PSPINC Official Company Blog

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 183 “Free Social Media Marketing Tool”

Aug

31

Social media is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways for small businesses to market themselves. But for those who aren’t trained or experienced in design, creating visually appealing posts isn’t always easy. And we’ve probably all seen our fair share of less-than-ideal graphics floating around the internet. That’s why Canva, an online graphic design tool, is so helpful to even experienced marketers.

With Canva, marketers can pick from hundreds of templates and royalty-free graphics, images, and even video. We know our marketing team here at PSPINC loves using it to their advantage. With Canva, people can drag and drop elements using their editor to make the design phase simpler so marketers can focus on marketing your business in other ways. To learn more, check out our YouTube video that breaks down all the ways Canva can help market your business. And if you’re looking to outsource your marketing work, reach out to our marketing team.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #facebook #instagram #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #twitter #web #webdesign #website #websites #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 181 “The Difference Between Localization and Translation”

Aug

17

Expanding your business to a foreign country is about more than just translating content. Language is complex, so even though the terms might be similar, they might not mean the same thing. Localization takes translation a step further by putting the foreign country’s culture into consideration. And sometimes, it can cause you to change your mind about expanding your business there if it doesn’t fit. For example, Procter & Gamble (P&G) introduced Pampers diapers to Japan in 1976 by showing an ad with a flying stork delivering Pampers to a Japanese family. But people in Japan were confused; Japanese folklore told of a story of giant peaches floating down the river gently delivering the babies.

So, when they showed this ad in Japan, it failed miserably. P&G didn’t know about this peach story until after the incident. They then changed the imagery to a peach, and it fixed the problem. But problems like this are why localization is about more than just language. It’s about culture, too. Our localization experts not only translate content from English to Japanese, but also review it to avoid any misconstrued information. And it helps avoid problems like this. Learn more by heading over to our Localization Page on our website.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #branding #business #businesstips #digitalmarketing #english #japan #japanese #localization #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #pampers #procterandgamble #sales #smallbusiness #translation

Data Collection: Privacy Concerns and Regulation

Aug

15

Collecting data has become standard today as marketers use it to better promote their products. Efforts to better personalize ads have proven to be immensely successful, to the point of it becoming an expectation. But many aren’t fully aware of how much data companies collect on users, or how much gets passed around between third parties. And there isn’t much regulation on how much they can collect or what they can or can’t do with that data, which is how we got to where we are today.

With cybercrime only increasing in recent years, users want to make sure their data is safe. Generally, the more data you collect, the more personalized the ads will be. For marketers, more data collection makes up for better ads. But the increase in hacks has been too much for people to ignore. And it’s only revealed how easy it has become for criminals to hack people and how vulnerable their information can be. So, it only makes sense that many are asking for lawmakers to add more regulations when it comes to data collection and consumer privacy.

Current State of Data Collection

Advertisers everywhere have been digitally collecting data from customers for years now. But there are two major concerns over the amount of data companies collect: privacy and potential leaks. Most users don’t know how much of their data gets collected, nor do they know what they’ll do with it. That’s for a reason; companies prefer keeping their data practices discreet, especially for data they have no immediate use for. While this data they’re not immediately using may not be valuable today, companies argue it could be someday. At the federal level, there is no specific legislation that protects users’ data. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the power to protect customers from unfair or deceptive data collection practices. And they do so by enforcing federal privacy and data protection regulations.

The lack of regulations at the national level hasn’t stopped individual states from enacting some privacy laws of their own. Specifically, California, Nevada, and Maine have more comprehensive laws compared to those from other states. These privacy laws include the right of consent for their personal information, the right to request companies and third parties to delete their information, and the right to opt out of companies collecting or selling their data to third parties. On the other side of things, companies have stricter guidelines because of these laws, which include disclosing the kinds of information they’re collecting, what they intend to use that data for, and publicizing the identity of third parties, among other restrictions.

What This Means Now

Data collection practices have improved over the years as people learn more about how to keep their information safe from cybercrime. And with users demanding more transparency, more companies are complying by sharing more about their data collection practice. But it hasn’t reached the point of creating federal privacy laws; they are still only at the state level. Because of that, companies can still use, share, or sell any data they collect from customers without notifying them in most states. There also aren’t any national laws about notifying users about breached data due to leaks or other data exposures, nor are there any about third parties further selling users’ data.

In the last few years, people have realized that they aren’t as protected online as they thought. And it has just strengthened the need and desire for privacy laws at the federal level. This is a growing attitude businesses should be aware of, and the hope is, is that it will inspire more companies to be more transparent about how they collect and use customer data.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #cybersecurity #digitalmarketing #ecommerce #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #security #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #web

The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence Technology

Aug

8

While artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time, it’s become much more as large strides continue to advance AI technology. AI-generated chatbots like ChatGPT are the latest popular AI technology used by Bing's AI-generated search engine. But experts in the field, including the quote-unquote godfather of AI technology, Geoffrey Hinton, are concerned about the danger it poses as the technology progresses. So much so that more than 1,000 technology leaders, researchers, and all-around AI experts signed an open letter, warning others about the risks AI technology presents.

What started as an exciting and innovative technology has since become a question of how best to proceed with it. The ethical questions of how far it can go have become existential. Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is developing so fast that it’s already surpassed human intelligence. And many are concerned it could mean AGI will eventually take over, which, admittedly, sounds more like a sci-fi movie rather than reality. But because of how fast AI technology is growing and how advanced it’s become; these concerns are only growing in validity. But aside from the existential risks that are potentially several years ahead, there are others that are more current. And even casual AI users have noticed a few of them.

3 Major Risks of AI

1. Lack of transparency

The way AI systems work, especially deep learning models, isn’t something users and most humans really understand. People can’t interpret where the information is coming from nor do they know how it came to its conclusions, which can lead to bias, discrimination, and misinformation. It’s easy for these systems to perpetuate biases in society inadvertently because of the algorithm it’s using to obtain information. And that can also lead to obtaining information that is also blatantly wrong. And these issues will only worsen if or when we rely on AI more and more.

2. Security risks

As great as AI technology can be to increase productivity, it also gives way for hackers and other malicious people to misuse the system to their advantage. Using it can lead to more sophisticated cyberattacks. And because of how much personal data AI technology collects and uses, it’ll also make that data more vulnerable to attacks.

3. Legal challenges

The legal challenges that come with using AI technology are more surrounding the fact that there is no set framework in place to regulate the use of it. Legal challenges arise when people use it to generate art or other types of content derived from another person’s work. Specifically, when people use their work to create something else. This just leads to fewer protections on intellectual properties for artists everywhere.

Where AI Will Go From Here

While there isn’t a clear and set solution in mind, one thing is clear: AI technology needs more regulation. As the technology progresses, it will only become smarter. It’s already surpassed human intelligence, and the outlook on how advanced it will be in just five years from now poses a real threat to society. While it is much more complicated than many of us can understand, it’s fair to say that it is growing rapidly at what many experts are saying is a dangerous pace. AI technology can be great at increasing productivity and processing data, but creating regulations and legal frameworks will be important moving forward to avoid the risks.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #agi #ai #aitechnology #art #artificialgeneralintelligence #artificialintelligence #bigdata #business #cybersecurity #data #intellectualproperty #law #privacy #security #tech #technology #web #webtools

Sell Directly on Social Media with Social Shopping

Aug

1

The world of shopping online changed drastically when Instagram implemented a buy button in 2015. The next year, brands could tag products with a price tag in their images. Then, Facebook followed shortly afterward by launching Marketplace in 2018. And TikTok started testing TikTok Shop in November of last year.

However, reports are that TikTok is gearing up to launch TikTok Shop Shopping Center, which will become their e-commerce platform, taking TikTok Shop a step further. Rather than just buying directly from videos, lives, and creator profile bios, TikTok Shop Shopping Center won’t just be a marketplace for other retailers to sell merchandise, but a retailer itself. The details are still not entirely clear, but if successful, it could shake up social shopping as we know it.

Benefits of Social Shopping

friends standing with shopping bags on street and looking at phone

Not only are there billions of active social media users, but they’re also spending more and more time on social media. As of 2022, users spend an average of 151 minutes a day on social media, which is up from 147 from the previous year. And social commerce generated about $724 billion USD in 2022. Both according to Statista. Directly selling on social media just further expands your overall reach to more potential customers. And since social shopping makes so much in revenue, we know how successful businesses can be on it.

Social media, as a whole, is great for obtaining social proof. Especially since many customers look at things like reviews and use those to base their decisions on whether they’ll buy something. Making your products available to users on social media just makes it possible for more feedback, reviews, and recommendations for your business. It also makes it easier for users to convert to paying customers because they don’t have to leave the app to purchase. So, regardless of how TikTok’s upcoming TikTok Shop Shopping Center changes things, it’s safe to say social shopping is here to stay.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #app #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #ecommerce #facebook #facebookmarketplace #instagram #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #mobile #sales #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #tiktok #twitter #web

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 177 “Marketing Your Website”

Jul

20

Creating a beautifully designed website can be great for business, but marketing your business shouldn’t stop there. You also need to make sure people know it exists. To do that, you can market your site by updating your site content and sharing the link to social media. Just because you have a great site, it doesn’t mean it always will be. There are plenty of obviously outdated websites still up online because the site owner never updated their site.

Other than updating antiquated website designs, the site’s content also needs to be updated. Not just to display relevant and correct information, but also to help with search engine optimization (SEO). In addition to that, marketing your site with social media can be a great way to spread the word. But promoting your business and site effectively is not always an easy feat. For more help with marketing your business, reach out to our expert marketing team.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #google #marketing #newsletter #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #sales #searchengineoptimization #seo #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #web #webdesign #websites #webtools

Grow Your Business with Social Media

Jul

18

Social media marketing is an invaluable asset to include in your digital marketing plan. It’s an easy but effective way to grow your business online. Most entrepreneurs today know how vital it can be to their business. But it’s what you do with social media that can make a real difference in how effective it can be. It’s not as simple as creating profiles on social media platforms; it’s about what you post.

There are currently billions of social media users worldwide. That only increases the number of potential customers and adds to brand awareness. It’s relatively inexpensive, and it gives you the opportunity to:

· Build your brand
· Grow your community online
· Increase website traffic
· Engage with your online audience
· Learn more about your customers
· Discover where to improve your overall business strategy

9 Social Media Marketing Tips

1. Create SMART Objectives

We’ve talked about SMART objectives here before, but when you do create them, make sure they align and inform your overall strategy. Every business’s objectives will be different, depending on the size of your business. Making sure your objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely will help you grow your business sustainably.

2. Add relevant keywords to your social copy

Hashtags can be great, but they’re not the only thing social media algorithms parse for. They also look for relevant keywords in social media captions. Marketers still debate if hashtags are even effective marketing-wise on social media. For some, it helps increase overall exposure, for others, they don’t report any discernable difference. But adding relevant keywords to your captions will make it more likely that your posts will end up on someone’s For You or Explore page.

3. Target users

The great part about sponsored social posts is that you can easily target the right users to see your content. And finding the right users makes it much more likely they’ll purchase from you because it’ll show for users that are actually interested in what you’re trying to sell. While you can try to sell your products to everyone, the reality is that not everyone wants or needs what you’re offering. Plus, if you’re trying to sell to everyone, your ads end up being vague and uninspired, which won’t convince anyone to buy from you.

4. Focus on brand intent

Social media’s a great way to promote your products. But if all your posts are promotional, your business comes off sounding like a pushy salesperson. And no one likes that. Instead, focus on creating and curating content that shows people what your brand cares about. It won’t just give potential customers a better idea of what your company stands for, but it also results in a much more interested audience.

5. Market on multiple social media platforms

There are multiple major social platforms out there, and marketers alike use more than just one. Each one has something different to bring to the table, including a different audience. So, use that to your advantage! You can tailor your approach toward each platform, taking advantage of the best types of content, posting times, and posting frequencies.

6. Create an editorial calendar

To make it easier, you can plan content in advance with an editorial calendar. On it, add specifics like images, captions, hashtags (if you’re using them), links, and whatever else you want to add to your social posts. But remember, you don’t have to stick to what you have; it’s also encouraged to post something spontaneous sometimes. Especially since sometimes they perform better than what you already have planned.

7. Optimize your posting frequency

When marketing on social media, it’s not just about what you post, it’s about when. There are plenty of sources out there that recommend what times and days of the week work best for reach and engagement. But what works for others won’t necessarily work for you. So, try testing out different times and different days to see what works best for each platform. That way, you’ll get the most out of your social media marketing efforts for your business.

8. Create paid social ads

The way social media algorithms work is mysterious, but the one thing we know for sure is that paid social posts are guaranteed to get seen by more users. So, if you’re having problems with increasing overall reach, invest in paid social ads. Or you can boost or promote an already well-performing post. Regardless, research shows sponsored posts perform better on social media. Just don’t focus all your efforts on it; organic social posts still help tell your brand story online.

9. Interact with your audience online

Lastly, interacting with your followers and potential customers should be a vital part of your marketing plan. Engagement on social media is highly valued by each platform’s algorithm, so replying, reacting, and reposting other users’ content will increase your profile’s overall exposure. And it’ll encourage other users to do the same.

Marketing on social media isn’t always easy, especially since best practices are continually evolving. So, reach out to our team, who are experts in helping small businesses grow online.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #app #b2b #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #facebook #google #instagram #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #seo #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #twitter #web #websites #webtools

Twitter’s $250M Copyright Lawsuit Explained and What Businesses Can Avoid It

Jul

11

Last month, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) sued Twitter for $250 million for copyright infringement. Why? Because Twitter’s been letting users share copyrighted music without a license for years, as the lawsuit claims. It’s been an issue with the platform for years, but the lawsuit claims it’s only gotten worse since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company. When looking at how other social media platforms compare, most have cut a deal with music publishers and labels, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitch.

So, why hasn’t Twitter made a similar deal? Simply put, Twitter’s been dodging copyright infringement for several years. The reason behind this is financial, as it would cost the platform possibly over $100 million a year. But Twitter had reportedly been in negotiations for a licensing deal with three major labels: Universal, Sony, and Warner since 2021. Those, however, have since stalled since Elon Musk took over. Speaking of, the lawsuit explicitly mentioned him because of his comments about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In a now-deleted tweet from 2022, he called the DMCA “overzealous” and “a plague on humanity”.

Why the NMPA is Suing Twitter

man in black shirt wearing headphones in front of monitor

Not only has Twitter allowed its users to post videos containing copyrighted music, but the only punishment those users receive is a temporary suspension. On other platforms, it’d go as far as risking the removal of those users’ accounts. But tweets including copyrighted music don’t just go on without discipline, many actually go viral. For Twitter, it only benefits the platform with increased user engagement and ultimately advertising revenue. All while not paying to license that music.

In the lawsuit, the complaint cites more than 1,700 songs, consisting of many that have blown up on Twitter. Examples include “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars by Mark Ronson, “All I Want For Christmas” by Mariah Carey, and “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift, among many others.

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement as a Business

classy executive male reading papers on couch

For a business, getting into legal trouble is one of the last things you want to happen. The easiest way to avoid copyright infringement suits is by using your own content. Especially in advertising material. But when you can’t, that’s where free royalty-free photos, videos, audio/music comes in handy. There are multiple sites where you can easily find this kind of content, but one of our favorites is Pexels. As long as you use material that isn’t owned by someone else, you’re golden.

If, for some reason, you have to use something that isn’t free for commercial use; you need explicit permission from the owner to use it. And you may have to pay a fee to do so (like those other social media platforms with licensing deals). Otherwise, you may find yourself slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #branding #business #businesstips #digitalmarketing #dmca #elonmusk #lawsuit #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #news #nmpa #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #twitter #web #webdesign #website #websites

The Reddit Blackout Explained

Jul

4

Reddit is a forum full of thousands of communities, or subreddits, where people share news, content, and opinions. Seven years ago, Reddit released a free API or Application Programming Interface. With an API, developers can integrate existing software systems into new applications. For example, when signing in to certain websites with your Google or Facebook account, it’s using an API to do so.

Developers use APIs for multiple different reasons, like sharing information between different platforms and carrying out diverse tasks. All while still building out their own interface. With Reddit, whenever a user wants to view or comment on a post from Reddit, the app sends a request to the API. However, this won’t be the case anymore. Reddit announced in April that they’d start charging third-party applications for API access. In other words, developers that made an app for Reddit and those that use its API will now need to pay for requests to use their API.

Why Reddit Users Are (Still) Protesting

The trend of charging for API usage isn’t new, as Twitter did the same after Elon Musk took over. But it also shut down dozens of third-party apps. With Reddit, they’ll be charging $0.24 per 1,000 requests. It doesn’t sound like much until you realize that the app, Apollo, a popular iOS Reddit app, makes upwards of seven billion API requests a month. That’s almost $2 million a month and over $20 million a year, which is just too high of a price for most companies.

When you compare it with Twitter’s API cost, it costs developers anywhere from $100 to more than $5,000 a month. And their plans have limitations set on them. For larger businesses on the enterprise level, it’ll cost much more than that. To protest, Reddit users agreed to what started as a 48-hour blackout called Reddark, where nearly 8,000 subreddits were set to private starting June 12. But even after the 48 hours were up, the blackout persisted, as over 6,000 communities on Reddit are still private. Regardless, it hasn’t deterred Reddit from changing its mind.

Reddit’s API Changes

So, why did Reddit update its API terms? According to its CEO, Steve Huffman, the free API model just wasn’t sustainable. Especially now that Reddit has its own ad network now. Users coming to Reddit via third-party apps don’t see those ads, which greatly impacts how effective and how profitable Reddit’s ad network is. And advertisers won’t want to work with Reddit anymore if they’re paying for ineffective services.

Despite the backlash and online protests, Reddit is moving forward with the API changes. Even though large and popular subreddits have remained private, there are still plenty more that haven’t. They aren’t nearly as sizeable, but it’s enough not to deter Reddit from its plans. Shifts like this seem to prioritize profits over the community-building atmosphere these platforms are known for, which doesn’t sit well with users. So far, Twitter and Reddit are the only large social platforms that charge for API requests. But whether others will follow in their footsteps is yet to be seen.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #api #apollo #applicationprogramminginterface #blog #developer #developers #digitalmarketing #elonmusk #marketing #marketingdigital #reddark #reddit #smallbusiness #socialmedia #stevehuffman #tech #technology #twitter #web #website #websites

What to Consider When Expanding your Business Overseas

Jun

6

For companies looking to expand their business, one way to do so is by selling and promoting their offerings in a foreign country. It opens opportunities for your business to sell to a new audience, which will, in turn, increase overall revenue. But it doesn’t mean it’s easy. Marketing to another country comes with its own unique challenges, ones that you may not initially realize when starting the process. But it’s important to make sure your business is prepared before you start marketing in other countries. Why? Because even big corporations have messed up. A translation error can either be small and inconsequential, or it could be a grave mistake. For example, KFC entered China in the 1980s with the phrase “eat your fingers off” instead of “finger-lickin’ good”. Fortunately for them, it didn’t scare too many customers off. And it continues to be a popular chain in the country.

But mistakes like that could end up being detrimental in the future. KFC just ended up being one of the luckier ones. It’s not enough to just know the language, distinct cultural differences will also greatly impact your marketing campaigns. Another example is when the baby food company, Gerber, entered Africa. In America, we’re used to seeing the cute baby on the label. But in Africa, their products usually use pictures of the actual product because not everyone can read there. To say people were confused and horrified was an understatement. So, localization experts are more than translators; they must also be aware of important cultural differences to avoid mistakes that could completely backfire.

PEST Analysis

people in the office discussing a project

We’ve talked about a SWOT analysis before, and while the two are linked, a PEST analysis is different. A PEST analysis looks at a potential new business and will influence your decision on whether you’ll enter a new country with your business. Before entering a foreign market, use a PEST analysis, which stands for Political factors, Economic factors, Socio-Cultural factors, and Technological factors. After considering these four factors, it’s easier to decide whether your company should enter a new country and it’s easier to determine how hard it’ll be to do so.

Questions to Consider Using the PEST Analysis Method

When conducting your PEST analysis, here are some important questions to ask yourself:

Political:

Who are the most likely contenders for power? What are their views on business policy and how will that affect your business?
How well-developed is the country?
How widespread are corruption and organized crime and is it likely to change? How likely will that affect your organization?
How does government approach corporate policy, corporate social responsibility, environmental issues, and customer protection legislation? Will it make an impact on your business and is it likely to change?

Economic:

How stable is the current economy? Is it growing, stagnating, or declining?
Are key exchange rates stable, or do they tend to vary significantly?
What do customers’ levels of disposable income look like? Is it likely to change in the next few years?
How does globalization affect the country’s economic state?

Socio-Cultural:

What is the population’s growth rate? Is this likely to change?
Are generational shifts in attitude likely to affect what you’re doing?
What social attitudes and taboos could affect your business? Are there any recent changes that could affect this?
How do religious beliefs and lifestyle choices affect the population?

Technological:

Are there any new technologies that you could be using?
Are there any new technologies on the horizon that could affect your business?
How do infrastructure changes affect work patterns (ex: remote work, etc.)?

Here at PSPINC, we have experts to help your business expand products and product lines to Japan. With our history of localizing software between the U.S. and Japan, we successfully created ur SaaS (Software as a Service) product, C-Sagaseru, which was designed specifically for coaches in Japan to connect with their clients. Start localizing your content with us today.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #business #businesstips #digitalmarketing #gerber #international #internationalmarketing #kfc #localization #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #pest #pestanalysis #smallbusiness #swot #swotanalysis

PSPINC Official Company Blog

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What’s New Newsletter Vol. 183 “Free Social Media Marketing Tool”

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 181 “The Difference Between Localization and Translation”

Data Collection: Privacy Concerns and Regulation

Current State of Data Collection

What This Means Now

The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence Technology

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