Digital Marketing for Global Audiences
5 Tips and Best Practices

Social media1 and online search engines2 are among the main digital channels for merchants to reach new audiences around the world, raise brand awareness and drive international demand.  In fact, our survey found that 75% of online shoppers have purchased from a brand outside their market after they engaged with it on social media.3  

However, running effective campaigns across different international markets can be challenging. From market selection to setting the campaign strategy and scope to determining the media mix and adapting ad content to each market, successful campaigns require dedicated setup and management rather than simply extending domestic efforts. Combining a local approach, based on an understanding of the market, with an analysis of the brand’s potential can help companies develop an optimal strategy to deliver results.

We asked Global-e’s DTC Digital Marketing Team to share some insightful tips on running digital campaigns across the world. These best practices are drawn from their considerable experience managing extensive campaigns in over 25 international markets.

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#1

Identify high-potential markets

The first step in launching digital marketing activities in international markets is to identify those with high growth potential for your brand. To pinpoint these markets, it’s important to consider various factors that combine economic indicators and market characteristics. We’ve outlined key considerations that, collectively, help assess market potential.

Brand data

  • Current market size: the brand's current sales volume in this market
  • Brand awareness per market: analyzing brand searches per international market compared to brand searches in its domestic market
  • Market’s unit economics: market profitability (before marketing spend)

Market data    

  • Potential market size: population size of the market
  • GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita: the market’s buying power
  • Internet penetration and e-commerce adoption
  • Global e-commerce market trends: market growth in the last few quarters
  • Local tax and duty threshold and rates: evaluating local tax and duty rates on personal imports
    Some markets, like Brazil, might seem promising due to their size and buying power. However, high taxes and duties can pose substantial barriers to online purchases outside the domestic market. Consequently, launching campaigns in a market like Brazil might not achieve the anticipated results.
  • Digital marketing benchmarks: media costs (CPM/CPCs) and conversation rates by market
  • Competitive landscape and benchmarks: analyzing competitors and resellers in the market, compared with benchmark data to identify potential opportunities

Find Where Your Local Audience Is

Identify the most popular media channels within your target market and include them into your media plan, alongside global paid channels such as Meta and Google.

In certain countries, local media channels are key players; for instance, Naver and KakaoTalk in South Korea, and Line in Japan, are very popular, and integral to a local strategy.

Additionally, leveraging affiliate and influencer channels can be instrumental in reaching local audiences in international markets, helping your brand gain recognition, build trust, and scale its activities.

#2

Did you know?

KakaoTalk is the leading social network in South Korea, and it is used by 93% of smartphone owners in this market.4

Adapt your ads to the market

When it comes to international digital marketing campaigns, it's important to adapt your ads to resonate with the local culture of your target market.

Use high-quality human translations; ensure translators are native to the market and possess strong copywriting skills to produce professional and effective marketing copy. For brands with unique or word-play-driven copy, consider transcreation and fully rewrite the messaging for local audiences. If a high-quality human translation isn't possible, it's better to stick with English.

Visuals and text should reflect cultural nuances. For example, in the Gulf Markets, creatives are typically more modest, sometimes incorporating elements of local culture like a headscarf.

To ensure your ads engage effectively, have them reviewed by a native of the market who can verify their appeal to the local audience.

#3

Present prices and tailor promotions for local markets

Adapt your local pricing and promotions to gain wider market relevancy and appeal.

Display prices in the local currency within your creatives for paid media, email marketing, and other channels. If displaying local currency in your marketing is not possible, it is better to omit pricing altogether.

For catalogue-based ads on Google, Meta, and TikTok, which are a highly effective and profitable ad type and an important component of an international digital marketing strategy, pricing has to be presented in the local currency and match the pricing on your website for that market.

For multi market campaigns, opt for percentage discounts over value discounts to ensure clarity and relevance across various markets. For example, use: “25% off” instead of “CA$50 off”.

Finally, be aware of local rules and laws governing promotions. In France, for example, using the term ‘Sale’ (Soldes) is restricted to only during two periods a year. Discounts are permissible outside those periods, but you cannot use the word ‘Sale’.

#4

Leverage local holidays and shopping events

Local shopping events and holidays offer significant opportunities for sales performance and enhancing brand awareness.

Add these local events to your marketing calendar to plan for them effectively. If they aren't included in your annual strategy, we recommend coordinating at least one month before.

‍Global-e’s e-commerce calendar, featuring popular shopping peaks worldwide, is a valuable tool to help you track local events so you can schedule your activities throughout the year.

‍Identify the events relevant to your brand, vertical, and marketing strategy. For campaigns around specific local dates, consider designing dedicated creatives or incorporating relevant messages into existing ones.

Enhance your local presence and relevance by adapting your messaging to acknowledge local holidays and adding respectful greetings to your copy, even if you are not planning a promotional campaign around the event. For example, when targeting markets where Chinese New Year is widely celebrated, you can add a relevant greeting like “Happy Lunar New Year!” and incorporate red into your creative materials.

#5

Navigating the complex landscape of global digital marketing requires a thoughtful and well-informed approach, combining an understanding of each market and analysis of your brand’s potential, to set the right strategy.

A localized approach to digital marketing, that goes beyond copy translation, helps brands run efficient campaigns to increase demand and accelerate market growth.  

We hope you found these tips and best practices useful. Contact us to hear more about Global-e's end-to-end global e-commerce solutions.

1 Hubspot, 2024 The 2024 State of Marketing & Trends Report: Data from 1400+ Global Marketers; Statista, 2023 Leading benefits of using social media for marketing purposes worldwide

2 SEMRush, 2024 Customer Acquisition: How to Win New Customers

3 Global-e, 2022 The Cross-Border E-commerce Shopper Survey

4 Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KakaoTalk