Social Media Marketing across Cultures

Bachelorarbeit bei Prof. Dr. Axel Schlich

Hochschule Koblenz

Studiengang Bachelor of Science

„International Business and Marketing“

Koblenz, den 04.07.2014

Vorgelegt von:

Stefan Schmieden

Simmernerstraße 134

56075 Koblenz

Matrikel Nummer: 520312

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Table of contents

Table of contents ......................................................................................................................I

List of figures ......................................................................................................................... II

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Objectives ............................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Methodology ........................................................................................................... 2

2. Theoretical background ................................................................................................... 2

2.1. Social Media Marketing .......................................................................................... 2

2.1.1. Definition ........................................................................................................ 3

2.1.2. Two Step Flow of Communication and Opinion Leaders ................................ 3

2.1.3. Reference Groups ............................................................................................ 4

2.1.4. Integrated Marketing ....................................................................................... 4

2.2. Sociological and Cultural Aspects ........................................................................... 4

2.2.1. Hofstede´s cultural dimensions ....................................................................... 5

2.2.2. The Iceberg Model .......................................................................................... 6

2.2.3. The Hierarchy of Needs Model ....................................................................... 7

3. Implications .................................................................................................................... 8

4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 16

Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 18

Erklärung/Einverständnis zur Plagiatserkennung .................................................................. 21

II

List of figures

Figure 1 - Maslow´s hierarchy of need pyramid…................................................................. 7

Figure 2 - Hofstede´s Intercultural Dimensions "Germany vs. Indonesia".............................13

Figure 3 - Global social network penetration rate...................................................................15

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1. Introduction

With the rise of social media engagement globally in both East and West, it is becoming

more and more relevant for businesses that wish to engage with their international

stakeholders to monitor trends and opinions in these social media spaces at a worldwide

level (Cambié, Ooi; 2010, p. 126).

In the era of globalization and the fact that the societies and cultures we live in move

together in a rapid speed, marketing is changing in a continuous process. Many new ways of

communication established in different markets and regions in the last years. The WEB 2.0

has become an essential tool for marketers all over the world and online marketing,

especially social media marketing, becomes more attractive and is in a rising trend (Stelnzer,

2014). Through the changes mentioned above, it gets more important for marketers to realize

that the vision of Marshall McLuhan´s global village is becoming true. Humans are able to

exchange content within milliseconds from one place to another no matter how far the

distance is. Therefore from a marketer’s point of view social media has a high potential and

should not be ignored nowadays (Weidner, 2007).

1.1. Objectives

The reason for this thesis is the presumption that with the adaptation and the ability to

understand intercultural constructs from different approaches the efficiency of modern social

media marketing will increase. The human behavior varies in a wide range. To understand

this behavior from a marketing perspective, the marketer has to understand the surroundings

in which the potential target is interacting. Hence for global brands it is very important to

adapt their strategies to the different cultural and socio-economic circumstances, which are

influencing the behavioral and perceptional aspects of the potential target. The following

elaboration will show how important it is to adapt to local markets for getting the best out of

social media efforts and prevent as much coverage waste as possible. It will show how

essential the necessity of localized content is for reaching marketing communications goals

through social media marketing (Gale, 2013).

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1.2. Methodology

In this thesis, extensive qualitative literature search was conducted to identify relevant

insights, interpretations and evidence for the way of using social media in intercultural

surroundings. These researches involve marketing and commerce journals, monographies

and online sources like articles, studies, blog entries and reports. With this information a

theoretical framework has been created to analyze, connect, interpret and imply the single

models to each other for making conclusions regarding social media marketing across

cultures.

2. Theoretical background

To get an impression of the theoretical background information which is used as a

fundamental framework for this elaboration, every important theoretical aspect is listed

regarding the two main themes, social media marketing and the intercultural aspects.

Afterwards the theoretical models will be connected to each other and especially to the

cross-cultural characteristics within social media surroundings in the third chapter

“Implications”.

2.1. Social Media Marketing

In order to understand Social Media Marketing it is important to know that social media

incorporates the online technology and methods through which people can share content,

personal opinions, different perspectives and insights, using text, images, audio and video,

via different channels (Dibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell 2012, p.92). Nowadays, there exist

various types of social media channels. This elaboration concentrates on Social Media

Marketing in the sector of private/business social networks and blogs/microblogs. At first,

the term Social Media Marketing will be defined. Hereafter the different theoretical models

and strategies will be explained regarding the diverse social media marketing matters.

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2.1.1. Definition

Social Media Marketing can be defined as every market-oriented usage of social media

channels. A distinction is made between active and passive Social Media Marketing. Active

Social Media Marketing is the strategic and cross-functional management of social media

which has the goal to fulfill corporate objectives. Users have the possibility to implement

their own content and the chance to get in touch with the company and other users instantly.

In comparison, passive Social Media Marketing describes the usage of external content in

social media for achieving the corporate objectives without implementing own content.

Basically, companies capture user- and competitive activities to analyze and prepare the

resulting information for strategic and operative planning activities. For these activities a

broad variety of different social media types exist. A distinction regarding different social

media types is made between collaborative projects (i.e. Wikipedia and Delicious),

blogs/microblogs (i.e. Twitter and Flickr), private social networks (i.e. Facebook and

Google+), business networks (LinkedIn and XING), photo sharing (i.e. Instagram), video

sharing (YouTube, myVideo and Vimeo) and gaming communities/networks (i.E. FarmVille

and Second Life) (Rauschnabel, Göbbel, Sasse, Rippe; 2012).

2.1.2. Two Step Flow of Communication and Opinion Leaders

Since the WEB 2.0 allows internet users to implement and share own content which

subsequently can be used and edited by other users, the two step flow of communication has

become an essential part of social interactions through the internet and thus for social media

marketing. The two step flow of communication model says that ideas flow from media to

opinion leaders and from them to a wider population. An opinion leader is a member of a

reference group who provides information about a specific sphere of interest to the group, a

person who often is admired by other group members because of certain qualities (Schlich,

2011, p.12). According to the sociologist Lazarsfeld, the inventor of the two step flow

communication model, opinion leaders have more influence on customers´ attitudes and

behavior than the media (Lazarsfeld, 1944).

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2.1.3. Reference Groups

In general, a reference group can be defined as an actual or imaginary group with a

significant relevance upon an individual´s evaluation, aspirations, or behaviour (Solomon,

2010). Humans are affected strongly by their social surroundings. They occupy perspectives

and positions within different life situations which are influenced by the various social

circumstances accordingly (Schlich, 2013, p. 26). Reference groups are a part of the two step

flow of communications model. In most reference groups, one or more members stand out as

opinion leaders, who provide information about a specific sphere of interest to reference

group participants who seek such information (Dibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell 2012, p. 167).

2.1.4. Integrated Marketing

Integrated Marketing can be defined as the coordination and integration efforts of all

marketing communication tools and channels within a company into a seamless program that

maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users. Integrated Marketing avoids the

waste and duplication inherent in some organizations in which each element of the

promotional mix is controlled by separate managers and may even be executed through

different external agencies (Dibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell 2012, p. 502). Communications

instruments, such as social media, that traditionally have been used independently of each

other are combined in such a way that a synergetic effect is reached and the resulting

communications efforts become homogeneous. The major benefit of integrated marketing

communications is that a consistent set of messages is conveyed to all target audience by

means of all available forms of contact and message channels (De Pelsmacker, Geuens, Van

den Bergh; 2010, p.17).

2.2. Sociological and Cultural Aspects

The second module of the theoretical framework includes the sociological and cultural

aspects which are the essence of this elaboration. Human behaviour varies in different

cultures. Accordingly, there are some theories and models which try to explain this differing

human behaviour. Through this background information it will be possible to imply these

aspects in social media surroundings and vice versa.

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2.2.1. Hofstede´s cultural dimensions

The Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede determined a cultural dimensions scheme based on a

worldwide survey with the purpose to reveal measurable differences between different

nations and cultures. He identified four different cultural dimensions, which are based on

the way of interacting and the behavior and of the participants. Another fifth dimension was

added in the early nineties.

The first dimension is defined as the Power Distance. This dimension describes to what

extend individuals accept inequalities between hierarchical levels in a society. The power

distance has an important role in all social groups. Therefore, the central question is how a

society deals with it. In nations with a high expression of power distance, hierarchical

structures are accepted, whereas countries with a low expression seek for a widely equal

distribution of power.

One more dimension is called Individualism versus Collectivism. Individualism refers to the

strength of relationships between individuals and their related groups. High degrees of

individualism describe a powerful focus of the individual directed to him- or herself and

close family members. The relationship regarding the society itself is not as strong as the one

related to the individuals‘ group. In collectivist cultures a high degree of loyalty is

dominating within a group and close social relationships between individuals and their

groups.

The third dimension is defined through the masculinity and/or femininity of a culture. The

masculinity describes to what extent a culture holds to masculine values and the traditional

roles of men and women. Very masculine cultures expect values like strength, power,

success and assertiveness from men. In contrast, a balance between work and private life,

cooperativeness and humility are typical characteristics in feminine cultures.

Uncertainty Avoidance is the designation of the next dimension which describes the

society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. The key question is how a society deals

with unpredictable situations. Cultures with high uncertainty avoidance try to use rules and

guidelines to respond to uncertainties. Nations with a less strong expression respond with an

increased performance and a decreased motivation to follow certain principles.

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The last dimension describes the long- and/or short-term orientation of cultures. This

dimension concerns the way of how cultures follow traditional values in a long-term oriented

context. Long-term cultures feel high respect for traditions as well as loyalty and

commitment. They belief that loyalty and truthfulness are values which are depending on

situational contexts and time. On the other hand, cultures which are more short-term focused

encourage equality and strive for individuality and creativity. They have a more normative

way of thinking (Hofstede 2001).

2.2.2. The Iceberg Model

The initial iceberg theory was found by Ernest Hemingway, an American author who lived

during the 20th

century. In this original theory, Hemingway refers to a concept of literary

writing which says that only one fifth of a characters personality should be visible for

readers. The other four fifths are not clearly visible for the readers in a literary context.

Nevertheless, the reader will feel and understand all the emotions and aspects the author

implemented during the writing process, even if they are not objectively visible.

Nowadays, there are several interpretations and derivations of this initial theory which refer

to psychology, communication and culture. A well-known cultural perspective and

interpretation of the iceberg model is found by Edward T. Hall in the seventies. This model

says that the iceberg´s tip represents areas of culture which are visible like music, theatre,

dances, fashion, architecture, food, behaviours, language, art and more. The non-visible part

of the iceberg represents areas which are the drivers behind the visible areas of culture such

as religious beliefs, worldviews, rules of relationships, the approach to the family,

motivations, tolerance for change, attitudes to rules, communication styles, modes of

thinking, comfort with risk and the difference between public and private. To understand the

visible part of a culture, the invisible part has to be considered at first because the visible

parts of culture are just expressions of its invisible parts (Rothlauf, 2012, p. 31).

Another cultural interpretation of the iceberg model is the three levels theory from Edgar H.

Schein in the eighties. In his theory he presents culture through three different levels of

assumptions. Each level becomes more difficult to articulate and change from the

perspective of people interacting within an intercultural background.

The first level is called artefacts. Artefacts are the visible part of culture which is expressed

through the people living in a certain culture.

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Accordingly, people from a different culture can see and interpret these expressions. This

level includes cultural areas like music, theatre, dances, fashion, architecture, food,

behaviours, language, art and more.

The second level is defined through beliefs, values and attitudes. These aspects are rooted in

a deeper way in the minds of participants of a certain culture. Hence, these aspects are not

clearly visible for non-participants of a certain culture.

The last level includes the basic assumptions. These represent the core and essence of a

culture. The assumptions are difficult to distinguish because they are part of the unconscious

perception and expression of participants of a certain culture. Assumptions within this level

contain deep dimensions like questions regarding human existence, relationships, reality and

truth (Schein 2010, p. 23).

2.2.3. The Hierarchy of Needs Model

In 1943 the American psychologist Abraham Maslow founded a model which shows crucial

schemes of the process of human motivation. This model displays human needs in a

hierarchical scheme that is built on the essential assumption that a need which is in a higher

hierarchical order cannot be satisfied without satisfying the lower hierarchical needs before.

The urgency regulation is a very important aspect in this model. For example, the importance

of maintaining basic physiological needs like eating and sleeping is also important for

satisfying hedonic needs like self-realization, because without satisfying the basic needs it is

not even possible to satisfy other needs. Thus, the individual needs stand in a reciprocal

relation to each other (Maslow, 1943).

Figure 1 - Maslow pyramid

(adapted from Maslow, Abraham: A theory of human motivation 1943)

Self-actualisation

Esteem

Love/Belonging

Safety

Physiological

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3. Implications

The two step flow of communication and opinion leaders

According to these theoretical findings, it can be implied that the word of mouth in an online

context created through opinion leaders is a very important determinant for users. However it

should be considered that users are influenced by one other important determinant which is

not always given in real life surroundings: The World Wide Web allows people to be

anonymous (Müller, 2014).

This fact has a massive impact on the way people behave in the internet especially in social

media. The thresholds of taking action in a social interaction online differ from the ones

humans are used to in real life situations.

This online anonymity leads users to create their own online personalities which are used for

satisfying hedonic needs within a context that contains self-realization and esteem needs.

(See 2.2.3 Maslow´s hierarchy of needs Model).

In blogs, created by users with an extended online identity, they talk about, inter alia,

experiences and ideas, for instance new thoughts and reviews about products, services,

brands and companies. Readers of their blogs can be influenced by the author who officiates

as an opinion leader in cases like that.

Another possibility for blog readers is the chance to implement own content and comment on

external content which officiates as an interlacing construct of the two step flow of

communication model because readers of the added content can be influenced by these

likewise. For instance blogs and forums are platforms often used by users to compare and

obtain information and opinions from opinion leaders to consider own questions and

decisions, like buying decisions (Cambié, Ooi; 2010, p. 120). This behavioral pattern can be

a very important aspect for marketers who are able to have an impact on blogging issues

about their company, brand, product etc. through these platforms. This can be a great

opportunity for data mining which plays an essential role for exploratory market research all

over the world. The fact that users post on a voluntary basis and their comments are

perceived as more authentic and less biased compared to traditional market research tools

like face-to-face response and interviews makes marketers believe in the unprecedented pool

of opportunities that emerges by the mass of user-generated content amassed in social media

(Schlich, 2011, p. 15).

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With regard to different cultural surroundings which affect the way of how people behave

even in social media, the process of the two step flow of communication does not vary,

because it is part of every culture and deeply rooted into human behavior. Unquestionably

the way with which background intention and which message the content is sent and

interpreted differs in various markets because of the different cultural influences which have

an impact on the way of how people behave, but the process of the model stays the same.

Reference groups

The model of reference groups in social media surroundings is built on the principle of the

facilitation of discussions between peers around a common topic. This peer-to-peer

communication is an essential component of social media (Cambié, Ooi; 2010, p. 103).

Through social media networks the way of how reference groups are used to fulfil different

needs has reached a new dimension. The flow of information between the users in social

media and therefore the therein implemented reference groups functions as a fundamental

part of this uprising trend. Even brands themselves encourage the information flow within a

certain relevant topic between or within potentially important reference groups through

different social media channels to monitor potentially relevant results.

Private and business social networks such as Facebook and XING allow users to create own

groups within the network itself. These groups can be open for public or limited to guests

who are tolerated, accepted and invited by the group members who represent the reference

group itself when the model is applied to social media surroundings (Facebook, XING,

2014).

Thanks to this easy and accessible system of reference group building in social media, it is

getting easier for reference group members all over the world to connect and create valuable

peer-to-peer discussions. Geographical borders seem to be no obstacle anymore and the

stream of information is on the rise through the extended potentials which are possible for

social media in an international context.

These opportunities have an impact on different socio-economic groups in diverse cultures.

For instance especially the so called millennials, a generation born during the 1980s and

1990s, also called Generation X and Y, and the following generations, are people who let

social media become a meaningful part of their lives.

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Studies have shown that these generations are highly aware and used to social networking

tools, highly tolerant of others´ diversity and expect the same broad view of others; they

prize their individuality and want to be heard. It does not matter in which part of the world

they are as long the various factors for internet consumption are given. A new emphasis on

sharing the same interest has become more important rather than the same geography

(Cambié, Ooi; 2010, pp. 118). Therefore one can say, that reference groups can be created

with members distributed all over the world through the possibilities social media has

opened and these possibilities have an impact on the way of how these people behave in

online and real social interactions.

Integrated Marketing

Since social media constitutes important communications channels, integrated marketing has

an impact on the way of how communication efforts are implemented in active social media

marketing. Thus, private social media and micro blog channels, for instance Facebook and

Twitter, have become an important tool for integrated marketing because they open up the

possibility to combine, connect and link many different communication platforms into one,

like YouTube videos or blogs.

A trivial illustrative example: A potential consumer watches an ad of an integrated campaign

in a mass media channel like the television and s/he already likes the associated Facebook

page of the brand or company, which initiated the integrated campaign, or maybe s/he will

even like the page after watching the ad if this has not happened before. Conventionally, the

Facebook page of the brand or company also posts content about this integrated campaign,

perhaps the linked YouTube channel, where the potential consumer can see exactly the same

or even an extended version of the ad s/he has seen in the television. At best, the potential

consumer shares this content within his or her own private networks and blogs/micro blogs

and his or her post will be commented and reposted by other users who maybe never heard

of the brand or company before and are now made aware of it.

This could be one way out of many, how social media can function as a hub for different

media channels in an integrated marketing context. The multiplier effect thus created has an

advantage for social media marketers because of the higher viral reach and additional user

generated content, which is important for data mining and further analyses.

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In social media it is important to integrate every single channel in a seamless program which

enables a recognition value for consumers in the context of an integrated marketing

communications campaign.

In an intercultural context, social media can be even more important for an integrated

campaign. As described above, social media functions as a hub for integrated marketing

efforts. Therefore, the importance of sending an unambiguous message for all recipients,

apart from their cultural background, is a very complicated task to accomplish depending on

the range of the social media channels in total. Especially global brands that address people

in the context of a global world market, like the luxury goods company Richemont, have to

consider unambiguous messages in their integrated marketing strategies. Brands like Cartier,

Mont Blanc and IWC are part of the Richemont family. In their social media channels they

use standardized content and only one official representation for the whole world market. If

they would use diverse representations for every country-market and include differentiation

in appearance, colors and content, their messages would be not uniformly and thus the users

can misinterpret the messages. Nonetheless they chose an integrated marketing appearance

in all their social media channels, which all send the same message (Facebook, Richemont

2014). This strategy cannot work in every branch. In the food and beverage sector even

global brands like Coca Cola have different social media representations for various country-

markets. For instance, it would be very thoughtless for the official sponsor of the FIFA world

cup 2014 to have one representation for the whole world market because postings about

different soccer games are nearly not possible to be made in a neutral way since the space for

interpretations and interacting opinions is too big. The current country-market oriented

platforms can post more specific messages without the difficulty of taking care of one

unified message for all. Notwithstanding, they chose an integrated marketing appearance in

all their social media channels, too. Especially the whole world cup sponsoring is a big

integrated marketing campaign with a local focus on the specific target country markets and

a general message which they spread in a neutral way in supplementary mass media channels

(Coca Cola, Facebook 2014).

What this all amounts to is that integrated marketing in an intercultural social media context

is a very complex task to fulfil. There is a great number of determinants like the range of the

social media channels, the company´s integrated marketing strategy, situational

circumstances, the market orientation (ethnocentric, regiocentric, polycentric or geocentric)

et cetera. The strategy must fit into the corporate objectives and should meet the needs of the

aimed targets (Büter, 2010).

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Hofstede´s intercultural dimensions

Hofstede´s intercultural dimensions are a good tool for the process of creating and

addressing adapted content in social media marketing. Depending on which culture and

socioeconomic milieu is targeted, it is easy to find recent results and numbers of Hofstede´s

defined dimensions for each country. This information can be valuable sources which should

be considered before publishing content in social media, irrespective to which issue they are

applied to. For instance, Germany has a peak on the individualism dimension with a score of

67 points. This means that for the most of Germans individuality is a very important aspect

in life. There is a strong belief in the ideal of self-actualization. Communication is among the

most direct in the world following the ideal to be “honest, even if it hurts” – and by this

giving the counterpart a fair chance to learn from mistakes. (Hofstede, 2014). With this

information a framework for social media posts can be made.

A trivial illustrative example: A company in Indonesia sells a high involvement product like

luxury goods. Their home social media marketing strategy has a collectivistic essence and

they already expanded in the German market. The company is in the growth phase regarding

the level of awareness of the potential costumers. Their corporate objective for Germany is

to get more brand awareness in order to increase the sales. Since Indonesia is a truly

collectivist society with a score of 14 points in the Hofstede scheme, their social media

message was adapted to this circumstances. This means that the Indonesian society has a

high preference for a strongly defined social framework in which individuals are expected to

conform to the ideals of the society and the in-groups they belong. A good example for this

collectivist culture of Indonesia is the equation between child and parent. Indonesian

children are committed to their parents, as parents are committed to them all their growing

lives. Their desire is to make their parent´s life easier and to take care of them in the

advanced phases of life. The company uses this fact for luxurious jewellery, which can be

used as presents for parents to show them honesty and respect.

This message is part of their social media campaign in Indonesia. An adaptation to the

German market would mean that the message should be more appealing to individualists like

Germans. This could be a product differentiation like customizable jewellery and a related

campaign that invites users send pictures of their modified individual jewellery to provoke

user generated content and a corresponding promo (Hofstede, 2014).

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(http://geert-hofstede.com/germany.html)

This trivial example shows how easy it is to apply the cultural dimensions in fictional and

real considerations about social media content in an intercultural setting. The information,

which the dimensions are providing, can be useful guidelines for building frameworks for

social media marketing.

The Iceberg model

In addition to the cultural dimension from Hofstede it is advantageous to consider the

different levels of the iceberg model from Edgar H. Schein regarding the targeted market for

stating the framework for social media marketing efforts more precisely. The problem is that

information about each level becomes more difficult to obtain and articulate in social media

marketing. The easiest part to consider is the first level. The visible part of culture which is

expressed through the people living in the targeted market is easier to obtain from a

marketers point of view than the second and third level of culture in the context of the

iceberg model. Especially social media reveals many of these artefacts.

Depending on the extend of the marketing research efforts, the potential targets can be

observed and monitored through social media to make conclusions about the connection

between the users and their perception of cultural artefacts. The second level of culture,

which is defined through beliefs, values and attitudes, is more difficult to observe because

these information are hardly visible objectively.

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Some social networks allow to implement some of these information for users, for instance

Facebook and MySpace have the option to specify religious orientations in the personal info

section for every user (Facebook, MySpace 2014). This kind of assistance makes it easier for

marketers to collect information regarding the second level of culture, but not every culture

is using Facebook or MySpace and apart from that, the relevant data which is given by the

users in these social networks is not always valuable because the information can be biased

in a wide range. It is the phenomenon of online anonymity that leads users to build up fictive

representations of themselves in social media, which can cause this wide range of biased

data. Accordingly, the third level of culture, which includes the basic assumptions, is the

most difficult information to find and use for social media marketing issues.

Unquestionably, the level of efficiency of the marketing research efforts will grow when the

observed targets are segmented before. On the other hand some research may be needed

before segmenting the targets. It depends on the orientation of the corporate objectives

regarding social media marketing and the linked goals which a company tries to achieve

through these efforts.

Maslow´s hierarchy of needs model

In an intercultural context the hierarchy of needs model can be an assisting tool for

understanding the intentions and motivations of social media users in other cultures. A

survey of Universal McCann revealed some tendencies in diverse cultures. For instance

China´s social media usage is in a rising trend, driven by the desire for personal expression

and consumer generated media. This tendency could mean that in China the general intention

for social media usage is dedicated to self-actualization and esteem concerns if this result is

transferred to the hierarchy of needs model. The reason for the huge rise of social media

usage in China is that personal expressions are the safest topics to discuss in public as

discussions of political and social issues are disapproved of. It is an opportunity for self-

expression never before experienced in Chinese culture. Overall in Asia, social networks

have a rising tendency. These virtual spaces and the internet in general facilitate the freedom

of self-expression and non-conformity in contrast to the hierarchical structure of Asian

society. Many Asians are enjoying this new-found freedom. Whereas in the USA and

Europe, the users of social media tend to discuss cultural, lifestyle and political issues which

can be related to self-actualization and safety concerns if this results are transferred to the

hierarchy of needs model.

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In the USA and Europe, the freedom of expression and the limited censoring activities in

relation to some Asian countries allow users to talk about controversial issues like political

discussions (Cambié, Ooi; 2010, p. 122). Another assumption would be the fact that not

every aspect of the hierarchy of needs model is able to be satisfied in the same amount in

every country. For instance, some countries and cultures are not able to guarantee the

satisfaction of physiological and safety needs like other countries and cultures do. A statistic

from the online statistics portal “statista” reveals a potential connection between the social

media penetration rate and the level of satisfaction a certain region can provide to their

habitants depending inter alia on its economic and legal forces (Statista, 2013).

(http://www.statista.com/statistics/269615/social-network-penetration-by-region)

Deriving one can say that regions which have a lower social media penetration rate than the

world average have also a low human development index. This correlation is revealed in

another study from the United Nations Development Program. The human development

index includes some basic variables like life expectancy, adult literacy rate, average length of

schooling and the per capita income. The human development index is used in development

policy as an additional indicator for the per capita income for assessing the socio-economic

development level. This correlation can be transferred to the hierarchy of needs model also.

Hence, in a general view people in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Central Asia

have aggravated conditions regarding the satisfaction of physiological and safety needs. The

satisfaction of these needs is more relevant for them.

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Accordingly, the satisfaction of hedonic needs like self-expression and self-actualization

through social media is not as relevant for people in regions with a low human development

index compared to regions with a higher human development index (UNDP, 2013; Gabler,

2014).

4. Conclusion

Social media marketing across cultures is a very complex task to fulfil because many

determinants are influencing each other in reciprocal relationships. There is no general recipe

for handling intercultural social media marketing because every culture is individual.

Nevertheless it is important to keep in mind that every marketing effort can be

individualized, too. It depends on the corporate objectives and strategies how social

marketing efforts should be implemented. The first big question is to adapt or not to adapt

the social media marketing strategy to the local and cultural circumstances. If a company

follows a geocentric marketing strategy there is no need for adaption to local markets, but if

there is a poly- or regiocentric orientation an adaption is indispensable (Büter, 2010).

However, exceptions also exist for geocentric global brands. As described in chapter three,

the global brand Coca Cola adapted their strategy regarding situational circumstances. This

example shows that hybrid forms of partly adaptations in social media marketing are

possible and necessary, too. When the corporate strategy requires the adaptation to different

cultures the level of how much social media marketing efforts are going to adapt to is, the

second big question. Certainly, it depends on which culture the social media marketing

efforts are going to adapt. The more the cultures differ from each other, the more difficult the

adaption process can be for social media marketing issues. The extent of differences between

cultures is measurable through tools like Hofstede´s cultural dimensions and Edgar H.

Schein´s interpretation of the iceberg model. Especially results regarding the cultural

dimensions are easy to find and the input efforts for finding these information are not high in

relation to primary research efforts. In addition, the motivation for content creation in

different cultures can be seen through applying theoretical models like Maslow´s hierarchy

of needs model. This can help a marketer to understand the potential targets. With this

information it is possible to estimate whether the differences of the participating cultures are

manageable for the social media marketing adaptation process. These are strategic assistance

tools regarding the decision process for social media marketing.

17

Nonetheless, these cultural comparisons can be useful for consecutive measures like forming

a framework for social media content creation. With these frameworks the efficiency of

social media marketing can be increased because the potential targets are addressed in a

more appealing way if the cultural implementation in social media marketing is done

properly. The problem is that the implementations cannot be done hundred percent correctly

because even within a culture the behaviour varies since there are different socioeconomic,

demographic and psychological aspects, which are influencing the behaviour of humans.

That is why targeting is very important and complicated for intercultural social media

marketing. To manage a good targeting concept, the need for solid research results and the

appropriate interpretation of these is necessary. Through social media marketing research

can be fulfilled very efficiently. Monitoring and data mining have become essential tools for

social media marketers because they can get valuable information which are less biased in

relation to face-to-face interviews or questionnaires (Schlich, 2011, p. 15). Especially in an

intercultural context, these tools can be very useful and important for further marketing

activities. Peer-to-peer conversations are not limited by geographical borders and the flow of

information can circulate all over the world. Gathering information for marketing research

activities through social media, which makes this international peer-to-peer conversations

possible, can include much more information than regional peer-to-peer conversations

because the participants of these conversations can be spread all over the world. This means

that they can implement their own perspective, perception and opinion into such a

conversation that is influenced by their cultural background. The knowledge and experiences

of different cultures can be shared and new idea generating processes are established.

Especially in such situations marketing research in social media can be advantageous

because diverse trends and tendencies can be revealed.

Summing up, one can say that the possibilities that intercultural social media marketing is

revealing makes things easier and more complicated at the same time. Geographical borders

are not important in social media and intercultural connections are growing from day to day.

The linkages between cultures get more complex and the behaviour of humans seems to be

unfathomable through the cultural overlap, which is caused through the barrier-free

exchange of information. On the other hand, researches and the resulting specific targeting

and communication accomplishments, which are more appealing for the aimed targets is

getting easier through social media. In the days of globalization everything gets connected

and to keep up with this rising trends, marketing efforts have to be adapted to these new

circumstances. Marketers should value this enormous potential to learn and use social media

marketing across cultures.

18

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