You might think that given our special relationship, it’s easy to translate your digital marketing strategy from the United States to the United Kingdom and back again. While there may still be arguments over what constitutes a game of football, our two cultures have been growing and melding on a similar track in recent years.
But even as economies on both sides of the pond travel further into the digital age, there are still plenty of things that separate these two cultures. From a marketing standpoint, it’s important to recognize the potential pitfalls of a digital campaign and determine how to sidestep each one for an international plan that nets quality return from all audiences.
What Are Cookies, and Can You Eat Them?
Even the Internet functions a little differently in the U.K. If you don’t work in marketing and have never heard of “cookies,” then you’re in for a surprise when you land in the U.K. and switch on your laptop.
Thanks to the European Union’s Data Protection Directive, every time you visit a website or download an app, you’ll see a banner or pop-up notification alerting you that the website uses cookies and needs your consent.
If you’re expanding your business into the British market, this is something that you need to comply with. But you want to do it in a way that minimizes bounces and cookie opt-outs. Get your strategy wrong, and you could limit your targeting and personalization, undermining your marketing efforts right from the start.
- Avoid using pop-ups. These are annoying and especially intrusive on mobile devices. Instead, try a small, neat banner that’s seamlessly integrated into your website design. Anything that gets in the way of the user experience — even an ad for your business — is going to harm more than help.
- Be honest and informative. A lot of consumers don’t quite know what a “cookie” is. If you’re clear and transparent with your explanation, you can build trust with those users. The U.K. retail chain Waitrose provides a good example of this. Its webpage has a small and discreet banner that tells you it uses cookies “to provide you with a better service,” offering a link to find out more.
- Add humor. If your target demographic is young and tech-savvy, then why not follow Hotel Chocolat’s lead and inject some fun into your cookie banner? After all, who wouldn’t like to try some delicious chocolate cookies?
Digital Advertising Plays a Bigger Role in the U.K.
Digital is essential to the British market, so you can’t afford to fail the cookie test. This year, it will become the first country in the world where half of all ad spending is on digital media. Even though Americans spend more time online, digital only takes about 30 percent of the pie, while television reigns supreme.
This is because in the U.K., a third of all TV viewership is noncommercial and ad-free, and many TV broadcasters also offer extensive on-demand online viewing options. Among the young, television consumption has fallen for more than three years.
Online videos are thus an increasingly important communication channel for marketers, but habits are still influenced by traditional television viewing in the U.K. Long-form content accounts for 53 percent of ad views in the American market, with 39 percent coming from short-form content. In the U.K., however, the corresponding figures are 75 percent and 20 percent. When tackling the British market, you’ll want to allocate more money to long-form video formats.
Choosing the Right Social Media Platform
There are also differences when it comes to social media. While Facebook Messenger is equally popular in both markets, WhatsApp is fairly insignificant in the U.S. This couldn’t be further from the case in the U.K., where the platform is very popular, ranking second among messenger apps.
Thanks to European Union regulations on freedom of movement, a lot of Europeans live and work between different countries. This freedom has enormously benefited WhatsApp, which provides a cheap and easy solution for cross-border communication.
Many brands now use it as a customer service tool to stay in touch with consumers on a very personal level 24/7, but there are also more creative ways to utilize the app. My favorite case study comes from Argentina, one of the top countries for WhatsApp usage.
Absolut Vodka was throwing a party to launch its new collection. Alongside a guest list of VIPs, the company turned to WhatsApp to offer two invites to the general public. To decide who would get the tickets, it created Sven, a digital bouncer who had to be convinced of one’s worthiness to attend. People sent him videos, pictures, and songs to earn an invitation, building huge buzz around the brand.
As with all marketing, it’s important to consider your audience. If you’re going for Chinese students in America, then WeChat is the place to be. For mobile Europeans, WhatsApp holds the big audience.
U.K. Mobile Consumers Are More Cautious
The British tend to spend more time researching products, so they have a longer path to purchase than U.S. consumers. The difference is cultural. Americans are generally more confident about the future than Brits and are thus more willing to make spur-of-the-moment purchases.
To convert mobile U.K. consumers, it’s imperative to have a “win” at each step of the purchase funnel. It used to be that consumers would just read reviews on Google or Trustpilot, but more people are now turning to videos for additional information, so it’s worth creating your own helpful video content on YouTube.
Whether your company is a money transfer service or a beauty brand, you can create a series of how-to videos that explain the benefits of your product, address potential consumer concerns, and guide a customer to get the most from her purchase.
Partnering with influential vloggers to create “haul videos” could also be worthwhile. Consumers today are increasingly likely to turn to mobile devices for product advice. Make sure it’s your content they turn to.
Don’t assume that you can get away with the same digital strategy just because the British speak the same language. Tailor your strategy to your audience, and you’ll be that much closer to success on both sides of the Atlantic.
