How can you create a content strategy that is both global and local?

Find out the attributes and points your local audience shares with your wider global audience. Leverage these commonalities to create a content strategy that appeals to both sides of the divide.

Drawing from my year of experience as a Sub-editor at The Renata in London, I've learned that the key lies in understanding the nuances of your global audience while respecting the diversity of local cultures. Start by identifying overarching brand values and messaging that resonate universally, and then adapt them to suit regional sensitivities, languages, and preferences. Collaborate closely with in-country experts and conduct thorough research to ensure your content aligns with local customs, trends, and timely issues. By intertwining global consistency with localized relevance, your content strategy can resonate with a wider audience while respecting the uniqueness of each market, fostering both global cohesion and local engagement.

Understanding the competitive environment in which you operate is critical. This involves conducting an analysis of direct and indirect competitors, identifying market trends and emerging opportunities, and assessing potential threats. Only through a deep understanding of the competitive landscape and identifying our strengths and weaknesses is it possible to develop content strategies that are effective and differentiated, capturing the attention and meeting the needs of the target audience.

A global content strategy should also be applicable locally when local conditions are relatively similar to the global ones (i.e., if you're a global leader and a local leader), though some tactics/channels might need to change. However, if local conditions are not the same (i.e., you're a global leader but you're only a competitor locally), you might need an entirely different local content strategy, because you might need guerilla tactics more than leader tactics.

It is crucial to understand the subtle cultural nuances that can influence the local audience's perception of the messages. For example, there are cultural values, religious beliefs, taboos and social norms that can vary significantly from one country to another. Therefore, it is essential to make sure that content is adapted appropriately to avoid misunderstanding or offense. Very important also is to follow what current topics are most talked about and local trends. Finally, the budget available for localization activities is very relevant.

Content governance is only half the battle. It's too easy to ignore such things out in the regions. Somebody needs to be empowered to enforce it, even for content sources they don't have direct authority over, which means the authority needs to come from on-high. It can't just be some low-ranking content person.

While it is important to establish clear rules and procedures to ensure consistency, quality and compliance, it is equally crucial to leave room for flexibility in adapting content. In my experience, it is always useful to create a task force with members from different Countries to share what may be commonalities and define areas of autonomy. Always very useful to share assets, graphical and textual, that can be edited.

Search engine optimization (SEO) of content varies from country to country. It is useful to define shared globally keywords but equally critical to observe national trends. Tools such as SEMrush or Google Trends can help with keyword research and competitor analysis, while plugins such as Yoast SEO for WordPress can assist with technical content optimization. Then there are guidelines such as title length, subtitles H2 or H3, standard character count, etc always true for all.