Tweet

Lesson #3: Localize Your Content For The Global Market

Article Overview: “We’re never arrogant, we're always looking at the competition,” says DeWolfe. “But they have not been successful for a couple of reasons. The intent to socialize on a site like Yahoo! isn't really there because the brand doesn't necessarily stand for anything and there's no real voice to it.”

Lesson #3: Localize Your Content For The Global Market

“We’re never arrogant, we're always looking at the competition,” says DeWolfe. “But they have not been successful for a couple of reasons. The intent to socialize on a site like Yahoo! isn't really there because the brand doesn't necessarily stand for anything and there's no real voice to it.”

Since its inception, MySpace has had more than its fair share of critics. That, however, comes with the territory when dealing with dot-com startups. They say the site is just the latest in a long string of teen fad sites, including Friendster, Geocities, and Tripod. They say that once the fad has faded away, so too will the company. They also say that the statistics that show MySpace as being the third most popular website are unrealistic since many users spend all day on the site, thus boosting its traffic figures.

But DeWolfe and Anderson pay no matter. Instead, they are taking the criticism in stride and planning their next move. “A lot of people feel that those sites were much bigger than they were. Friendster had 1.5 million users,” says DeWolfe. “Last month in the US we had 54 million unique users. A lot of people have put their lives online and are using MySpace to manage their social lives. There was definitely a concern in the beginning that that could happen but if you have 100 friends and 99 of them are on MySpace you can't just go over to another website and expect them all to follow.”

So, what are DeWolfe and Anderson doing to ensure that they will still be around in the years to come? They are reaching out far and wide. “We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of where we can go,” says DeWolfe. “We plan to move into another 10 or 11 territories in the next year.”

But expanding into other countries, for DeWolfe and Anderson, does not just mean buying a different country’s domain extension and plopping their name in front of it. No, DeWolfe and Anderson understand that for each country they plan on entering, things are going to have to be a little bit different.

“The social platform is multi-local, not multinational,” says DeWolfe. “There are important local customs, such as the buying of gifts in Cyworld in Korea. MySpace is already localized in 18 countries. There will only be a few social networks in each country. We localize our product when we go into a new market.”

Immediate plans for MySpace’s future include expanding globally on the localized offshoots already established in the UK and Australia. Since the site was recently translated into German, the number of registrations has tripled. Exclusive Montreal musician video premieres, for instance, have also helped boost Canadian membership.

“We recognize that there are big differences in culture in all countries,” says DeWolfe. “For example, in Japan, they seem to be very interested in blogging in groups and sharing information by affinity groups, whereas in the U.S. it's more about the individual person and the friends that are around them.” DeWolfe and Anderson have even noticed differences between their Canadian and American members and have begun tailoring their sites accordingly.

“In every country we have a local management team on the ground that really understands the culture and customs and how people use the site,” says DeWolfe. “We just did that in January of this year, and our unique users have increased by 50 per cent.”

Related Articles
  The Gravity of Failure
  The Right To Be Rich
  10 Tips for Website Localization
  Manage Fear of Failure
  Are Multiple Supply Chains Important (Survey Response 1)

Article Tags: 5 million, countrys, domain extension, fad, fair share, geocities, inception, myspace, startups, statistics, traffic figures, tripod, yahoo



Related Forum Posts
Re: Meta Tags - [quote="ChrisH":tzc1bohg]I'm just curious what you all think -- - How important do you think meta tags are? If the content is keyword optimized and they are being used correctly (as per Google's current instructions) how important are meta tags?? Chris[/quote:tzc1bohg] Metatags were very important 10 years ago. Now, search engines are smarter... There are 2 very important things on your page: 1/ Page title: make sure to place some keywords in your title (avoid title like "welcome to my website, great information resource". You are wasting prime keyword real estate. 2/ Content. Content. Content. Content. Content. Oh, did I mention content?? Your content as to mention your main keywords several times. 3/ <h> and <b> tags are very important too. They tell search engines you emphasize these keywords.
Re: Best looking social networking site? - Hi Kevin [quote:3h76yt08]With so many social networking sites to pick and choose from, what influences your decision to join a particilar site? Is it just your friends, the content, people using it or looks??[/quote:3h76yt08] For me, the most essential criteria in selecting a Social Networking Site is its Content followed closely by popularity- in terms of daily visitors. Then comes the Content followed by the Friends and looks. Most of do social networking to attract traffic to their website(s) and as such the Content and Popularity of the site are important. btw, the list doesn't have digg or netscape or del.is.us which are the top social media sites.
seeking investors for global finance opportunity - Phoenix Global Funding, Inc. is a Global Commercial Loan Brokerage, Merchant Bank, and a Business Consulting Firm that can work on commercial deals of all sizes. Our greatest strengths are revealed through our superior internet interface and our extensive private network of lenders and equity partners with which we can service any company on the planet by having the ability to broker and coordinate mergers, acquisitions, and funding of all kinds. As a full service commercial financial conduit we also provide valuation, business management, and profitability consulting. I am offering common stock ownership in Phoenix Global Funding, Inc. It is exciting to be in a position to be able to share not only ownership but profit in this latest project. Our business plan was developed from the oldest, most reliable and the most profitable business model ever created, LENDING. This is all about what the big boys do on Wall Street everyday. We are raising US$1,000,000.00 with share prices starting at $1.00. The exit strategy is in 3 years with a minimum 3 to 1 return on capital, plus a 20% profit share annually.
Re: How should i promote a new website? - ignore this message IF it's already been stated. I haven't had a chance to read all the replies and i have to jet from the office... I suggest marketing where ever your Target Market congregates. If it's a forum of concerned parents - go there. Strike up a deal with the forum owner (JV) and have him promote it to the list of members (Integration Marketing). If you want to go with Forums then i would partner with a parent who is a frequent poster/moderator on a particular Target Market Forum and have him/her add your link to their signature. That was just a thought but it's not as intense once you get buy in from the Forum owner or high ranked poster/moderator. Hope that sparks some new ideas.
Re: Ideas For Business - Hello Lucy, you may consider this list for Ideas for Business: (Top 23 list) Rank Company 1 Google 2 Genentech 3 Wegmans Food Markets 4 Container Store 5 Whole Foods Market 6 Network Appliance 7 S.C. Johnson & Son 8 Boston Consulting Grp. 9 Methodist Hospital Sys. 10 W.L. Gore & Associates 11 Cisco Systems 12 David Weekley Homes 13 Nugget Market 14 Qualcomm 15 American Century Invest. 16 Starbucks Coffee 17 Quicken Loans 18 Station Casinos 19 Alston & Bird 20 QuikTrip 21 Griffin Hospital 22 Valero Energy 23 Vision Service Plan


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Work at Home Moms and Their Bad Rap?

What Is The Foundation for Your Vision?

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.