There are conflicting stories regarding that Facebook may be looking to purchase the Chinese social network, Zhanzuo.com. The story broke over the weekend, but is now being denied by Facebook.
That’s not really the point of this post though. The question is if social marketing can extend to foreign countries. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the Internet is NOT English only, it just feels that way some days. American sites such as MySpace and Google have tried getting footholds in the Chinese marketplace, but it has been difficult. If, and that’s a big “if”, Facebook was to go this route, it would be the wisest idea.
The Asian mindset is very different than the Western one. It can be very difficult for marketers used to dealing with Americans to know hot to position their brand in the Asian markets. If one of the big social networks wants to open up shop in China, the best idea is going to be buying an established brand that has already made headway there. Keeping the existing staff would also be essential to continue the momentum.
How does this affect you? Well, while most people would require a translator, you can usually find a reasonably priced one on GetAFreelancer.com, but if you feel your ready to expand into foreign markets, wouldn’t the familiar social networking route make sense?
