International Business and Technology Blog

The social media online phenomenon now has  unparalleled scale, in which billions of netizens communicate and much, much mullah (dollars, euros, renminbi, yen, pounds, …) is transacted. And know this: those numbers are only going one way and that is up.

Social media, that is websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking, is at the least an oversized noisy teenager that you can't ignore, or more probably a robust mid-twenties adult to engage with fully. Either way, every business must now know that you ignore social media at your peril.

Successful companies are using social media channels to engage with their target business and consumer audiences and collecting serious money. Just look at the top 100 companies in the Fortune Global ranking: 93% have Facebook pages (updated weekly), 79% have a YouTube channel (average 2 million views of their corporate content) and a Twitter profile. How is your business doing?

Domain names, specifically internet Top Level Domains (TLDs), are increasingly an integral part of all business strategies and global brand development. Businesses spend many millions on domain names. There are many egregious valuations to demonstrate this phenomena including the amounts paid for: fund.com ($10M) , hotels.com ($11M), privatejet.com ($30M), insurance.com ($36M) and lasvegas.com ($90M). TLDs have a recognized quantifiable commercial value. Take fb.com ($8.5M) which was purchased by Facebook to redirect to facebook.com; iCloud.com ($6M) purchased by Apple for the same reason. And what about your company, your brands and your country code domain names?

In the past few months, Google has introduced two major changes to their Google Keyword Planner available via Google AdWords. The tool is frequently used by SEO (search engine optimization) experts not only for paid advertising, but also to research and analyze keywords for organic search. Google Keyword Planner provides estimates of average monthly searches of individual keywords. The tool can focus results on specific geographic areas, and is therefore very helpful in multilingual search engine optimization.

Apple makes a lot of things look easy and intuitive. Their global online presence and marketing is a great example, we give them A++. Looks easy, but does your company get anywhere close? In our ongoing review of best practices for global online website presence and marketing, we dive into some of Apple's 100+ websites. Successful website and online marketing internationalization requires a range of skill sets and competences, made all the more complex by the inevitable geographic dispersion. Nevertheless there are companies that are extremely good at this, like Apple. In fact, Apple is so good that its online stores are the main driver for the >$200Billion net cash stockpile, most of that earned outside the US.

Ever attentive to the international ambitions of its members, the US National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) conducted a survey in June 2016 appropriately titled “Looking to Navigate Beyond US Borders?” 84 companies responded, providing results that re-inforce what those charged with navigating those challenges know: that there are two main routes to grow exports and international business, namely that of i) international trade shows and then ii) online marketing and social media.

International trade shows, the staple route to international markets since such events commenced (in France) some 120 years ago, remains the leader with 73%. But what is interesting is the rapid uptake of online marketing and social media. Off most navigators horizons just 5 years ago, online marketing now commands the attention and budget of 65% of the respondents. And watch that number and % figure continue to rise…

Read all about it! In fact, you should watch it. It's official, video has killed the copywriting star, a one minute video has the same value as 1.8 million words. Video is destined to be the #1 medium for both business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) communications. All industry metrics tell us that companies with brands to develop are investing more in videos and their platforms. Corporate videos of all nature and purpose (presentation, mission, explainer, product, testimonial…) are finding their way onto their own and/or 3^rd party websites as well as their social media channels including You Tube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, We Chat and, of course, LinkedIn. Video is the evident future powerhouse of content, replacing heavy duty and time consuming text. Roll over the guidelines from the likes of David Ogilvy’s “7 Tips for Writing Copy That Sells” and rise up the visual instructions from those at YouTube and Videolicious!

Leading Chinese search engines

Two years ago, Baidu boasted 80% of the Chinese online search market. Today, Baidu’s market share is estimated at 55% (1). But the winner has not been the otherwise world dominant Google, but other Chinese search engines including Qihoo 360 and Sogou.

While Baidu’s dominant position among the search engines in China has eroded, Google has not been a beneficiary since it has been banned in China as of 2010. Besides censorship, ClickZ (2) cites different online search behavior as one of the factors why Baidu and other domestic search engines have been more successful in China than Google. For example: an average Chinese internet user spends 3-6 times more time on page on average, does not focus on the upper left corner of the page as their Western counterparts do, searches mostly on smartphones and prefers to choose from a list rather than by typing keywords.

In my last blog I cover 3 strategies for optimizing your tradeshow preparation. In this blog I will cover 4 strategies for success during and after the tradeshow.

1. Connect with prospects during the show to maximize your presence
2. Qualify and prioritize your leads
3. Follow up to convert leads into clients and build long term pipelines
4. Measure return on investment and incorporate lessons learned

Two prior blogs have explored general steps to take in preparing for International Trades Shows and making the most during and after the trade show. In this blog, I explore using your website to enhance results from your trade show investments

Next to your company website, trade show participation may be the most important part of your marketing mix. Even “Personal selling” comes in behind trade shows. Today, trade fairs remain as crucial to business development as ever, despite fears that the internet would replace those vital face to face meetings. 

Trade shows are an important component of the marketing mix. A recent survey of 500 companies found that 83% listed trade shows as the 2nd most important “tool” in the marketing mix after the corporate website’s home page.

In this blog I cover 3 beginning strategies for getting the most out of your trade shows.

1. Define and communicate clear objectives and metrics, including clear lines of responsibility and reward
2. Identify the right trade show to achieve your international business objectives
3. Prepare – broadcast your presence via multi-channels throughout the year