Globalization – a helpful or harmful concept?

We live in an increasingly globalized world – that much is certain. But what does globalization really mean and is it a helpful or harmful aspect of socio-economic revolution?

What is globalization?

Globalization can be defined as:

The process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas and culture. It refers to processes that promote world-wide exchanges of national and cultural resources.

These world-wide exchanges can include goods, services, finances, people, laws and even ideas. Advances in transportation and telecommunications, including the growth of the internet have harvested increased interdependence of economic activities. Globalization demands not only economic consideration, but political, cultural, psychological and ecological attention too.

Globalization as a harmful notion

With much heated debate as of late as to whether the effects of increased cross-border interactions is good or bad, and more importantly, who it affects positively and negatively, it seems neither supporters nor opponents accept or reject it in totality.

Different stakeholders and third party perspectives will defend divergent pro and anti-globalization opinions. The competing transnational flow of resources can be controlled in line with the competing interests of those involved.

Neoliberal globalization emerged in 1980 in reaction to the increasing powers of government and contracting commercial profits. It is generally argued that neoliberal globalization benefits the rich and harms developing countries.

We must acknowledge that world distribution of wealth and income is highly unequal. The richest 10% of households in the world have as much yearly income as the bottom 90 %. (BBC)

Globalization contributes to greater income inequality. Neoliberalist’s are often portrayed as opportunists – interested in personal gain through extortion of third world resources. Neoliberalism advocates the flow of capital that results from global trade but opposes increased immigration, which inadvertently positions poorer countries as ‘victims’ of financial imperialism.

The rise in underground globalization (involving the illegal flow of resources) is indicative of an absence of governmental control, legality and morality; supporting the perception that rich countries are looking to ‘ignore the rules’ at the expense of poorer people.

On the other hand, if we expand on this further and consider the number of jobs dependent on foreign direct investment and international trade, perhaps globalization isn’t all bad.

The helpful face of globalization 

Foreign aid is also a contributor to globalization. It is a concept made up of national policies dedicated to the encouragement of long term investments and export markets for goods and labour, with a focus on relationship building for mutual benefit and equality. Foreign aid opposes unfettered trade, capital flows and overall Western cultural hegemony in support of greater global regulation and the flow of support and technology to poor countries, and of migrants to rich countries.

Issues surrounding this ‘positive attribute’ are that global demand can only support a limited number of countries, and there is a need for strong in-country policy governance which most developing countries cannot sustain.

To conclude

Globalisation will lead to a high similarity in different life spheres by definition. A homogenized global culture may not be a good thing as we lose cultures and traditions (see Suffering the loss of lingo).
Despite this, we cannot ignore the fact that globalization allows for greater specialization by nations, greater economies of scale and facilitates greater flow of information and technology. As a result, people and businesses are more competitive and arguably, more efficient.

Whether globalization is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide, but it’s important to realize the effects on all members of the chain and the restraints involved in moving towards an ‘ideal balance’ in terms of equality and national capabilities.

Suffering the loss of lingo – why do languages die?

What is the role of language?

The first word that springs to mind for most people is ‘communication’. But if we dig a little deeper, language is so much more. Language is a cultural institution that informs the social and intellectual life of the speaker.

Most of what humans know about nature is encoded in language. A combination of stories, songs and histories passed down from generation to generation – a collection of expressive attributes that define a community.

In losing languages, we lose traditions.

Linguistic diversity is disappearing at an alarming rate. Every 14 days a language dies, taking with it a wealth of knowledge about the history, culture and environment of its society. The Centre for Linguistics confirms that although we have lost languages since the beginning of time, the recent acceleration in the speed of extinction is alarming.

Why do languages die?

Throughout human history, the languages of smaller communities have given way to more powerful groups. Children in smaller literary circles grow up learning dominant languages in school and online, and many will not see the need to teach their children the smaller, less recognized vernaculars of their local community. Many believe that the education system is biased and encourages speakers of dominated languages to develop disdain towards their mother tongues. Consequently, speakers of such dialects migrate to mainstream languages.

Although one must acknowledge that proficiency in English grants social and economic mobility, the lost languages of our ancestors past must be recognised as the building blocks behind entire civilisations.

Among factors discouraging speakers to forget their heritage are concerns that local languages don’t cultivate material benefits or economic growth. These beliefs are fuelled by continued technological development and globalisation.

Preservation

A number of professional bodies including The Human Resource Development Ministry, National Geographic and the Institute for Endangered Languages are striving to preserve endangered languages by identifying the places under greatest threat and documenting details of the languages and cultures within.

This is a useful way of preserving ‘the words of languages past’, but surely prevention is better than cure? Can ‘spoken’ languages survive in today’s society despite the increasingly globalized nature of our world? And more importantly, does the solution lie in reformation of the education and employment systems?

Mastering the art of multilingual Twitter engagement

#Get to know the basics

If you aren’t one of the 500 million active Twitter users across the globe, it’s time to learn some Twerminology before you proceed with your multilingual engagement tactics.

Twitter can be a valuable business tool if used correctly. Here are some basic pointers to get you started:

• Follow your clients – an obvious but essential tactic. You need to understand what they are tweeting about to gain industry insight and ensure you are engaging their interests.
• Research your key industry sectors – position yourself as an industry leader by engaging in conversations on latest issues with key influencers. Track industry trends and monitor feeds.
• Follow your competitors – keep your friend’s close and your enemies closer! Monitoring what your competitors are doing means you can differentiate or duplicate to gain competitive advantage.
• Nurture your Twitter account – provide topical content a few times a week (at least) or risk losing followers.
• Be as objective as possible – Twitter shouldn’t be used as a ‘hard sales’ tool. Share occasional corporate accomplishments but focus primarily on engaging discussion.
• Listen and engage

#Understanding online audiences

If your company is not already cultivating a strong presence on Twitter, now is the time to integrate this activity into your marketing strategy for 2013. Your competitors, prospects and customers are all part of the Twitter community – you must get involved in order to remain competitive.

At present, few solutions exist for managing a global presence across social media platforms. As the bulk of social media engagement has remained English-centric (the English language accounts for 26.5% of all internet use) many business fail to see the value in pursuing a multilingual audience.

However, the use of foreign languages on social networking sites has significantly increased in recent years, and continues to do so. To engage effectively with multilingual communities, an international social media strategy must be developed.

#Your online multilingual marketing plan

Step 1 – will Twitter work for your market?

Profile your consumer demographics and monitor online engagement to understand which social networking sites are popular in your market/s. You will need to adapt your social strategy for each market segment and consider different online channels in keeping with market culture. The differences that exist amongst users from different countries are not only restricted to languages, but also on how they like to engage online and where they are concentrated.

A company expanding into China will use Sina Weibo instead of Twitter, because it is the most popular micro-blogging service in the country.

Step 2 – engage at a local level

The ‘needs’ of online users must be satisfied by the provision of high quality content tailored to cultural norms. I would always recommend setting up social media accounts specific to each country or language you are penetrating. Coca Cola is a great example of a brand using nation-specific pages to cater to local preferences https://twitter.com/CocaColaEgypt

Multilingual Twitter engagement can be streamlined by the use of multi-posting platforms such as Hootsuite, and managed on an international scale through the use of tools such as Sprout Social.

In addition to the use of local language, knowledge of local trends and the use of colloquial words will positively impact your brand image in foreign markets. Content published across social networking sites will need to be transcreated, i.e. adapted from one language to another whilst maintaining intent, style, tone and context. If possible, a native language speaker should be used for local engagement to encourage a natural connection with the overseas audience.

The need for multilingual social media engagement will almost certainly grow in the coming years.

Step 3 – get tweeting!

Set goals and assign someone at your company to ‘follow’, ‘tweet’, ‘retweet’, insert hashtags, generate lists, and direct messages on a regular basis. Your team will be uncovering valuable data and trends, and expanding your business network in real time before you know it.

Have you developed an online marketing strategy for 2013?

Gone are the days when most marketing was conducted offline. Throughout 2012, many businesses incorporated an element of social media within their marketing strategy, but is enough attention being paid to online media as a vital marketing channel worthy of its own integrated plan? There are few businesses able to boast significant digital success without one.

A carefully constructed strategic plan based on thorough research can generate an influx of targeted traffic to your website, and improve online presence.

Your market

The online market is a competitive one, so the first consideration for you and your business is;

Do I have a great product or service and what is its unique selling point?

Without a strong answer to this question, your online activity will lack substance and worth. Remember, the market you are targeting is global so you need to adapt your online activity to meet the needs of different geographical markets.

Unsurprisingly, recent studies unveiled that 72.4% of consumers would be more likely to buy a product if information was offered in their own language, which is understandable. If you were expected to translate from Spanish into English to order a product online, you would probably go elsewhere.

You must research trends and demands within your product’s market to understand what people want. If you can’t satisfy their demands your chance of online success is minimal. Online engagement is dependent on targeting the right people at the right time; offering a product or service to someone in need, at a time that is convenient for them.

Your website

Is your website Search Engine Optimized? If not, this should be at the top of your priority list. Websites act as the online face of your business. By ranking highly in search engines, you are significantly improving the likeliness of increased sales.

Consider localisation as a key business priority. Simply translating your site into another language using an online translation service isn’t enough.

There are approximately 518,512,109 internet users in Europe alone. Does your website cater to the cultural, literal and legal needs of these multiple countries? Certain colours, terms or images may be deemed offensive in a particular culture. Certain words change meaning from country to country and historic cultural sensitivities must be considered. We are operating in an internationally integrated market where national and cultural resources are interchangeable. In order to be successful, you need to adapt.

Did you know 56.2% of consumers say that the ability to obtain information in their own language is more important than price? By investing in website localisation and SEO optimization now, you are highly likely to enjoy organic business growth and subsequent incremental profits in future.

Your online presence

This is such a huge topic most people simply do not know where to begin. I would always recommend social media monitoring as a first step to gain a greater understanding of your brand presence, competitive intelligence, industry share of voice and thought leadership.

There is no quick fix way to improve online presence. The key is simply this:

Engagement, Engagement, Engagement!!!

Get involved in industry discussions, contribute in forums, post news updates and ‘like’ pages that are relevant to your business. Write topical articles in a company blog and integrate with Facebook, Twitter and Linked In pages, as well as your website. Utilise all content created by your business and recycle content if needs be! A sentence from a press release could create an interesting Twitter discussion.

But don’t get carried away. Remember you want to be perceived as credible. Only post relevant and interesting content. Nobody in your industry needs to know what you had for breakfast.

Look into document translation services to gauge the potential value multi-lingual content could have for your business. Your product or service could satisfy overseas demands not currently met.

Through effective content marketing you can reach a broader audience and establish yourself as an industry expert.

Your online strategy

Your online strategy should of course be set with the intention of achieving your marketing objectives for 2013, which should in turn be aligned to your corporate objectives.

Remember, your strategy will create longer term direction whereas your tactics will satisfy shorter term objectives such as a boost in website traffic or increased Facebook ‘likes’.

Ask yourself; what do we want to achieve in terms of online presence? Who are we looking to target and how can we increase our share of voice? Are we looking to increase market share or increase sales?

Ensure your brand doesn’t become diluted by ensuring a consistent cross-cultural message. Engage experts to localise your website and help optimise your content to improve SEO.

The digital world is constantly evolving and your online strategy will need to evolve with these changes throughout the year to ensure your business is seen as innovative and current.