Claves para definir una estrategia de Social Media en Europa

Esta semana he tenido el honor de colaborar con el blog de Hubspot en un post sobre estrategia en Social Media en Europa, junto con otros cuatro expertos: Lilach Bullock de Socialable (UK), Cristophe Ramel de Acti (Francia), Albert Pusch de Fact-Finder (Alemania) y Corinne Keijzer experta en Social Media (Holanda).
El objetivo del post, era dar una visión sobre el panorama de Social Media en Europa a la audiencia, fundamentalmente estadounidense, del blog de Hubspot.
Os dejo un resumen de los cinco aprendizajes obtenidos y las principales aportaciones de cada experto. No es una guía sobre como definir una estrategia, sino cinco ‘lecciones’ a tener en cuenta en Europa (aunque creo que son aplicables a casi todos los países).
Aquí podéis leer el post completo en su blog: How to “Glocalise” Your Social Media Presence for a European Market.

1. Encuentra a tu audiencia

Lo más importante es definir tu audiencia y, por supuesto, donde se encuentra en Internet (yo hubiese puesto la lección 3, en primer lugar, pero prefiero mantener el espíritu del post).
Lilach Bullock, fundadora de Socialable, aconseja sobre como enfocar esto:

“The question that UK businesses should ask is “where is my audience?”, not “which networks should we leverage?” At Socialable, we encourage all businesses, no matter what their size or sector, to spend time researching where customers and prospects are engaging online — this way, they will more effectively and more quickly reach and engage their target audiences. Of course, there are general rules of thumb — B2C companies will have more success via Facebook, while B2B will garner better results from LinkedIn.”

La penetración de cada red social varía por país. Es interesante la visión que aportan algunos de los expertos de otros países:

• Francia: por los comentarios de Cristophe Ramel, parece que la situación allí es similar a la española:
  “Facebook is by far the social network most widely used by French companies. Whatever their size, they are aware that it is widely used by consumers — 26 million users among 40 to 50 million internet users, out of a population of 66 million. At the same time, Twitter is now in the public eye, and is gradually being used more and more by businesses. Its @ mentions on television — with hashtags and tweets being broadcast just as they are issued — and its use by many well-known people and politicians give it much visibility.”
• Alemania: aquí la situación es diferente. A destacar que los foros están por encima de Twitter y Xing por encima de Linkedin. Albert Pusch, nos lo explica:
  “Albert told us that Germans inexplicably love forums, so you should check out groups within each network so that you are addressing the right audience. He also told us that  oung people in Germany don’t like Twitter, so marketers should not focus their energy there when targeting a German audience. “Xing is the main network for B2B and Facebook is still King for B2C.”

2. No se trata solo de las ‘grandes’ redes sociales

Tristán Elósegui, VP of Strategy at iCrossing in Spain agrees. “While Facebook and Twitter are clearly the leaders, there is a group of social networks that are starting to be mandatory. Ensure you include multimedia as part of your strategy by including Pinterest and Instagram.” 

3. Alinea tu Social Media Plan con los objetivos de la empresa

“You need to ask what value social media is going to add to the brand strategy and goals. What is the company going to talk about? In what tone are we going to communicate to our audience? We have to define the brand’s ‘movement’ — what is that topic that allows us to continually communicate with our audience, without talking about the company, and still tying it back to our goals? And most importantly, how are we going to measure those goals?”

4. No consideres Social Media como un canal de conversión directa

“Tristan told us that one of the biggest mistakes he is seeing marketers make in Spain is considering social media a direct conversion channel. “I think that social media brings the user closer to the sales conversion, but this conversion happens outside — through email marketing, on the website, etc. Social media is the ‘bridge’ between the initial awareness and the final conversion.”

“Lilach added that it is key to remember that marketing and selling are two different activities, with a lot of overlap. “Be clear, and don’t blur them in social media. Social media marketing is about brands providing value, sharing and/or producing quality content, and creating relationships with individuals rather than selling to them. Expecting it to be a quick-win — an easy solution to all of their marketing needs — would be folly.  The “I have a Facebook and Twitter account so why are my sales not increasing” mentality is one which is too prevalent throughout the online world.  If it was that easy, then everyone would be successful! You will get out as much as you put in, so be prepared for some hard work, or to ask for help.”

 

Corinne Keijzer, a social media expert from the Netherlands agrees. “Social Media is the perfect way to show your company’s personality by showing them what you’ve got without selling it. Let others sell for you — that’s the power of social media!”

5. Piensa en global, actúa en local

‘Glocalisation’ is a concept that European marketers in particular should understand and execute on. Tristan explains: “Being ‘glocal’ essentially means creating a local adaptation of a global strategy. You need to understand the local cultures of the markets you are communicating to. Hiring a local staff is a must for a successful strategy.”

 

Cristophe firmly believes in glocalisation, too. “Each individual country has its own culture, its needs, and its own way of using social networks. Although this obviously makes things more complex, firms must be aware of those specificities and adapt their strategies, country by country. Think global, act local, so as to meet the expectations of internet users. For example, the French are very wary of privacy, and are particularly hostile to advertising. When data is collected, it’s necessary to be very clear on your intentions for its use, and be careful not to be too aggressive or intrusive. The difference in French between “tu” and “vous” has to be thought out precisely, according to the formality that is implied with the consumer. Using “vous” in place of “tu” may come across detached and cold, but starting a new conversation with “tu” may also be perceived as a lack of respect.”

 

Think about the nuances of the cultures and countries to which you’re marketing, and look for local talent that can help you incorporate a better understanding of your audience into your social media marketing.

6. Diseña un plan y sus procesos

When you want to use social media, Corinne’s advice is to look at the conditions first. “What is your goal? For whom are you going to use which channel, and why? Do you have enough time, capacity, and budget to do it, and who is in charge of it? Just doing it because ‘everybody is doing it’ is not a good reason.”

 

Corinne also gives great advice to help you stay organized, and execute on your plan. “Schedule all of your activities in a calendar and work it out for two weeks ahead of time, at least. Have control over who is doing what, like writing and creating content, who is taking pictures, making movies, etc. Who is going to monitor all the activity of your company online? Who is going to take care of online complaints and questions? Make rules for your pages if necessary.”