Vol.46 – 2011 Trend of Social Media: Worldwide and Japan (Part 2)

This article is the continuation of the discussion on social media 2010 trend and 2011 outlook for Japan, focusing on similarities and differences of those of rest of the world mentioned in recent blog articles, to conclude 2010, following Vol.45 – 2011 Trend of Social Media: Worldwide and Japan (Part 1).




4. Mobile grows, worldwide including Japan



Mobile was the trend predicted for 2010 and also for 2011 as well, and it is the same for Japan, too. Mobile phones had been extremely popular in Japan since 1997 when Japan specific mobile platform and services called I-mode started, and so many people have been using mobile phone on trains etc. And, 2010 marked another milestone in Japan mobile market; launch and outbreak of feature phones such as iPhones and Android. This was one of the reasons for the Twitter outbreak in Japan in 2010, as mentioned in the previous article Vol.42 – How to Leverage Twitter to Reach and Engage Glocal Audience .



Early adopters started to use iPhones in 2009, and in latter 2010 more feature phones including Android and Windows mobile have been launched. (Blackberry is also available but has not become popular like western countries, probably because it has not been sufficiently tailored to meet Japan local needs). Today advertising (online, TVCF, print) of iPhone and Android can be seen almost everyday, anywhere. Also carriers have been developing variety of value package products, such as combination of smart phone, monthly phone call cost and internet access fee, and portable wireless LAN system, thus now is a good timing to switch from normal mobile phone to smart phone. Of course, there have also been many applications coming out. As a result, according to recent statistics reported by Nikkei.net (online news portal specialized in business and economy) mobile sales of smart phone has reached as much as 50%. The percentage is expected to continue to rise in 2011.



5. Social gaming grows, worldwide including Japan



Social gaming was another predicted trend for 2010 worldwide, which is likely to be the same in 2011 as well. This is the same for Japan, one of the countries that have been leading gaming industry.



The main players of social gaming industry, worldwide including Japan, are usually considered to be global companies such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, and global SNS such as Facebook are also becoming hot in the industry. The recent rapid growth of Zynga is a good example. And, there may well be more players entering the industry, further activating the market and industry.



Some Japan local web content providers such as Gree http://gree.jp/ and DeNa http://www.dena.jp/, have been providing SNS platform with which members can enjoy gaming, which have become very popular and the popularity in Japan is likely to continue in 2011 as well. Such companies are not well known outside Japan but the situation may change in 2011. In autumn 2010 DeNA acquired a U.S. company in order to start and grow their business internationally, which was reported by Forbes as “a company you need to know in 2010”.



6. Use of social media in business increases, worldwide including Japan, although Japan may be behind in the speed and degree of the increase



Use of social media in marketing and business seem to have taken root in western countries, including among Fortune 500 companies, and some (not all) Japanese companies and business owners are following such trend. With the outbreak of Twitter in 2010, Japanese IT companies such as Softbak http://mb.softbank.jp/en/ started to use Twitter as an information sharing platform among employees (like Yammer https://www.yammer.com/ is used in some western companies). There also have been some case studies introduced in which Japanese companies started to leverage Twitter in business and marketing. There are a few Japanese people specialized in social media, providing know-how and information about leveraging social media in business.



Organizations and/or individuals that are not following such a trend seem to be Japanese traditional companies and conservative people. RSS is usually available in the company websites of such Japanese traditional companies but their Twitter account and Facebook fan pages are rarely found. Some possible reason include the fact that although Internet is well used in recruiting, PR and marketing, such things as finding talent and business partners online is not yet a well accepted concept in Japan, and conservative organizations and individuals still think social media is a fad.




7. Social Media metrics and ROI become more crucial issue worldwide including Japan, although Japan may be behind in this issue



When social media is used in business and marketing, measurement of its success, i.e. metrics and ROI, becomes crucial, and thus there have been some articles on social media measurement ROI in the U.S. It goes without saying that this issue is another area that is likely to become more important and hot as many people say, although as Ferriss (2010) mentions, large companies still may well not be able to define appropriate metrics. Having wrote her MBA thesis on “Concept and Maximization of Web Equity) in 2006, the author strongly feels that it would take time for framework and standard criteria of this issue (or of measurement/valuation of website) to be established similarly to measurement and valuation of company and brand.



Social media site metrics and ROI issue have not yet been hot in Japan, however. This may be because the use of social media in business and marketing is behind western countries so there is no need to measure ROI in Japan, Japan is simply behind the west in this realm (similarly to overall web/IT marketing), and/or lacks in talent who has knowledge and expertise in web/Internet, marketing and finance. Whatever the reason may be, Japan has not yet reached the stage to discuss and define measure success and ROI of social media.





References:-

Ferriss, Tim (2010) 4 Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2011

http://mashable.com/2010/12/28/social-media-marketing-predictions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

Jonas, Trevor (2010) 5 Predictions for Social Media in 2011

http://socialmediatoday.com/trevorjonas/253235/5-predictions-social-media-2011?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Today+%28all+posts%29&utm_content=Twitter

Thomas, Jesse (2010) 6 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2011

http://mashable.com/2010/12/21/advertising-industry/

White, Charlie (2010) 7 predictions for the Gaming Industry in 2011

http://mashable.com/2010/12/26/gaming-industry-predictions-2010/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29#

Vol.45 – 2011 Trend of Social Media: Worldwide and Japan (Part 1)

To conclude 2010, the author would like to discuss social media 2010 trend and 2011 outlook for Japan, comparing to worldwide trends of 2011 (mostly of the U.S.) mentioned in recent blog articles by Jonas and Thomas (2010).




1. Japan local SNS continue to prevail while major global SNS gets popular in Japan



International SNS originated in the U.S. such as MySpace http://www.myspace.com/, Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ and LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/ have not sufficiently penetrated Japan online market, where Japan local SNS such as mixi http://mixi.jp/ have been extremely popular and Twitter broke out in early 2010 when it won attention from mass media.



However, Facebook, whose Japanese version became available in May 18 2008 seems to taken root among early adaptors, starting to spread among other people as well as well in 2010. As a regular user of Facebook, the author noticed that more Japanese business owners and general public as well as social media and web marketing experts joined Facebook to benefit from in their business (making alliances) and private (keeping in touch with friends).



The author met a few Japanese web marketers online who blog in Japanese about how to leveraging Facebook in business and marketing. The author herself advised and supported a Japanese online business owner engaged in international trade to leverage global social media such as Twitter and Facebook in 2010, who at first was skeptical but now is a great fan of Facebook. Some of her friends (not necessarily web marketers) have been switching from Japan local SNS to Facebook. Therefore, it is possible that Facebook becomes hot in 2011 in Japan like Twitter became hot in 2010 in Japan. Being the largest SNS worldwide, its potential to become a leader in Japan is large; it may well be simply about the timing and marketing. The fact that Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder and CEO was chosen as the hottest person in 2010 by Times, is a huge positive factor for Facebook to become hot in Japan in 2011.



LinkedIn is a leading SNS for professionals worldwide but it is hardly used among Japanese people, and whether it becomes popular is a question under current situation. LinkedIn was the first SNS that the author started and it took a year for her to meet a Japanese people, especially those currently located in Japan. Possible primary reason is the language (it is unrealistic to join and benefit from LinkedIn community through group discussion and Q&A function without English communication skill as well as expertise and specialties). Having said that, the author was recently told from a Japanese online friend (the person mentioned above, who became a Facebook fan) that he found a Japanese how-to book about LinkedIn and is reading it, determined to master LinkedIn next. If Japanese version is launched (currently profile can be made in Japanese but it cannot be bilingual, English and Japanese), if discussions can be done in Japanese, and if how-to-use know how tools targeting Japanese become available, LinkedIn may also start to take off in Japan.



2. Blogging and Micro-blogging continue to grow, worldwide and Japan



Blogging has been popular in Japan similarly to other countries but blogging environment and blogosphere in Japan are rather unique, and this situation seems to remain the same in 2011. Japan local blog platform such as Ameblo http://ameblo.jp/ being popular instead of global ones of Wordpress http://wordpress.org/ and Blogger http://www.blogger.com/　that also allows blogging in Japanese. Blogging has been popular among authorities (TV starts, politicians) and individuals of general public but company blogs are not popular. Company blogs available in Japan are mostly of Japan office of the U.S. IT companies such as IBM and Dell and company blogs of Japanese traditional companies become popular in 2011 is a question.



Twitter http://twitter.com/, whose Japanese version became available in April 2008, had only been used by early adopters until 2009 but when Twitter and its related information such as smart phone application was introduced by media in February it became extremely hot and drastically became popular. Authorities including politicians (e.g. ex-Prime Minister Mr. Hatayama and ex-Minister of Environment Ms. Koike), TV starts and celebrities as well as social media/web marketing experts and general public now enjoy tweeting, as mentioned in the previous article Vol.42 – How to Leverage Twitter to Reach and Engage Glocal Audience. Twitter became so popular that many new Japanese words originated from Twitter and tweeting, one of which was nominated as a “popular word of the year”. Some Japanese companies developed interesting marketing models leveraging Twitter, and new Twitter model is a predicted worldwide trend for 2011. Twitter’s popularity and development of new marketing model likely to continue in 2011, worldwide including Japan.



3. Movies/videos grows and interactive TV news may become hot, worldwide and Japan



Further growth in online video, short and long content, is another trend worldwide including Japan. YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ has been very popular worldwide including Japan and this trend is likely to continue in 2011. Ustream http://www.ustream.tv/ is also drawing attention of some Japanese early adopters when a Japan local movie platform/portal site called Gyao http://gyao.yahoo.co.jp/ that has been providing videos of movies/cinemas for over 5 years (originally by Japan local IT company, which sold the platform to Yahoo! Japan).



The fact that such online contents and services are growing implies that needs/market of interactive TV is present. And with recent news about interactive TV from such companies like Google, there may well be a big progress in interactive TV technologies and interactive TV becomes a big topic in 2011.





The author would like to continue the discussion in the next article.


References:-


Jonas, Trevor (2010) 5 Predictions for Social Media in 2011

http://socialmediatoday.com/trevorjonas/253235/5-predictions-social-media-2011?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Today+%28all+posts%29&utm_content=Twitter

Thomas, Jesse (2010) 6 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2011

http://mashable.com/2010/12/21/advertising-industry/

Vol.44 – Are Requirements for Reaching and Engaging International Audience Special?

The previous articles through Vol.40-42 were about methodologies of effectively reaching and engaging global and local audience, based on the live experience of the author, who was mentioned in a guest blog article by Kathy Meyer (@2cre8 on Twitter) Top 10 Twitter Revelations http://www.thetop10blog.com/top-10-twitter-revelations/ as someone on Twitter who tweets in English and in her native language.




The topic of this article is requirements for effectively reaching and engaging glocal audience, i.e. local and global (international) audience.



1. Are requirements for reaching and engaging international audience different from those of local audience?



There might be additional requirements for effectively reaching and engaging international audience such as English, inter-cultural communication skill and global perspective; however, the essence of requirements are the same for reaching and engaging international and local audience.



The author would like to explain this by first presenting requirements of local audience and then additional requirements specific of international audiences, explaining how the essence of the latter is the same as that of the former.



2. Why the requirements are the same in essence?



1) Requirements for reaching and engaging local audience



Requirements for reaching and engaging audience in general, normally local unless specified, can be concluded as the following.



- Customer focused

- Active participation to the community, providing value



This is because as mentioned in many blog articles on this topic, concrete tips and methodologies of reach and engagement in social media world can be summarized as below, which are all about the above two points.



(1) Completed bio



Complete a bio with appropriate information so that people would know who, what kind of contents/updates are to be tweeted and posted etc. This is about opening the account from customer-focused way. Also, if people would not now such things, that person would not be able to actively participate in the community.



(2) Regular and appropriate frequency tweets and updates



It is often mentioned based on statistics result that majority of people open up twitter account but do not tweet at all or much, which is inactive participation to the community and providing no value. Not many people are posting sufficient updates in other social media such as Facebook meaning only a proportion of the community members are active.



Regarding the frequency of the tweets on Twitter, it should not be too frequent so that Tine Line of your followers will be filled only with your tweet. It is the same for Facebook and all other social media. This is about consideration to the followers/friends of social media and contributing to the community in an appropriate way.



(3) Content of value



This is whether tweet/post updates are something that gives value to the followers/friends. Sadly it is a reality that there are tweets and updates that are not understandable to others and/or have no meaning to others except the person who tweeted/posted the update.



Also, there are public tweets and updates targeting to only a specific follower that that all others would not understand at all or would not be interested in, and therefore have no value to others. This is not of customer-focus and does not provide value to the community. Such tweets and updates are ideally sent as DM and/or private message to the target.



(4) Mentioning and promoting someone



It goes without saying that promoting and mentioning your followers/friends is active contribution, giving value to the community, in a customer-focus manner. Everyone would be thankful if he/she is mentioned and being promoted.



(5) Thanking and responding



And everyone would agree that saying thank you and/or replying to someone when he/she helps someone, retweets someone’s tweet, promotes someone and mentions someone is of customer-focus and is active participation in the community.



(6) Being sincere and ethical



Unfortunately there seems to be some insincere and unethical behaviours in online communities. Such include pitching, unfollowing someone as soon as that person starts to follow, abusing etc.



These are not of customer-focus and not contributing to the community, or rather, insincerely and unethical.  This means that the reverse is necessary requirements although it may not be sufficient for customer-focused and contribution to the community.

Authenticity is also usually included in requirements for engagement.  This is also related to sincerity and ethics.

2) Additional requirements for reaching and engaging international audience



The following are the primary additional requirements for reaching and engaging international audience. These are in essence about customer-focus and active contribution to the community providing value.



(1) English communication skill



English is a kind of standard language in international world including online community so English communication skill is a requirement for reaching and engaging audience around the globe. Online translation services are available but it is a reality that not being able to communicate in English is a big hurdle in reaching and engaging international audience through interactive communication.



People are unlikely to follow unless the bio and/or tweets are in the language they understand because it is inconvenient to translate every tweets and updates. What is more, quality of the translation is not yet so high. At least that is the frank evaluation when the author reads some English and Japanese translations; many of them are not smooth grammatically. In such a situation, the nuance and style of the tweet and updates would be not delivered sufficiently if it is the translation.



If this requirement is interpreted as providing information in the language that people understand, this is all about customer-focus. Also, if it is interpreted as a way of providing information with meaning because information in the language not understandable is meaningless, this is about providing information of value.



(2) Inter-cultural communication skills / global perspective



People would also agree that this is another requirement for reaching and engaging international audience. This can be paraphrased as philosophy and mindset of Diversity and Inclusion, focusing on accepting and respecting differences attributing too difference in nationality, ethnicity, society and culture.



This is also about customer-focus and providing value to the community. Such philosophy and mindset, it is impossible to select content that has value to the international community in a customer-focus manner, nor to tweet and update in a way that has value to global and/or local audience. Also without such philosophy and mindset, it is impossible to reply appropriately to people of different background attributing especially to different nationality, ethnicity, location, or even gender, generation etc. which can be difference of local audience.

Vol.43 – How to Leverage Facebook to Reach and Engage Glocal Audience

The previous article Vol.42 – How to Leverage Twitter to Reach and Engage Glocal Audience was about effectively reaching and engaging global and local (glocal) audience and managing online reputation for business success leveraging Twitter. The article was based on the live experience of the author, who was recently mentioned in a guest blog article by Kathy Meyer (@2cre8 on Twitter) Top 10 Twitter Revelations  as someone on Twitter who tweets in English and in her native language.




The focus of this article is Facebook, especially on the difference from Twitter. This article is also based on the live experience of the author.



1. Create an account



Unlike Twitter, Facebook does not allow a person to create multiple accounts, so a single account needs to be created for both global and local audience. In doing so following points need to be carefully considered after self branding/identity concept is established.



1) Bio content and language



Unlike Twitter with multiple accounts meaning bio can be created separately in different languages, only one bio can be created for Facebook, so the content and language need to target both global and local audience. There are three possible options.



(1) Local language bio



This is probably the most ineffective because this is the same option as targeting local audience and would not attract global audience because they would believe the target is local audience.



Possible solution in choosing this option is mentioning such things as English speaking friends are welcome in English at the end of the bio.



(2) Bilingual bio



Since Facebook allows us to create longer bio than Twitter, it is possible to create bilingual bio. As effective targeting, the content of the bio in each language is better if tailored to meet the needs of each customer segment of the language (English and local language). Which language comes first depends on the expected volume of the customer segment (English/global and local).



Bilingual bio is good to cover both global and local audience but with restriction of the total length of the bio the content volume would be extremely restricted. As a result the author did not choose this option, and she has not yet met online friends with bilingual bio although she has bilingual friends.



(3) English bio



If the main target is global audience and/or if local audience is expected to understand some English, English bio is acceptable. Such things as the fact that local language speaking friends are welcome could be added at the end in the local language.



The author chose this option and then filled basic information in English and Japanese because the main objectives of starting Facebook (when Facebook was still not so popular in Japan) included global networking, getting back in touch with her friends from the U.K. and AIESEC, and her Japanese friends from university and AIESEC were mostly bilingual. In choosing this option she conveyed the message that she is Japanese but her main objective of leveraging Facebook is networking and sharing information with global audience, not only local audience.



2. Leverage multiple languages with one account



Managing one account leveraging multiple languages targeting both global and local audience is probably the toughest challenge and issue in leveraging Facebook to reach and engage glocal audience. However, it is not impossible.



1) Choose and use the language for each interaction and updates




Choosing which language to use depends on the target and content of the interaction and updates.



(1) Interaction (sending message and writing on walls of friends)



In this kind of case, apply one-to-one marketing concept and use the language of the target, i.e. the language used by the recipient of the message or by the owner of the wall. If it is English native speaker and/or global audience use English, and if it is local language speaker use the local language.



(2) Updates



This is case by case, depending on the content and target of the update, based on targeting. If the update is of something global targeting global audience, it would be in English. If the update is of something local targeting local audience, it would be in local language. This kind of mixture of language is no problem but appropriate as long as the content is of value to each audience based on appropriate targeting.



2) Bilingual update is a solution in some updates



In some cases when the content is of glocal bilingual update might be better, rationale and effective because compared to Twitter longer updates are possible and less frequent updates are usually made on Facebook, and the introduction/lead part of the link is shown. The author came up with this methodology and now utilizes it quite often, which seems to be working well and effective.



This methodology would deliver the message that the content is targeting glocal audience and that the message is delivered equally and fairly to both global and local audience.



(1) Update without a link



If the update is of glocal without a link (e.g. busy so inactive, attended global meeting), it can a bilingual update instead of two updates in different languages of the same content. This methodology seems to be used in many global companies in sending an e-mail to inform important messages and facts to employees.



(2) Update with a link



The fact that the introduction/lead part of the link is shown in Facebook can be leveraged when the update includes a link, such as sharing a link.



For example, if it is sharing a link in English of information about social media that Japanese people (especially social media experts like many of the author’s friends) might also be interested in, update can be a brief explanation and the author’s thoughts about the link in Japanese then the author’s thoughts in English with the link at the end.



The same concept and methodology can be applied when sharing the link of a new blog written by the author. If it is the English blog posts the author adopts the same methodology as mentioned above. If it is the Japanese blog posts based on her recent experiences, she first writes updates in English with sufficient explanation and background of the link then extremely brief Japanese update, with the link at the end.



The above methodologies seem to be one of the most rationale and effective ways to deliver maximum value and information with minimum volume of updates, with smooth flow and navigation to the link.



3. The author’s final thoughts



There is no one-fits-for-all solution to effectively reaching and engaging glocal audience leveraging multi-languages. Concrete methodology needs to be developed leveraging the characteristics of each social media vehicles, based on basics of marketing such as concept making, customer segmentation, positioning and targeting. Vital requirements in successful reach and engagement include constant yet appropriate frequency updates of content that delivers value to target audience, being social for engagement with the audience, all with customer-focused philosophy.

Vol.42 – How to Leverage Twitter to Reach and Engage Glocal Audience

The previous 2 articles were about effectively reaching and engage global and local (glocal) audience and manage online reputation for business success. In this article, the author would like to continue the discussion focusing on Twitter.




1. Create multiple accounts



The first thing that needs to be decided with clarity is concept of multiple account and languages, which is about targeting based on customer segmentation,



1) Different accounts to be made for different brands and customer segments



It is better to have separate accounts to effectively target global and local audiences like global companies, although managing multiple accounts requires additional resources. Multiple accounts is possible for Twitter and aligning with their business and brand strategy many (global) companies have multiple accounts, each accounts for specific brands and objectives/target segments etc. Dell is perhaps one of a very good example. For the very same reason i.e. having different twitter account for different customer segment, different account is usually used for different country.



2) Language settings to be performed according to customer segment (global or local)



One thing to note in having different accounts not by brand but by language is language setting, especially when the Twitter backgrounds are the same (like a mirror pages). In order to avoid confusion, it is advisable to ensure that language setting is performed in accordance with the target language of the page. In fact, the author often distinguishes which Twitter account she is working on by the language of the top bar etc. She confirms that she is working on English account targeting global audience from the English top bar texts and that she is working on Japanese account targeting Japan local audience from the Japanese top bar texts.



2. Leverage multiple languages



Managing to leverage multiple languages is one of the biggest challenges in managing different accounts for global and local audience.



1) Try to keeping languages separate in line with the target audience



Unlike websites and blogs, it is more difficult to keep languages (e.g. English and Japanese) separate on Twitter but it is advisable to try to clarify which language is the main language for each Twitter account. This would help delivering the message and clarifying to the audience what kind of customer segment are being targeted. People usually do not follow tweeps whose bio and tweets are in the language they do not understand. They also usually judge from the language of the bio and tweets which geographical segment is the target audience.



Having made Twitter accounts with target language setting, the first step to keep the languages separate on Twitter is completing the bio in separate languages, English and the local language such as Japanese. The next step is to tweet content meeting the needs of the target audience in the language of the target audience, such as English for global audience and Japanese for Japan audience.



2) Mixture of language used is not a big problem



In reality, despite the above 2 steps, the languages of tweets can become a mixture of English and local language (Japanese). This is mainly because of interaction with mixed audience of global and local audience attributing to mixed followers of global and local audience. This is the very case of the author and a few of her online friends, with two accounts, one targeting global audience in English and the other targeting Japanese audience in Japanese. However, it does not seem to be a big problem.



3) Some reasons for the “mixture” of languages seems to include the author’s unique way of tweeting



The primary reason for the “mixture” of the language is the fact that the followers of her English Twitter account started to follow her Japanese Twitter account when she opened the Japanese Twitter account and started tweeting. Her good online friends from the English Twitter account were the first non-Japanese people to start following her Japanese account, which is quite natural; however, she was surprised to find a few, including social media guru, starting to follow her Japanese Twitter account at an early stage. They might have found the account by hash tags such as “LinkedIn” “Twitter” “Facebook” that she included in her bio.



Another possible reason for the “mixture” in the case of the author may be how she tweets some contents. When she introduces information in English to Japanese audience in through her Japanese Twitter account, she includes English headline and links with her brief comment/explanation in Japanese. She does so to introduce first hand information on IT, Internet and social media from western countries that are most advanced in these realms. She also does so to inform her tweeps that she posted an article for her English blog.



Although the percentage is lower, there is a similar phenomenon in her English account; i.e. some Japanese tweeps tweeting in Japanese follows her English account.



3. Result: followers from around the globe would be engaged



As a result, people from around the blog, regardless of location, followers the author. Also, some Japanese followers of social media experts paying attention to up-to-date Internet and social media information have been retweeting with additional comments and western followers have been retweeting the “unique” tweets of the author. The author has been enjoying such interaction and engagement with global and local audiences.



Thus, it can be said that the language mixture is not a big problem and it is the quality of the content (tweet) that counts; i.e. whether the tweet is of value to targeted audience. This may well be highly related to the previous article Vol.39 – Should All Content be Translated For Global and Local Audiences Whatsoever?.

Vol.41 – How to Reach and Engage Global and Local Audience (Part 2)

The previous article Vol.40 – How to Reach and Engage Global and Local Audience (Part 1) was about effectively reaching and engage global and local audience and manage online reputation for business success. Methodologies of website/web pages, blogs, LinkedIn and local SNS and similar “information websites” were discussed. This article is its continuation.




2. How can smaller companies and business owners and individuals reach and engage global and local audience and manage online reputation when they have limited resources and no local offices around the globe? (Continued from Part 1)



5) Facebook



Leveraging Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ is vital in reaching and engaging global audience because as Ostrow (2010) mentions, it has large user base and more diverse demographics than any other social network in English speaking countries and becoming a de facto login service around the web, and its access might be surpassing that of portal site such as Yahoo! In fact, social media marketing leaders of big brands and small business owners leverage Facebook, differentiating from other online media and generating synergy.



However, it might be quite different when it comes to reaching and engaging to local audience, at least in Japan, because Facebook is not yet popular. Currently it is used by limited Japanese people such as social media experts and people who use personally to keep in touch with friends worldwide (e.g. people who live or used to live abroad, who have many international friends). The reason is unknown; it may be because Japan already had some popular local SNS mentioned in the previous article (Part 1), Facebook is rather complicated compared with Twitter (to be mentioned next), or Facebook simply does not match needs of Japanese people.



There are a few Japanese social media experts that the author knows who blog about Facebook and Facebook may become one of the popular social media vehicles for marketing in the future. Topics of blog articles by such bloggers range from basics of Facebook to how to use Facebook in marketing. At least, reaching Japanese people by Facebook means targeting niche social media experts and/or international people and if such people are your target Facebook can be effective.



6) Twitter



Twitter http://twitter.com/ is a “must” in reaching and engaging both global and local audience (at least Japanese people) because of its popularity, growth and easiness of use. Ostrow (2010) describes Twitter that similarly to Facebook it has become formidable force with a 300,000+ application ecosystem and a distribution platform for virtually every company large and small. This may well attribute to the ease of reaching out to tweeps and jump into conversation with them around the globe even to those who are not following you. This might be one reason why Twitter popularity exploded earlier this year in Japan.



First wave of Twitter popularity came in summer 2009 when a few Japanese celebrities and best seller authors started Twitter and mentioned it and/or wrote online articles. Then in the beginning of 2010 second wave came, which was huge. Twitter was featured as special article topic in a popular business magazine in February, including basics of Twitter, how to information and useful Twitter applications. This was when Japanese mobile careers started to launch iPhones and TVCF of iPhones went on the air, and iPhones were also introduced as a useful gadget for Twitter.



Now in Japan there are varieties of people using Twitter including celebrities, politicians, online specialists and general public and it is quite possible that Twitter will further grow. At the Twitter top page, celebrities and other famous people using Twitter, and popular tweets are introduced to promote people starting and leveraging Twitter. This is a good way to acquire and retain Japanese tweeps because with collective culture, Japanese people like to copy what other people (especially celebrities) more than people from individual culture such as the U.S. and therefore it is quite possible that more Japanese people join the Twitter community. There have been many online articles in popular business magazine website about Twitter this year, including article about how some companies have started using Twitter for marketing and information sharing among employees. Also some recent TVCF drive TV audience to their Twitter account by mentioning it at the end of the TVCF.



With popularization of Twitter, knowhow transfer of Twitter is also very active and this trend seems to continue at least for a while. There are group of people that study Twitter and individuals that are expert in Twitter. Such individuals and groups have been holding offline seminars targeting beginner and advanced tweeps and publishing Twitter how to books.



7) YouTube



YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ is also a great media/tool to reach and engage both global and local audience (at least Japanese people) because as Ostrow (2010) states, YouTube continues to maintain an enormous lead in online video viewership and through aggressive deal-making, looks likely to fend off competition from upstarts with deeper pro-content libraries.



The YouTube’s enormous lead in online video viewership is true also in Japan, even if people posting their movies on YouTube may be minority. Some of the most viewed content worldwide last year was also one of the most viewed content in Japan, such as of Susan Boyle. YouTube is also available in Japanese and there are also many Japanese local contents uploaded. Some acquaintance of the author who are not online content generator (such as blogging and tweeting) are heavy YouTube user, including a man who said that he was so devoted in enjoying YouTube contents one night that it was almost in early morning the next day when he saw the clock.



8) Ustream



Ustream http://www.ustream.tv/ might become a good media/tool in the future to reach and engage both global and local audience of Japan as well. We just have to see how this grows. Mr. Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Softbank http://mb.softbank.jp/en/ (has already invested in the U.S. Ustream), tweeted in February this year that the company will localize into Japanese by May and did so on April 27. This has attracted attention of some Japanese social media marketers/users and a group was established for a popular Japanese blog platform Ameba http://www.ameba.jp/ in which tips of using Ameba and Ustream are shared.



9) Scribd



Scribd http://www.scribd.com/ is also a great to reach and engage global audience; however, whether it is good to reach and engage local audience is a question, at least for Japan. Being a popular online publishing site, this is excellent to reach global (English speaking) audience who are interested in publishing contents online such as documents and poems. However, it is not at all popular in Japan at least. One main reason may be language issue.



If language issue is solved and/or if this media is used to target bilinguals and international people who are fluent in English Scribd can be become effective in reaching and engaging local audience. When Scribd was introduced by a Japanese social expert in his Facebook update highlighting its beauty, it attracted interest from his Japanese online friends. It seems that language issue is one factor whether Scribd becomes popular or not in Japan in the future.





References:-

Ostrow, Adam (2010) The Next 5 Years in Social Media

http://mashable.com/2010/09/07/next-5-years-social-media/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

Vol.40 – How to Reach and Engage Global and Local Audience (Part 1)

The previous article Vol.39: Should All Content be Translated For Global and Local Audiences Whatsoever? was about localizing global content focusing on language perspective, i.e. how much translation is required for target audience to understand when the content is originally made in the language not understood by the target audience.




This article and the next are about effectively reaching and engage global and local audience and manage online reputation for business success, especially for smaller companies and small business owners with limited resources that usually need to leverage website and social media differently from larger global companies.



1. How are websites and social media of global companies managed to meet multi-lingual worldwide audience?



Most global companies have website(s), blog(s) and other social media (if any) in global headquarter and respective countries, in local language. This is because each country (market) is different and they would need to segment target audience by country. Also, in some/many cases local offices/branch is a separate organization (company) within the global group.



For this reason, global companies usually develop their own website and blogs with their original design, layout, navigation and functions, and roll out worldwide, which are managed by country, aligning with how business operations are performed, under a group-wide policy. In most cases, IT infrastructure management is centralized.



Regarding social media such as twitter and facebook, it is logical and appropriate for each country to have their own social media account, and that is how it is mostly done. This is for the same reason of a company having different twitter accounts in one country in the same language for different brands, channels and/or objectives, to target different customer segment.



2. How can smaller companies and business owners and individuals reach and engage global and local audience and manage online reputation when they have limited resources and no local offices around the globe?



Different methodology needs to be adopted according to different online media/vehicles.



1) Websites



It is highly recommended to develop and maintain both global (English) and local (in local language) website, with consistent branding, designing, navigation and domain name. Website can be quite simple and small. When the author say “consisting domain name”, what she means is, for example, “MegOyanagi.com” for English website targeting global audience and “MegOyanagi.jp” or “MegOyanagi.com/jp” for Japanese website targeting Japanese audience. Domain name (com, jp etc) is usually closely linked with location of hosting. Go Daddy http://www.godaddy.com/ could be one of the solutions for this kind of problem.



If possible from all (network, browser etc) technical and other perspective, it is probably the easiest and the most simple to have a hosting server in the U.S. and use the global domain name “com” and its derivational domain name of “com/jp/” for Japanese website. Another alternative is to have a hosting server in the U.S. for the website with “com” domain name and another hosting server in Japan for the website with “jp” domain name. There are some Japanese websites that provide combined services of hosting server and web development.



2) Blogs



Similarly to websites, both global (English) and local (in local language) blogs are required. Similarly to website, it would be easier to manage when the same platform is used for English and local (e.g. Japanese) blogs; however, if free blog platforms such as. WordPress http://wordpress.org/ and Blogger http://www.blogger.com/ are to be used for global and English audience, using different local blog platform is probably better.



WordPress and Blogger are ideal for English blogs targeting English speaking countries and global audience; however, non-English speaking countries tend to have their local blog platforms that are already become very popular (e.g. Ameba http://www.ameba.jp/ in Japan). It would be more advantageous and strategic to be part of that local blog community (interaction in local language) for networking and attracting local audience. In the case of Ameba, there are many groups similarly to LinkedIn and Facebook.



In addition, free blog platform has page template and their original navigation system and functions, and local blog platform usually meet local needs better.



3) LinkedIn



The first thing to do when starting LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/ is creating a profile page. There are following options.



- Have English page only

- Have English page and local language page

- Have local language page only



It seems that the first option works best for most people because English is a kind of official language of LinkedIn and is used in all discussions. There seems to be no need (yet) to create a profile in Japanese targeting Japanese local audience.



For example, in the case of Japan, LinkedIn is not yet popular at all and whether it becomes popular among Japanese people is a question mainly because of the language issue. The author started LinkedIn one year ago and although does not know exactly how many Japanese people belong to LinkedIn she has never met even one Japanese people in group discussions and Q&A section.



Few of her friends has started and the Japanese people who have started seems to be basically limited to those who have studied abroad, working abroad, bilingual Japanese working (or have worked) in non-Japanese companies, and recruiters who are seeking bilingual Japanese. Such people seem to have started LinkedIn mostly for global networking and information sharing, and recruiting bilingual Japanese professionals.



4) Local SNS and similar “information websites”



In the case of Japan, there are Japan local SNS sites, and it is such SNS sites that are the key in monitoring and managing online reputation for successful business and recruiting in Japan.



The leading SNS sites in Japan are Mixi http://mixi.jp/ and 2 Channel http://2ch.net/ and it is a good idea for small business owners as well as larger companies in Japan to leverage them in managing online reputation. Both are not specifically for professional/business use like LinkedIn and usually do not have company profile pages. Also, comments are posted by individuals but such comments greatly influence company online reputation. In fact, the company reputation management department staff of the author’s former employer used to monitor these two sites as well as traditional media coverage of newspapers and magazines.



Small business owners and larger companies should leverage other “information sites” available in Japan that are in essence similar to SNS, such as http://careerconnection.jp/ that focuses on topics directly related to recruiting such as reputation, salary, human resource management system and culture of companies operating in Japan including foreign capitals. The information is based on the response of the members to survey questions, and the site is one of the primary information sources for job hunters.





The author would like to continue the discussion in the next article.

Vol.39 – Should All Content be Translated For Global and Local Audiences Whatsoever?

The previous article Vol.38 – How to Remake Global Content to Meet Local Needs was about remaking global content to meet local situation and needs based on target buyer persona.




This article is about localizing global content focusing on language perspective, i.e. how much translation is required for target audience to understand when the content is originally made in the language not understood by the target audience.



1. Do everything of all content need to be translated in content localization?



The author would say no. It is true that translation is the first thing to do in localizing contents, the author would say that it does not necessarily mean that all headlines, texts, captions etc. need to be translated at all times.



This is because there are a few exceptional cases in which target audiences understand the core message and find the content interesting even if the content is not all translated into the language they understand.



2. What kind of contents could do without translation yet target audiences find the contents interesting?



They are mostly of rich contents focusing on visuals. This does not mean that such contents are all that leverages web 2.0 technologies with movies. Web 1.0 content also could be such contents yet web 2.0 content of movies could not be of such contents.



Non-texts such as photo and movies convey sufficient information to local audience even though the text and/narration is not translated from English into local language or vice versa. That is to say global audience understands the message even though the text and/or narration is not translated from local language to English and the audience actually find the content interesting.



3. What are some of the examples of contents which can do without translation yet target audience can enjoy?



1) Blogs articles with photos that can be like an album



It is often said that pictures equals hundred words, which is quite true. Target audience may enjoy blog articles with many photos even though the blog is of much text probably because series of photos are like an album.



When the author wrote a blog article in Japanese about her business trip to Switzerland and posted photos and tweeted with a link to the article page, it attracted attention of global audience and to her surprise, was retweeted, with comment about the photos.



Participated in Global Diversity & Inclusion Meeting held in Global HQ! (the author’s translation)

http://ameblo.jp/meg-oyanagi/entry-10555640784.html



Also, the author had a feedback from which she understood that other online people used the online translation service to read the long blog article text. Although the translation quality might not be perfect, it was understandable and the readers did enjoy the article. This incident means that if target audience is once attracted to the content, he/she would self-service to translate utilizing online translation services and is satisfied with it.



2) Blog article with charts and/or (YouTube) videos



Blog articles of texts with charts and/or videos can make target audiences understand the core message and enjoyed even if the texts and narrations are not translated. If it is a 2 hour movie, interpreted dubbed version or telop translation version are inevitable to help audience understand the story and message. However, in the case of blog articles with easy-to-understand, illustrative chart and/or video, such localization is not necessarily required for the audiences to understand the main message.



Some examples of such articles include the below.



20 #Facebook Tips/Tricks You Might Not Know

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-facebook-tipstricks-you-might-not-know/



How to Build a Facebook Community (14 “Levers” You Need to be Pulling)

http://www.johnhaydon.com/2009/10/howto-build-facebook-community/



These 2 blog articles were tweeted by the author, to global audience in English and to Japanese audience with a simple comment in Japanese then the English article title and link. Surprisingly, they were retweeted with a simple appreciation comment by a Japanese tweet.



There are many factors for it such as the fact that the tweep has always been attentive to advanced social media trend regardless of the location of source and the content met his needs. The author also feels that the fact that the blog articles included easy-to-understand visualized chart and video that help the non-bilingual Japanese tweep understand the main message is also an important factor that made him satisfied with the content although it is in English. Also, similarly to the blog posts with pictures mentioned above, if the reader is extremely curious of the content, he/she would likely to self-service for translation leveraging online web service.



3) Video content focusing on visual with good tempo



Surprisingly Video contents without been translated or translated telop can make target audience understand the core message, interested in the content and enjoy even if it is not translated into the language of the target audience. Such contents are with easy-to-understand, illustrative visuals/moving pictures, preferably with appropriate BGM. Thus, video in which a person makes narration and the movie is only the narrator talking is no good.



A few example of such content are as below.



What motivates us? [video]

http://holykaw.alltop.com/what-motivates-us-video



Evolution Web 1.0, Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 (VID)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsNcjya56v8&feature=related



The 2 contents have no translation telop and narration is in English; however, when the author tweeted introducing them with a link, a non-bilingual Japanese tweep retweeted with a comment saying that this content is of good tempo and of interesting and impressive way of presenting message through visual/movie. It is apparent that the retweeter was very interested in how the content was made and the information was presented to the audience, not found in Japan.



For the similar reason, some videos in English are often shown as it is to Japanese employees (who cannot understand English) at the company the author works in. In doing so, the author always makes sure that core message of such videos are understandable for non-bilingual employees from moving pictures and BGM. According to the feedback, the employees did understand the core message and enjoyed the content.



4. What are the final thoughts of the author?



Interesting photos and illustrative charts/movies attract attention of audience. They are extremely helpful for the audience to understand who are satisfied, regardless of which language the content is made in and which language the audience can understand. It is not about the language and translation. It is all about the value of the content and how the content is created and shown from customer perspective.

Vol.38 – How to Remake Global Content to Meet Local Needs

The previous article Vol.37: How to Develop and Evolve Contents Globally Starting Locally was about developing and evolving content for global and local audience based on local information.

This article is the continuation of the previous article, which is about remaking global content to meet local situation and needs based on target buyer persona.

1. In what kind of situation is global content usually remade totally to meet local needs?

This methodology is adopted when global message needs to be delivered to local audience and global content (information) is relevant to local audience cannot be made local by simple translation, addition of interpretation or modification.

Such content can cover wide a range of topics. Some examples of topics include environment, business and economy, politics, compliance, and diversity, to name a few.

2. How can global information remade totally to meet local needs?

Basic stance is the same as tailoring global content to develop local content to meet needs of local audience by changing the viewpoint/subject based on the buyer persona of audience segment.

The author would like to explain with a few concrete examples.

1) Product information (website, catalogue etc.)

This may be the most typical one and the easier one to understand. In global companies, unless the product is planned, developed, produced and marketed all locally, the global HQ is the core of the whole value chain and controls/monitors the total chain. This means the global HQ would have the product information, and one of the main responsibilities of the marketers in the global HQ is providing product information (e.g. catalogue) and other relevant materials such as photos and logo data to local marketers.

Having received information and materials, local marketers would usually remake into local product information tools such as catalogues and product information web pages, according to their product line-up and local market needs.

The degree of remaking depends on case by case. It can be just modifying the product lineup and translation using the data supplied from the global HQ. This seems to be popular among IT companies in particular. Remaking can also be as much as of the total structure and content of the catalogue, product information web pages etc., and redesigning of the front cover and pages, in addition to modifying the product lineup and translation.

Such remaking is performed based on the CI (corporate identity) guideline and other rules specific to the company, and on buyer persona of the local product information content. Total remaking of the content seems to be popular for BtoC, especially for products of consumer electronics and FMCG (fast moving consumer good) industry, assumed to attribute to the fact that such products are closely linked with manners and customs and lifestyles of the local consumers.

2) Company policy/message (internal communication of a company)

Company policy and message of a global company also originates from global HQ. In most cases, as the message is delivered further down the organization layer and/or regional segment, the content is remade, with more detailed information of the target organization layer and/or regional segment. The scenario needs to be carefully developed so that the local audience would be able to understand the global overview (big picture) and how the local content fits in it and is aligned with the big picture of the global overview.

It is the more detailed information part that is focused on because that is what the target (local) audience really needs, and that is usually from which the target audience understands the global core message. In a sense, the local detailed information is the interpretation and explanation of the global content.

Although it may be a rare case, there are some cases in which the key message (content) of such detailed local information may be an exceptional one and different from those of global and other regions/countries. In such a case, the scenario is to be carefully developed and delivered so that the local audience would understand how and why the local content is different.

3) Blog articles about a global issue

The blog article of a global issue can be about the recent abnormal weather for example. The author would like to explain with a specific example of a recent English blog article targeting global audience and Japanese blog article targeting Japanese audience, based on respective buyer persona.

(1) English blog:

Abnormal Weather Worldwide - Why and Effects
http://megoyanagi.blogspot.com/2010/07/abnormal-weather-worldwide-why-and.html

i) Style

The blog is in news article style, and this article is no exception. This is because the fact that English blogs are mostly in professional style and that much source of information for the blog would be news for the blog.

ii) Information / content

The information is mostly of facts, what is actually happening worldwide and Japan, and theories and views of experts. In the first half of the article worldwide information on how abnormal the weather is explained with concrete examples of how abnormal the weather has been lately and its effects on economy, society and people’s lives. In the latter half, Japanese information on its abnormal weather and its effects on summer business as more detailed information is introduced, supporting the total message of the global trend.

(2) Japanese blog:

Abnormal Weather Again – Mother Earth is Really Angry? (the author’s translation)
http://ameblo.jp/meg-oyanagi/entry-10594113815.html

i) Style

The blog was remade completely, in a diary style with more personal touch. Japanese translation of the English blog could have been an option if the author wanted to target expert niche segment such as weather experts. However, the author wanted to target the volume zone of blog readers and the diary style blog was appropriate because such style with what the author did and how he/she feels and thinks is extremely common in Japan.

ii) Content / information

Aligning with the blog concept, the focus of the article is on the author’s thoughts and what she did rather than the detailed facts and explanation of the abnormal weather. The facts and explanation of the abnormal weather was substituted by a link to the English blog, as a part of introducing what the author did on a hot summer day, having read series of special articles about worldwide abnormal weather of a Japanese leading newspaper.

Vol.3７ – How to Develop and Evolve Contents Globally Starting Locally

The previous article Vol.36: How to Tailor Global Content to Meet Local Needs (Part 2) was about developing content meeting needs of local audience while delivering consistent global message by tailoring the global content totally to meet local needs.

This article is the continuation of the previous article, which is about developing and evolving content for global and local audience based on local information.

1. What kind of local information can be developed into content targeting global audience as well as local audience?

Local information need to be informative and of value to global audience. There are mainly 3 types of information that can be developed into content targeting global audience as well as local audience.

1) Advanced, innovative and creative local information.

Typical examples include that of locally-developed innovation such as world-first innovative technology and locally-developed innovative and creative activities. These kinds of contents are, in a sense, best practice sharing, of variety of topics. The website example presented later in this article can be categorized in this.

2) Unique local information yet underlying concept/message/philosophy is of globally universal, and /or local information depicts global trend well.

Typical topics of this kind of information include environment, healthcare, leadership and management and humanity. Some easy-to-understand examples from the author’s blog about Japan include the following.

Turning Point in Japan's Trade with China
http://moyanagijapan.thoseinmedia.com/2010/07/18/turning-point-in-japan%e2%80%99s-trade-with-china/
This depicts the global trend of China’s emergence as the world’s consumption market, and attracted interests of worldwide online people, with feedback and retweets.

3) Very unique, full of originality local information that attracts interest of global audience.

Typical topics of this kind of information include culture, and manners and customs. Some easy-to-understand examples from the author’s blog include the following:-

What is Japanese Valentine's Day and White Day?
http://moyanagijapan.thoseinmedia.com/2010/03/12/what-is-japanese-valentine%e2%80%99s-day-and-white-day/
This is about Japanese original Valentine’s Day. This attracted interest of the author’s worldwide Twitter and Facebook friends, with comments/feedback and retweets.

2. How can local information developed into global content and local content, meeting needs of both global and local audience?

Basic methodology is the same as tailoring global content to develop local content to meet needs of local audience; that is, adding/deleting irrelevant information and/or changing the viewpoint/subject and remake the content based on the buyer persona of audience segment.

The author would like to explain with a website (web content) she and the team members developed 2001-2002 to start creating and increasing fans of the company and the products/services, targeting children, when she was working for her former employer (a Japanese consumer electronics giant).

1) How series of websites were first planned and developed

Being a global company based in Japan, branding such as website concept and title was developed from global perspective, while Japanese website was planned and developed. After the completion of the Japanese website targeting Japanese local audience, English website targeting global audience and Chinese website targeting Chinese audience were developed, because it was considered that the Japanese website concept would be acceptable worldwide.

2) Japanese website: the start of the initiative.

The website as of today is http://pks.panasonic.co.jp/, targeting children around 8 years old, who are “future customers” of the company and also already the key players in making purchasing decision in Japan.

Contents include basics (theories and facts) about consumer electronics such as how consumer electronics work and their history, i.e. how they were first born and then evolved to become advanced as of today.

There are also contents that are not necessarily related to consumer electronics and/or related to culture, and manners and customs, such as flags of major worldwide countries to evoke interest in other countries, and about environment such as importance of environmental preservation and what can be cone in everyday lives to contribute to environmental preservation.

3) English content for global audience

Contents on basic facts of consumer electronics were translated from Japanese to English. However, contents that focus on culture, and manners and customers were carefully reviewed. Information that could lead to misunderstanding or Japan specific that was considered not to attract attention and interest of global audience were dropped out, thus which blocks of information to include as global contents were selected. And any tailoring and modifications required were done in the process of translation, based on multiple buyer persona of 8 year children from major countries and regions.

4) Chinese content for China local audience

As a first step, English global content was translated into Chinese. Then, the website was transferred to China local site, and China local content that is specific to China market such as information related to Chinese society and market/marketing were added locally.

5) How series of websites evolved as time went on after 2002.

(1) Addition of different kinds of contents meeting local needs (in Japan)

Besides updating of contents of basics, variety of other kinds of contents which might be indirectly related to consumer electronics have been/still being added, such as how to make primitive telephone from strings and cardboards. Also events are planned and held collaborating with company showrooms located in Tokyo and Osaka, especially in summer and spring, and information about and linking with such events are also created.

Such contents are designed to help children do their summer holiday homework, because it is typical in Japan that children are assigned to make observation of something such as how sunflowers grow, make something on their own, and write diary with pictures during summer when they have long holiday (Japanese school year starts in April).

(2) Addition of contents targeting teachers and parents (in Japan)

Since there were many inquiries from teachers and parents, contents targeting teachers and parents were developed in 2006. Also, e-newsletter targeting teachers and parents exclusively was started to be distributed in 2006, and the e-newsletter that had been distributed since 2002 was reviewed to better target children.

(3) Addition of contents about worldwide contest

Studying of developing global community and starting contests had started from 2003, considering the initiative that had been going on locally in the U.S. for 10 years. First, the U.S., initiative was collaborated with Global & Group HQ ( in Japan) then content of some topics started to be held online. One of the recent example is as below.

The Eco Picture Diary Contest
http://pks.panasonic.co.jp/eco-global/2009/en/


In the upcoming article, the author would like to explain how global content is developed as a new local content totally and vise versa, delivering the consistent global message.

Vol.36 – How to Tailor Global Content to Meet Local Needs (Part 2)

The previous article Vol.35: How to Tailor Global Content to Meet Local Needs (Part 1) was about developing content meeting needs of local audience while delivering consistent global message by adding and/or replacing with local details.

This article is the continuation of the previous article, which is about developing content meeting needs of local audience while delivering consistent global message by tailoring the global content totally to meet local needs.

1. What is the primary methodology of tailoring the global content totally to meet local needs?

It is by changing the viewpoint, from global to local, often changing the subject and developing content from the eyes of local representatives. This methodology is used in many news and contents on international topics (e.g. summit, environmental issues) and global events such as Olympics and World Cup games.

For example, news about summit is global but very often it is reported in each countries differently, focusing on their leaders and topics of their own country because local audience (i.e. audience in their own country) would be interested in such contents. Olympics and World Cup games are also usually reported in the similar manner for the same reason. In reality, what are reported/broadcasted in detail/full are very often only the games in which the athletes of the country play.

2. How is the methodology of changing the viewpoint/subject applied in developing local content based global content?

The author would like to explain with a typical example. She would like to take a case in of a global event in which people from Global HQ and local executives participate.

1) Overview of the global event

Global event is a ceremony cerebrating achievement of a milestone of a global project, hosted by Singapore. Japan top executive representing the primary client of the project is invited, and executives from global HQ and collaborator of Singapore from Japan join.

2) How the global and local content of the global event can be developed meeting the needs of global and local audience

(1) Global content targeting global audience

Content (article) is usually developed in a neutral, third person viewpoint, informing facts. The text would be in third person to make the total style of usual corporate content.

The information would likely to include overview of the ceremony with brief explanation of each session. If some kind of message is to be included, it is possible that such things as how global collaboration made the project successful are also included to encourage collaboration, and/or add humanity touch to attract interest of the target audience.

(2) Singapore content targeting Singapore audience

Content (article) is usually developed informing facts but from Singapore (host) viewpoint. Although the text would likely be in third person and the style of usual corporate content, subject would be Singapore = host.

The information would likely include overview of the ceremony and explanation of each session, possibly in depth.

Additional, more casual content can also be developed, to attract empathy and interest of the Singapore local audience, such as depicting backyard of the project and the ceremony. Such contents are usually effective ifs developed from the eyes of the project key persons and ceremony organizers, to add humanity aspects.

(3) Japan content targeting Japanese people under the umbrella of Japan project collaborator

Content (article) is usually developed informing facts but likely from the eyes of the Japan project collaborator/team members. The style is better if it is in usual corporate content style but the subject would be in the person who joined the ceremony on the day if the content is from the eyes of that person, which is likely to be more effective rather than in normal third person style.

The information would be overview of the ceremony and explanation of each session. It is probably more effective if how Japan project members collaborated to make this project a success is also included to attract the empathy and interest of the target audience and to add humanity aspects.

(4) Japan content targeting Japanese people under the top executive

Very brief content (article) is usually developed informing facts, focusing on the Japan top executive’s attendance. The text would be in third person, in usual corporate content style.

The subject is the Japan top executive and the information included is likely to focus solely on the highlights of the ceremony such as the session in which the Japan top executive made a speech and other ceremonial events held in which the Japan top executives attended.


Approach of changing the viewpoint/subject is also effective in developing global and local content of a local issue.

The author would like to explain how in the upcoming article.

Vol.35 – How to Tailor Global Content to Meet Local Needs (Part 1)

The previous article Vol.34: How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience was about effectively delivering consistent message with consistent branding to global and local audience online and offline, meeting needs of both global and local audience.

This article is the continuation of the previous article, which is about developing content meeting needs of local audience while delivering consistent global message.

1. What must be considered first in tailoring global content to meet local needs?

Similarly to any other contents, relevance must be considered first in planning and developing content meeting local needs. The objectives of the buyer persona of the local audience and the relevant content for each buyer persona need to be considered.

Some global content may not be necessary to be delivered to local audience. Some of the examples of global contents mentioned in the previous article Vol.34: How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience are not always necessary to be delivered to local audience, for example, to local business partners (PR agencies) wanting to start business with local office and to consumers wanting to buy local products and services.

Some other global contents need to be delivered to local audience but do not need to be tailored but simple translation at most is appropriate, such as financial (IR) information. Such information is necessary and valuable to local investors as a great source in making investment judgments.

And, some other global contents need to be delivered to local audience and need to be tailored to meet local needs, although the degree and methodology is case by case. Such contents are focus of this article and upcoming article(s).

2. What is the primary methodology of tailoring global content?

The methodology mostly adopted in tailoring global content is adding and/or replacing details (examples and explanations) with local ones. This methodology is often taken for “other facts about the company/individual” mentioned in the previous article Vol.34: How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience.

This methodology is adopted because of local laws and restrictions, and other local situations attributing to local society, manners and customs, and culture that cannot be covered by global content/side.

1) Adding local details

A good example of adding details and examples may be compliance related content. Basic philosophy and information of compliance is consistent worldwide and some main examples can be provided globally, but many needs to be provided locally, meeting local needs and situation. This is why most compliance related information provided from global side always has phrases saying details are apt to local laws and restrictions.

Thus, local laws and restrictions, and concrete examples based on local laws and restrictions added locally. Also, concrete examples of cases to explain and/or support worldwide philosophy and policy are added locally.

Another example of adding details and examples may be sustainability (CSR and environment preservation) content. Basic philosophy and information of such content is consistent worldwide, but details are usually added locally for the same reason and in similar way as compliance related content. Also, information on local activities is added locally.

News releases and product information and other contents are planned and developed with the same concept.

2) Replacing with local details

This methodology might sound odd but the author has presented this methodology, distinguishing from adding local details because some methodologies taken are not quite adding but really replacing, whether the degree is large or small.

(1) Words and phrases, and sentence level

In practice, this methodology is on sentence level even in some of the global contents that are considered to be simply translation to local language. For example, in the case of mentioning M&A of a company, the timing (year) was replaced with the local one because it took place one year after the global.

Also, words and phrases are not literally translated but replaced by local equivalents for local audience to understand better. For example, when translating “emerging market” into Japanese, the author often replaces it with something like “countries of what we call BRICs”. “BRICs” is the term widely used in Japan meaning “Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa” and this term is much easier for the local audience to understand.

(2) Content level

The methodology of replacing with local details on content level is probably most adopted in explaining features/usage of products and services considering the local society, lifestyle, manners and customers and culture.

An example is what the author did for a matrix chart of plotting digital AV products based on assumed lifestyles of customer segments (buyer persona) when she was responsible for product marketing covering worldwide market. The matrix was a content of a training tool for worldwide sales person.

She first developed a “standard” matrix, i.e. global content. She then developed a few “derivatives” from the “standard” matrix to meet some specific regions based on their product line-up and the lifestyles, manners and customer and culture.

(3) Description/headline level

Although of a little different perspective, there is another methodology which can be categorized as replacing with local details. This is what the author often adopts in tweeting on Twitter and posting updates on Facebook. That is posting updates of different contents in English (global audience) and Japanese (Japan local audience) meeting their respective needs although the links is the same.

3. What methodologies need to be adopted when adding and/or replacing with local details is insufficient?

There are mainly 2 ways to overcome such a situation. The first methodology is tailoring the global content totally to meet local needs. The second is developing a new local content totally with delivering the consistent global message.

The first methodology will be the topic of the upcoming article.

Vol.34 – How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience

The previous article Vol.33: How to Develop Corporate Contents with Consistent Corporate Branding was about developing online and offline contents to deliver consistent message with consistent corporate branding.

This article discusses effectively delivering consistent message with consistent branding to global and local audience online and offline, meeting needs of both global and local audience. The discussion is based on the author’s experience of marketing and communication to global and Japan local audience at work and also on how she has been managing social media (English and Japanese blogs, two separate twitter accounts, and one Facebook account targeting global and local friends).

1. What are the KFS for delivering consistent message to global and local audience?

What to keep consistent worldwide and what to tailor to meet local needs must be clarified after careful selection and defining to effectively deliver consistent message with consistent branding to global and local audience, online and offline, meeting all their needs. This is the KFS (Key Factors for Success) to effectively deliver consistent message to global and local audience with consistent branding, meeting needs of both global and local audience.

2. What needs to be consistent for both global and local audience and what needs to be tailored to meet local needs?

The following are main examples of things that need to be consistent for both global and local audience (and for all customer segments, i.e. buying persona).

1) Core message and branding

Needless to say, core message and branding should be consistent regardless of customer/audience segment. All the contents are to support core message, developed under consistent branding principle.

In the case of many companies, core message and branding is made into a slogan or something similar, which is translated to local languages, and symbolized by CI (Corporate Identity) logos. Slogan (or something similar) may well be combined with CI logos, such as “imagination at work” of GE, “Connecting People” of Nokia and “ideas for life” of Panasonic.

Corporate (and/or product) branding guidelines are usually developed and applied worldwide to keep consistency. In such guidelines, items such as colour/format/proportion/spacing of the logo and layout and style of visual/copy are defined. These needs to be applied regardless of customer/audience segmentation, media and communication channel etc.

2) Facts and data

There are many kinds of facts and data that need to be consistent to both global and local audience.

(1) Overview of the organization / individual

In the case of a company, this would be Company Information that was mentioned in the previous article Vol 33: How to Develop Corporate Contents with Consisten Corporate Branding. Many global companies deliver consistent information of the overview of the global company by making local websites link to the global page (in English) and/or by making local branches precisely translate the global page information into their language then post the translation on their local website. The translation is used in offline media/tools such as brochure.

In the case of the individual, this would be profile (page) and bio on website and all online communities such as blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. If he/she is to be introduced in online and/or offline media and is edited by the media, the primary source needs to be his/her profile and bio to keep the information consistent.

(2) Financial information (IR information)

This is as mentioned in Vol.33: How to Develop Corporate Contents with Consistent Corporate Branding.

Most global companies deliver consistent information of this kind by the very same method mentioned above in delivering consistent global company overview information.

Global company information and IR information including financial announcement press releases can be said as the main global content of global companies.

(3) Other facts about the company/individual

In the case of a company, this would be basic information of career information and information of other topics mentioned in Vol.33: How to Develop Corporate Contents with Consistent Corporate Branding. Such information includes press releases and all other content.

The reason why the author says “basic information” is that the basic facts and philosophy of the information is universal worldwide and therefore needs to be consistent; however, details and concrete case information needs to be tailored locally depending on local law, society, culture and other issues. Also, what aspects to be focused to explain some topics and its approach needs to be carefully selected and defined to meet local needs.

The same concept applies in the case of an individual.

(4) Basic product/service information

The reason why the author says “basic” product information is the same as the reason for other facts about the company/individual mentioned above. Such information includes press releases and all other content.

Product and service specification remains consistent worldwide, so are bullet copies describing products and services. The exception is when the details of the products and services have been tailed according to the market segment. This is quite usual for consumer products and services at least.

Explanation of benefits and concrete case studies may well be tailored locally depending on local needs including society, culture, law and other issues. What aspects to be focused to effectively explain benefits and how needs to be carefully selected and defined to meet local needs.

An example of such exception is of global strategic flagship consumer products and services, consistent message and branding is delivered with the same visual, headline and copy. Panasonic adopted this approach in marketing first flat panel TVs. This approach also seems to be widely adopted in the case of IT software (e.g. security), especially when their global business is at early stage.

3. How is content developed tailoring to meet local audience while delivering consistent message?

Outline of this has already been touched on in (3) and (4) above.

The author would like to further discuss this in the upcoming article.

Vol.33: How to Develop Corporate Contents with Consistent Corporate Branding

The previous article Vol.32: 7 Requirements to Deliver Consistent Message Online & Offline was about requirements to deliver consistent message online and offline for synergy.

This article discusses developing online and offline contents to deliver consistent message with consistent corporate branding.

1. What kinds of corporate contents are there?

The following are some of the major corporate contents.

1) Company information

This is information about the company. This includes basic information and data of the company, company vision/strategy and statement including message from the top executive and history of the company to name a few. In short, they are the kind of web contents posted in “About Us” section of company websites and information included in company brochure.

2) Information for media - Press/news release

This was originally announcement/information delivered from the company to mass media exclusively but today it is accessible by the general public also with the emergence and proliferation of the Internet. Topics include everything, from management/corporate information such as company policy/strategy, organizational/leadership announcement and financial performance announcement to new products and services announcement.

3) Financial information (IR information)

This is company information focusing on financial information and other information relevant for investment. Topics range from message to shareholders, presentation (webcast, PPT materials etc.) and events schedule to annual reports. Press releases of financial performance announcement also fall under this category as well.

4) Career information

This is information relevant for job seekers. Topics range from basic company information and contents introducing their employees to event schedule and procedures of application. Some companies use basic company information mentioned above while some others tailor basic company information to meet needs of job seekers to make it separate content.

5) Information of other topics

Some companies have independent strategic corporate contents such as environmental preservation, sustainability/CSR, and Diversity & Inclusion. And in addition to annual report, many companies publish other reports of sustainability, CSR and environmental preservation. How they categorize differs from company to company.

2. Who are main targets of corporate contents?

In theory everyone can be target but assumed specifics (buying persona) depend on contents. For instance, it would be financial institutions and individual investors for financial (IR) information, media and journalists for press/news releases, job seekers for recruiting information, and business partners for company information and financial information.

In reality, it really depends on the objectives of the individual audience. What can be said is that people who access to corporate content are mostly current and potential business person.

3. How are branding and style?

From the assumed objective/ setting of usage and target, it is natural that branding and style of corporate content would be rather official (i.e. not too casual and personal). The degree of how much formal depends on the industry and company.

1) Visual

CI (Corporate Identity) logo and colour is usually developed and determined, and are used consistently throughout the content regardless of types of media/communication channels. CI is an intellectual property and the companies usually acquire copy right. And to assure consistent use of CI and consistent branding, most companies produce guidelines/manuals.

Key images are also usually created, determined in line with corporate branding and therefore this is usually of not too casual and personal. This is also used consistently regardless of types of media and communication channel/tools. Many companies include key image issues in their branding guidelines/manuals.

Design and layout is also usually kept conservative and simple compared to product and entertainment contents. Many companies include this issue also in their corporate branding guidelines and manuals.

2) Text

Corporate contents are usually subjective and their style of writing is usually of business writing. Headlines and texts are developed from company perspective. Body texts are usually written usually in third person. Sentence structure is usually kept simple. Clarity is also important and ambiguity needs to be kept to minimum. Some companies have guidelines or rules of text style, at least in writing press/news releases.

One of the possible exceptions of not being written in third person is content introducing employees to job seekers (new graduates). This is when, for example, it is in interview style or strategically written in first person, introducing the company and how it is working in the company from the eye of the employee.

4. What kind of media and communication channels are used?

Both online and offline media and communication channels/tools are used. Most common ones are website, online and offline news releases, and brochures (offline) and PDF files/HTM pages (online) of various reports and company information.

For online contents, use of rich content such as webcast (streaming content) is effective and in fact already used by many companies for delivering financial presentation, often together with presentation materials. This is a good way to deliver offline event information to as many online audiences as possible who cannot attend offline event. This is also a good way of online and offline integrated communication for synergy.

In addition, more and more companies make effective use of webcast (a few minutes online video) for other strategic contents as well with the popularization of YouTube. More use of effective use of rich content in addition to basic text (static) content is one of the assumed trends even in corporate contents.

5. What is the author’s conclusion?

Corporate contents are in general conservative, kept simple and business like because of the target and the nature of the content to deliver consistent message. Contents can be made attractive and effectively delivered by good designing, layout and text style. And for online contents effective use of web 2.0 technologies can make creative, rich contents. This has already been a trend, and is likely to continue in the future as well.

Underling the consistency is corporate branding. To assure consistent corporate branding, guidelines and manuals are usually developed and rolled out, covering issues such as CI logo, visuals and design/layout. This is applied to all contents and media/communication channels/tools.