Over 3.6 billion people used social media in 2020 and that number is continuing to rapidly grow, which is why it is a key in any marketing strategy. Not to mention that APAC countries account for 52.5% of global social media users. This is why paying attention to social media, through social listening, when expanding your business to Asia will empower your brand to drive results.
Creating a strong social media strategy goes beyond just creating engaging content to reach users in their native tongue. Brands need to listen to what their customers are saying about their brand, good or bad! And a great way to do this is social listening.
What is social listening?
According to Hootsuite, social listening is tracking, analyzing, and responding to conversations relating to your brand on social media. It is a great way to close the customer gap, figure out any reasons for sudden increase or decrease in sales, and to get new ideas. Using this tool empowers your brands to make changes based on customer feedback as well as keep your brand’s narrative in check.
Let me break it down.
To make it easier, Ben & Jerry’s is a perfect example. They noticed click through rates and sales were much higher than they had estimated during a snowstorm. Their team had assumed that sales would do better in summer and not so great in winter, ice cream is a summer food after all. However, they noticed that rain and snow force people to stay indoors which then drives them to activities such as watching movies and Netflix. What goes perfect with movies & TV? Ice cream! There were tons of posts with ice cream and movies.
Ben & Jerry’s listened to their customers, changed their ad campaigns and spending, and even made a flavor based off of this phenomenon called Netflix & Chill’d. (Unfortunately, not available in Japan AKA where this writer lives.)
But what does this mean in terms of brand expansion in Asia?
It’s not always easy to predict what consumers want from a brand. That task gets 10x harder when you don’t understand the culture and habits of the consumer’s you’re targeting. Listening to the feedback could be what makes or breaks a brand when testing new waters.
Listening isn’t easy when you can’t understand your consumer’s language. Even more so, responding is nearly impossible unless you use Google Translate, which we highly discourage.
Partnering with a team that can understand the culture and respond to comments in the native language is key! Locals might respond to your brand in ways you never thought they would.
Listen to your customers in THEIR language.
If you are creating a digital marketing strategy for Japan or the other Asian markets, create a strong social media strategy with social listening that will give your brand a strong entrance. Consider working with Asian marketing specialists. At Mondo Marketing, we have the experience, in-depth knowledge of the Asian Pacific and e-commerce in this region, and a team of native content writers on hand ready to assist your brand.