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Using Media To Reach An International Audience
If you want to expand your company’s international outreach, one of the things you must consider is how to use media to reach a new audience. If you’ve got a specific international customer base in mind then you need to know how best to appeal to them. Today there are so many different forms of media you can use so you strategy will be all about finding the right ones to suit you, getting the timing right and ensuring you understand the subtle differences in how certain geographical market areas receive news.
So which media circuits could you be considering? Will more general media outlets suit your business? These include major newspapers, radio and TV stations, outline outlets and magazines. Work out which of these are popular in the geographical markets you wish to target and then consider which your budget can stretch to. Obviously TV advertising or taking out an ad in major newspapers or magazines will be more expensive than more local outlets. If you have a very specific region in mind then you may be able to get away with local media.
Targeting
For targeting a more specific industry audience, one of the most useful forms of media is trade publications. These offer specialised news to target an industry audience: say, for example, you want to target a certain area of the US market – find out which publications are being printed there and what their readership is. Then you can arrange to advertise in these, have press releases published or even arrange for a profile to be published on your company to introduce yourself to the new market. The financial media circuit is also worth considering if you have some relevant news to share.
Apart from choosing the right media outlets, it’s also important that you know when to send it to get the maximum impact. The morning is the optimum time to distribute any press release, so ensure you have taken into account the time differences between where you are based and the market you are targeting. Earlier in the week is best when people generally tend to be pro-active, and you should try to avoid weekend distribution as business in any country will come to a virtual standstill. It’s also important that you’re aware of specific holidays in your target markets as there is a holiday pretty much every day somewhere in the world.
Language
If you’re sending news out or advertising internationally then you will almost certainly have to do some translations of your text. Even though English is the international language of business, most regional clients will respond more positively to news sent in their own language. If you’re using a translation company there are a few things to bear in mind: first of all, if your industry sector uses a lot of technical jargon then it’s a good idea to provide the translators with a glossary of some kind as some terms are difficult to interpret. Also, remember that a press release with a high word count will take a longer time to translate so try to keep it as short and snappy as possible.