Marketing in social media is no easy thing as you are effectively treading into the world of the consumer, a scary and volatile place indeed, not to mention a place where a relationship can go sour in the time it takes to update a status or send a tweet. Once being shown the door it is quite safe to assume that you are not welcome back.
These assumptions arise off the back of some very strict social media rules that we online marketers have become very careful to adhere too, you know the standard etiquette:
- No self promotional tweets/updates
- Always think of the customer
- Don’t just talk about your own services/products
- Only take a heavy approach if it is really necessary
- Accept the fact you can’t always be in control
- Accept the criticism along with praise
- Don’t spam
Life is made up of very similar mantras and this highlights a problem that social media marketers are also trying to battle with. As the Internet connects us all, conflicts of cultural difference are becoming an increasing concern for international business. With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the worlds more interesting cultural differences:
- Tattoo’s in Japan are associated with gang culture (Yakuza) and are taboo in most of the country’s Onsens (public baths)
- In the Maharashtra state of India, it is common practice to drop newborn babies off the side of a 15-meter tall temple. It is believed to give strength, good luck as well as courage and intelligence. Luckily someone is at the bottom to catch. As proof, check out the video below:
- In Chinese culture, a limp handshake is regarded as a gesture of respect and compassion. Very the opposite in Western culture of course where a firm grip is the standard greeting
- In Bulgaria, a shake of the head is in fact a positive indication and means yes, completely reversing the way it works much of the West
- In Iran, giving the thumbs up gesture is considered extremely offensive
- In Latin America, it is considered impolite to throw things to each other. When you'll want to give something to a local, make sure you do it hand-to-hand
- In Tahiti, French Polynesia, people greet each other by making small cuts on their hands with a shark tooth
- In Tibet, people greet each other by showing the thumb on the right hand at the same time sticking the tongue out
- Women of the Zulu tribe, Ethiopia, will dress according to whether they are married or not. Single women are allowed to wear miniskirts however once they have tied the knot they will let their hair grow and decorate themselves in a large decorative cloth in respect of their husband and family
Social media of course enjoys its own fair share of cultural conflicts. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein famously banned the use of the Facebook ‘Like’ (or ‘Gefällt mir’ if you are of the German variety) on grounds of privacy protection. Jurisdiction is so fierce that a 50,000 Euro fine has been applied to its usage. Ouch!
Germany has also tried to protect its citizens by allowing homeowners to ask Google to pixelate their homes from Street view in Google Maps.
Germany are not the only ones! During the London Riots Facebook was used to incite further rioting but was then famously used as evidence to send the criminals to court. As was Twitter and YouTube.
Then there is this: The Facebook campaign encouraging the boycott of a Scottish shopping centre that denied a father from taking pictures of his four-year-old daughter. Think what you want of this but it highlights the ubiquity of culture, conflict and social media. Certainly social media is playing a major role in reshaping our social landscape and it intends to do it as loudly as possible. With noise will come conflict, with conflict will come change.
It would be great if you could share other interesting and fascinating cultural differences by leaving comments below :)
