The international marketing plan should be strategic in nature and executed in a consistent manner. The goal is to get more customers from around the world to export to and to increase your business’s profits. Here’s how a plan might look. (Note: I am providing three points out of ten that are mentioned in my book. If you want the full ten, you must read my book.) Keep in mind how the four Cs of social media (content, conversation, community, and connections) might play into each point:
1. Define a keyword strategy (set objectives). You need to come up with a string of keywords that best describes your business. Think of it this way: If you were to call a bunch of folks together at an online water cooler every week to talk about something related to your keywords, what would they be? Mine is, for example, “Global small business.”
2. Optimize your Web site to get found. In Chapter 5 of Exporting, we discussed how to optimize your Web site. That effort is critical for getting found by the billions of consumers you are interested in selling to. While keywords are not the only search engine ranking factor, they do support the relevancy of your page and they’re within your control when creating new page content. Consider controlling keywords by optimizing content across all of your pages, including those in different languages. Feature your blog on your homepage and provide clear ways that people can connect with you on their favorite social media platforms. All of these efforts in combination will determine how well you rank in a Google, Bing, or Yahoo! search result.
3. Create a blog (like this one!) and other related marketing content. Your online success is directly proportional to the quality of your web design and the information you provide. Consider creating podcasts, Tweet chats, Skypecasts, YouTube videos, and webinars to further promote your business to the world as well as to transact business around the world. Write articles, white papers, and e-books in your area of expertise. Internet consumers visit and return to those sites that consistently provide a high-quality and informative online experience.
This post is adapted from Laurel’s latest book, Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably published December 2013 by Apress.
Photo Credit: mkhmarketing