What facebook teaches us about globalization and translation

What facebook teaches us about globalization and translation

Love it or hate it, Facebook continues to keep the world wrapped around its finger. If you need proof of its world dominance, take a look Facebook’s most recent annual report.

Here are just a few of the surprising statistics and claims made in the report:

  • Generated $13 billion in the EMEA region;
  • Had a $21 billion economic impact on Central and South America;
  • Had a $100 billion economic impact on the United States

These statistics not only show how powerful the social network is on today’s society, but they further prove the impact the platform has on a global scale. After all, the most economically active languages change on a regular basis.

For companies that operate (or plan to operate) on an international stage, this could change the approach to the global market. Not only is it crucial that you remain in the know about how your customers are communicating across the globe, but you can also take a few lessons from Facebook on how to reach an international audience.

The following are three tips that you can steal from Facebook’s global marketing strategy.

1. Make your business necessary

Facebook isn’t necessary to the end user. Its platform and approach to social networking is highly sought after and desired, but it’s not essential in a person’s life.

Because Facebook offers such a popular place to mix and mingle, it has attracted millions of third-party businesses wanting to tap into the demographic. To these third-party businesses, Facebook is necessary.

Your business can learn something from this. If you’re a global brand, position your business with complimentary products and services that will enrich the lives of your customers. Doing this will make your company more valuable and skyrocket your position in the global market.

2. Share the love

Facebook didn’t stop by giving businesses a voice on their social media network. They continued to open the door and share the love of connection in other innovative ways – through apps, services and tools.

Facebook has generated a way for their users to connect with other products and services beyond the social network. Take popular applications as an example. Over 80 percent of the country’s top grossing applications use Facebook in some capacity. Facebook wins because it provides another revenue source. Apps, services, and online tools win because they get in front of a larger audience.

In your business, you can take a similar approach. Share the love of connection with your audience and with others in your industry by creating a cohesive synergy with other companies. By sharing your existing audience with others, you’ll gain new revenue streams abroad and expand your presence in the global marketplace.

3. Become addicted to the numbers

Facebook’s success didn’t happen by accident. Neither will yours. You need to have an unrelenting passion for looking at the numbers behind each marketing campaign so you can see what works and what falls short.

Look at the dollar amounts for each of your marketing campaigns. What brought in the most return? What did you lose money on? Constantly research, tweak, and adjust to make your global marketing efforts worthwhile and profitable. Without prioritizing your spending, you could keep throwing away money on campaigns that don’t work.

Takeaway

Even if you’re not one of the millions of people who log in to Facebook on a daily basis, you can still benefit from its powerful reach. Take a lesson from this massive, global company for how they expanded into new markets. Baked in their success is the recipe for your own brand’s world domination strategy.