Global social media marketing: 8 strategies for selling worldwide

Global social media marketing strategies and new tools are empowering more brands than ever before to reach a worldwide audience. Creating an Instagram account or working with an influencer now gives businesses access to millions of people right away.

Going global effectively requires investing in a carefully crafted social media marketing strategy. This ensures you’re able to refine your audiences, optimize your content and achieve more reliable results across multiple regions.

In this article, we’ve outlined the eight steps for success in your global social media marketing journey. From defining objectives and designing personas to budgeting and tools, these strategies grant you and your brand a ticket to increase your share of voice across the world.

What is a global social media marketing strategy?

A global social media marketing strategy is similar to a regular social media strategy, but focuses on a marketing approach that goes beyond your domestic market.

Your current social media marketing strategy can act as a blueprint to capture the market in other countries.

Benefits of global social media marketing

In today’s digital-focused landscape, the importance of effective social media marketing can’t be overstated. A smart social marketing framework can give your brand's reputation a boost, give you access to actionable data and expand your reach.

But what about a global strategy? For starters, a one-size-fits-all approach to your social accounts won’t work for global audiences and markets. It won’t even work domestically, as your content should be tailored to each audience and network.

People in different countries have different expectations of brands. You’ll likely have new competitors to consider, and other cultural backgrounds that impact how consumers perceive content. There are also language barriers and financial buying power to consider, among other differences.

For example, KFC’s Kazakhstan account uses the country’s local language and influencers, while promoting country-specific promotions and products. It combines these regional differences with KFC’s recognizable global brand, through its color schemes, font and other design choices.

A global social media marketing strategy enables you to clearly define your new audience. You can then conceptualize exactly how to communicate with that audience within your branding to achieve your desired results.

Set yourself up for success by getting the right documentation in place and creating ways to align your team. This will enable you to widen your reach while keeping your strategy close to home.

8 tips to ace global social media marketing

Define your global strategy by following these eight stages. They’ll take you through planning and execution, and how to refine your approach in the future.

1. Define your social media objectives

Having a social media strategy without goals is like driving without a destination. You’ve got momentum, but you won’t know if you’re going in the right direction.

Determine exactly what you want to achieve with each of your social media accounts and for each of your regional audiences. Some common social media goals include:

If you’re already engaged on social media, conduct a global social audit. An audit helps you to review how each of your accounts is performing right now. This should uncover insights into your ideal future objectives.

This video gives more details on how to conduct a social media audit.