1.Facebook
Facebook and Google are the two most mainstream digital media companies in the online advertising industry. Any company that markets to foreign consumers will add Facebook to its marketing communication strategy. On Facebook, companies can promote paid content and display ads to expand the scope of communication. As a small business, a platform like Facebook may be a good place to start a corporate social strategy.
The application of Facebook in cross-border e-commerce marketing mainly includes three aspects: first, companies can create official brand homepages on Facebook and publish marketing content; second, brands can interact with consumers on Facebook; and finally, Facebook is a platform for companies to gain social listening and insights.
2. Linkedln
LinkedIn is one of the early social platforms. It has now become a mainstream business communication platform and a professional social networking platform. The number of users is still growing. Compared with other social media platforms, LinkedIn is very unique. One-third of the members on the platform hold senior management positions, and 92% of employees of Fortune 500 companies use this platform. LinkedIn focuses on career-related networks. For companies that want to provide professional services, LinkedIn is a better choice. If you want to build a professional brand from a certain industry, you can create a business profile on LinkedIn and classify it using industry types. Companies can post or send messages. Companies can also use the message and comment functions to interact with their fans or comment users. Therefore, LinkedIn is the preferred platform for B2B marketers.
The main applications of LinkedIn in cross-border e-commerce marketing include official homepage content publishing, obtaining “brand mentions”, B2B marketing, and localized advertising.
3. Twitter
Twitter has irreplaceable importance as a communication channel. Twitter still has potential to be explored as a communication channel between companies and users. Twitter accounts are suitable for companies in different industries, from entertainment to e-commerce. Companies can create a profile on Twitter and list website links and company information. Companies can also use Twitter to publish company information, update status, tag the company or customers in posts, retweet positive customer tweets, and respond to customer questions through tweets or direct messages. Like Facebook, companies can also post content such as photos or videos. Facebook and Twitter are two social media channels that all companies should pay attention to, even if they are only used for social listening.
The application of Twitter in cross-border e-commerce marketing mainly includes official account publishing content, monitoring brand mentions, and mining tweet value.
4. Instagram
In 2012, Facebook acquired the popular photo-sharing platform Instagram and achieved great success. To this day, Facebook still operates Instagram as an independent (and very successful) social network. On Instagram, users can post posts containing photos and short videos with captions. Users can also post live videos or create “Istst” stories that disappear after a day. Instagram has become the birthplace of influencer marketing, as 93% of influencer activities were conducted on the platform in 2018. It also provides companies with advertising and e-commerce opportunities. Unlike other social platforms, Instagram emphasizes visual effects and does not allow link sharing directly in posts. Basic users on Instagram can only share links in their resumes. Verified users or accounts with more than 10,000 followers can post links in their stories.
The application of Instagram in cross-border e-commerce marketing mainly includes three aspects: first, companies can open official brand accounts on Instagram, share pictures and conduct content marketing; second, image analysis can be used to identify brands in user-generated content; finally, Instagram’s native advertising and paid promotion are both high-quality marketing channels.
5. YouTube
At present, the competition in the field of video content marketing is becoming increasingly fierce, and other professional social media channels are also gradually improving the video functions on their platforms, but YouTube is still an important channel for overseas video content output. YouTube is the preferred platform for network influencers (commonly known as YouTubers) who rely on video content as the core of marketing, and most companies also choose this platform to publish video media content. If video is a key marketing strategy of the company, or the company wants to cooperate with network influencers in the video field, then YouTube will be a very important advertising channel.
The application of YouTube in cross-border e-commerce marketing mainly includes three aspects: first, companies can create official channels for video content marketing; second, on YouTube, they can interact with consumers through video comments; finally, YouTube’s paid promotion is a high-quality marketing channel.