright. “But these models can’t ‘catch’ what might be grammatically correct but feel intuitively ‘off.’” 

Georgi Todorov, founder and CEO of Create & Grow also noted that hiring local experts is especially important for certain industries. “Organizations should seek outside assistance for translating content when accuracy and cultural sensitivity are critical, such as for legal, medical or highly technical materials,” he said.

Certain aspects of content marketing, like offering a good story, remain universal whether you’re working with local or international markets. “Stories resonate everywhere,” said O’Neil,  “Highlighting human impact or relatable narratives transcends borders.” 

Tailor SEO and search engine marketing (SEM)

The most popular search engines often differ abroad, so you need to approach optimization on a case-by-case basis. “Platforms like Baidu in China or Yandex in Russia require a different approach than Google for SEO or SEM success,” said O’Neill. “Ignoring these nuances can limit reach and ROI [return on investment].”

Some of this requires adjusting your tech strategy as well as making sure your creative content is culturally appropriate. Implementing hreflang tags, allowing users and potential new customers to see your content in their region’s language, is one part of this process. You should also make sure to edit metadata and URLs for better optimization. 

Segment email campaigns

Focusing on market segmentation allows you to deliver personalized email content that resonates with your audience. The tools you use to reach your unique local customer base can be just as valuable with an international audience. Segment your international email campaigns by language and regional nuances. Don’t forget to do this for all email elements, too. Revising call-to-action buttons that direct to your optimized website is just as critical as updating the email copy. 

International digital marketing mistakes to avoid

Digital marketing is vital for businesses of all sizes, but it can be tricky. If you’re using outdated or ineffective strategies, you could end up wasting time and money. Here are the biggest digital marketing mistakes to avoid when targeting a global audience:

• Lack of focus: A lack of focus is one of the biggest problems. It’s impossible to create an effective marketing campaign if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish. Concentrate on finding the right marketing techniques for your desired audience and create measurable goals to track over time. If you don’t stay focused, you won’t achieve your objectives. 
• Not understanding your audience: If you don’t know who your audience is, you could end up targeting the wrong one. This can result in no sales or cause you to attract customers who aren’t the right fit for your company. Building customer personas can help ensure you direct your efforts toward the right market.
• Not optimizing your site for mobile: Most people own a smartphone, and you can bet they’re searching the internet using their mobile devices. That means if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on potential customers. It’s critical that your site is functional regardless of what device a person uses to access it and where they are based.
• Not using social proof: Potential customers want to see what kind of experience others have had with your company. Testimonials and case studies help your company build trust and credibility with new consumers. User-generated content can make your business stand out, too.
• Trying too many things at once: Email, social media and SEO are all effective marketing techniques. But if you’ve never tried any digital marketing strategy before, mastering even one of these methods will be a challenge. If you try to conquer all of them at once, you’ll set yourself up for failure. It’s vital to find the best method for your objective and proceed slowly, scaling up over time.
• Using the wrong international terminology: Failing to think strategically and reusing the same campaign materials across regions is an easy way to end up using incorrect terminology in the area you’re targeting. “Too many times, I’ve seen clients wanting to recycle local campaigns globally,” said Mahroua. “These campaigns will flop, sometimes it’s because humor doesn’t translate or because the meaning of an acronym in one language is something else in another.”
• Being insensitive to international cultures: It’s one thing if a joke doesn’t land, but blatant cultural insensitivity is a guaranteed way to lose an international audience. This is a perfect example of why it’s important to work with translators who understand local nuances and customs. 

Think local for international digital marketing success

The digital realm allows us to reach anyone, anywhere in the world. If you want to grab the attention of an international audience in the right way, attention to detail around local culture is a must. Start small so you can give your international digital marketing campaign the full attention it deserves and focus on finding quality local partners to help you succeed. With the right approach, you can grow your audience beyond the borders of your traditional target digital market. 

Natalie Hamingson and Jamie Johnson contributed to this article.