TL;DR
This guide will show you how you can build an international audience that resonates with your brand and content, no matter where your viewers or customers are located.
Expanding your reach across borders is a dream for many content creators, businesses, and influencers. Building an international audience can bring tremendous opportunities for growth, revenue, and influence.
But getting started can seem daunting, especially when you’re trying to appeal to people from different cultures, languages, and time zones. The good news is that it’s entirely achievable with the right approach, tools, and mindset.
Understand your global market
The first step in building an international audience is understanding who they are. You can’t expect to grow your reach globally if you don’t know who you’re trying to reach.
The world is a big place, so you need to narrow down which countries or regions are most relevant to your brand. This isn’t about limiting yourself but about targeting your efforts for maximum impact.
Start by researching where there is demand for your content or product. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, or even surveys to find out where your current audience is coming from. Look into market trends, demographics, and consumer behaviour in those countries.
Tailor your content to local preferences
Once you’ve identified the regions or countries you want to target, it’s crucial to tailor your content to suit local preferences. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works when dealing with a global audience. Different cultures have different values, and what might resonate with your UK audience may fall flat in Japan or Brazil.
Start by localising your content. This means more than just translating it into different languages. Localisation involves adapting your content to fit the culture, including idioms, references, and even humour.
Working with native speakers or cultural consultants is a great way to ensure your content doesn’t lose its relevance when expanding internationally. They can provide insights into cultural sensitivities and trends that you might not be aware of.
Embrace multilingual marketing
Speaking of localisation, offering your content in multiple languages can be a game-changer when building an international audience.
English may be a widely spoken language, but millions of people around the world prefer consuming content in their native language. If you want to build trust and a connection with your audience, speaking their language can go a long way.
Key points 🔑
- Invest in high-quality translation services or hire multilingual staff to help you translate your website, social media posts, and other marketing materials.
- Ensure that the translation is accurate and nuanced, rather than a literal word-for-word interpretation that could lead to misunderstandings.
- If you’re hosting webinars, live streams, or podcasts, consider offering subtitles or even real-time translation options for your international audience. This inclusive approach will make people feel valued and encourage them to engage more with your content.
Optimise for international SEO
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) plays a massive role in how easily people from different countries find your content online. If you want to build an international audience, optimising your website for international SEO is crucial.
The first thing you need to do is ensure your website is accessible and indexed in the regions you’re targeting. This might mean setting up country-specific domains or subdomains or using country and language-specific meta tags. This will signal to search engines that your content is relevant to users in those regions.
Next, conduct keyword research specific to each country or language. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find the most relevant terms for your international audience and incorporate them into your content and website.
Related read: What Is International Link Building?
Leverage social media for global reach
Social media is an invaluable tool when it comes to building an international audience. However, not every platform is equally popular across the globe. While Instagram and Twitter might dominate in the West, platforms like WeChat in China, VK in Russia, and Line in Japan reign supreme in their respective countries.
To succeed internationally, it’s important to identify which social media platforms your target audience uses and establish a presence there.
This might mean opening accounts on unfamiliar platforms and adapting your social media strategy to suit the preferences and behaviours of users in different countries.
Collaborate with international influencers
Influencer marketing has exploded in popularity over the last few years, and it can be an incredibly effective way to build an international audience. Collaborating with influencers in different countries helps you tap into their established fan base and credibility.
Look for influencers who align with your brand’s values and have a strong presence in the regions you’re targeting. The influencer’s audience will be more likely to trust your brand since it’s been endorsed by someone they already know and respect.
Influencers can help you navigate cultural differences, ensuring that your message doesn’t come across as tone-deaf or inappropriate. A successful influencer campaign can result in increased brand awareness and a surge in followers from your target region.
Provide excellent customer support across time zones
Building an international audience means you’ll likely be dealing with customers or followers from different time zones. Ensuring you provide excellent customer support around the clock is key to maintaining and growing your global audience.
Consider implementing chatbots or automated customer service solutions to provide 24/7 support. You could also hire staff from different time zones to ensure timely responses to queries, emails, or social media comments. Individuals with enneagram type 5 characteristics often excel in roles that require deep focus and analytical thinking. Offering multi-language support will further enhance the customer experience and foster trust.
Moreover, remember to be mindful of different cultural expectations when it comes to customer service. Some countries might expect more formal communication, while others prefer a relaxed, friendly tone.
Tailoring your approach based on the region will leave a lasting positive impression on your international audience.
Build a global community
Once you’ve established an international audience, it’s crucial to keep them engaged and connected. Building a global community around your brand can foster loyalty and create a sense of belonging among your audience members, regardless of where they are in the world.
One way to build this community is by creating forums, groups, or social media pages where your international audience can interact with each other.
Encourage conversations around shared interests, offer exclusive content or promotions to international members, and regularly engage with your followers to show that you value their participation.
You can also create region-specific groups or pages to cater to localised interests and conversations. This will help you maintain a personal connection with your global audience while acknowledging their unique cultural preferences.
Final notes
When expanding your brand to an international audience, understanding the intricacies of local markets, tailoring your content, and using the right tools are key steps to success.
By localising your content, embracing multilingual SEO, and utilising data-driven approaches, you can ensure that your message resonates with audiences from different cultures and regions.
