So you’ve started a small business, and your product is well-received domestically – all in all, everything’s going according to plan. But if you want to scale up and grow your company further, it may be necessary to branch out and expand into international markets.
The good news is that this isn’t as complicated or costly as it might seem at first glance. There are multiple ways small businesses can increase their brand awareness internationally, even without the budget for any traditional marketing strategies.
Here Are 6 Tips On How Small Businesses Can Increase Their Brand Awareness Across Borders:
1. Get Active On Social Media
Social media presents untapped opportunities for brands looking to become popular outside of their home country – but only if they’re willing to put in the work and engage their audiences.
It’s not enough to simply post about your products on platforms like Facebook and Twitter; you also need to interact with people, join discussions, offer assistance, or answer FAQs to show that you have a human face behind the brand. This will help build trust between you and potential international customers, allowing them to feel more comfortable purchasing from you.
Here Are Just A Few Of The Most Popular Social Media Platforms That Can Be Used For International Marketing:
Twitter allows people, businesses, and companies to connect over short messages online. It’s become extremely popular with journalists who often have their own accounts as it allows them to share the news with their audience instantly.
Another advantage of using Twitter is that you can create hashtags (a word or phrase preceded by a hash/octothorpe (#) symbol), making it easier to find tweets related to the same topic. These hashtags can then be used in tweets to draw more attention to them and give them more exposure.
Twitter gives businesses the chance to engage with customers in a more informal way than other platforms (although still professional), which makes it easier for people to get to know your brand, what you’re about, and how they can benefit from using your product or service.
With over 1.5 billion active users, Facebook has become an extremely popular way of increasing brand awareness domestically and internationally. Make sure to learn more about how to make money from your Facebook page, as people often use their own personal accounts to connect with friends. Still, businesses can set up their own Facebook page to advertise their product or service.
People can then ‘like’ this page, and the company will post updates, pictures, or even videos to share information with consumers. In addition, they’re able to communicate with people who like their page (and others) directly, which helps build a stronger relationship between consumer and brand.
Pinterest is another popular platform where people can share content with each other. This could be anything from pictures to quotes, infographics, or even text posts. Again, many different categories make it easier for users to find the sort of information that they’re looking for without having to wade through pages and pages of irrelevant stuff.
Instagram basically works in the same way as Pinterest. Still, instead of being about sharing content, users take pictures of images, quotes, or things they find interesting and share them with others. With over 400 million users, it has become a popular way to help businesses increase their brand awareness internationally because it’s easy to use and allows companies to build relationships with consumers by sharing pictures of their products and also what goes on behind the scenes.
Snapchat
Snapchat works in a slightly different way compared to most social media platforms as companies aren’t able to communicate directly with customers. Still, they can post pictures and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
Why have social media platforms become so important?
There are many reasons why social media has become integral to expanding a brand identity both domestically and internationally:
- Brands can engage with consumers more closely than ever before
- Customers can have a more intimate relationship with brands which helps build brand loyalty
- There is a wide range of social media platforms available for different situations
- People are spending more time on social media instead of traditional media, so they are being exposed to more advertising
- Social media allows people to share their opinions, experiences, or success stories which are free advertising for the brand.
2. Run Contests
Social media is an excellent platform for hosting giveaways and contests – as long as it relates back to your product or service in some way. Your rewards don’t necessarily have to be something physical – they can take the form of anything from free samples to coupons for future purchases, even money off vouchers if they’re related to your business.
Be sure to offer a range of prizes for different levels of engagement – someone who just clicks “like” on your post isn’t going to be as valuable to you as one who shares it with their friends and family, recommends it to their personal network, etc. You can also indicate that international customers are eligible to enter your contests, which will make the whole process much easier.
3. Create Landing Pages
If possible, try creating a dedicated website or landing page in specific countries where you want your product to become popular – especially if there’s a language barrier between you and potential customers from that country.
Landing pages are great because they’re specifically designed with individual audiences in mind, laying out all information they’ll need without bombarding them with extraneous data or distracting them from your product. Depending on the country in question, you can even use these pages for different advertising prices and running contests.
4. Public Relations
Another option for increasing brand awareness is public relations (PR). This marketing branch allows businesses to reach out to journalists who write articles about current events. Businesses can offer a reporter an interesting story angle, such as free samples or coupons, discounts on larger orders, or other incentives. If a journalist is interested in your story, they will mention your business in their article and tag it with your company’s name, increasing brand awareness!
5. Attend Trade Shows
Trade shows are a great way of meeting potential international business partners face-to-face, building relationships that could lead to long-term deals or even referrals further down the line. There are plenty of trade shows taking place all over the world, so it’s simply a matter of doing your market research and finding out where they’re being held – then booking yourself a ticket! If you spot an overseas company at your own event, don’t be afraid to go up to them and introduce yourself; this is how valuable contacts are made, after all.
6. Invest In Translations
Lastly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest in some professional translation services for the language(s) you need to become fluent in. While plenty of free online translators like Google Translate can handle basic terminology, if you want your text to be accurate and fit for human consumption (especially when that audience is used to reading native content), it’s best not to rely on it on these tools exclusively.
The carefully translated copy will make readers feel more comfortable about purchasing from an international brand, allowing them to see beyond any potential language barriers and appreciate the merits of your product instead – giving you the boost in sales you need! It may take time and effort before these strategies start bringing results, but once they do, you’ll find that international business starts rolling in almost effortlessly.
In Conclusion
By engaging with your international customers on social media, hosting contests and running landing pages to target specific countries, attending trade shows, investing in professional translation services and partnering with a Growth Agency – you can help increase brand awareness internationally. Of course, these strategies will take time and effort before they start bringing results; but once they do, you’ll find that international business starts rolling in almost effortlessly.