How social network marketing works in Spain

Javier Camara says Spanish people are highly sociable ‘bees’ – so it makes sense that social network marketing works so well there. He believes it is time to blur the boundaries between the professional life and the personal.

In Spain, we have a reputation for being social butterflies or, in our case, social ‘bees’. After all, with one bar for every 132 inhabitants in the country, there’s a local for everyone – so it stands to reason that we’d also be social media aficionados.

According to a study by research centre CBI, Spain has a social media penetration of 41 per cent, a figure which is rising and that is significantly higher than the global average of 26 per cent. So it’s probably no surprise that Spanish companies are increasingly looking towards social media as a way to market their businesses and boost engagement with their customers.

But with a unique culture and personality, it’s important that companies looking to market themselves in Spain take an approach to social media that reflects this. In Spain, we are focused on creating meaningful, relevant and democratic relationships. So how does it all work?

Affinity/affiliate marketing

With social networks, it is now easier to categorise people into groups and specifically target those you want to reach based on their likes, interests and hobbies. Knowing more about the user means there’s a greater chance they will engage with your brand. So no wonder that affiliate marketing is set to grow to $6.8 billion in the next five years.

So, what better way for a marketer to target someone than focus on their professional and personal profile for the best segmentation? That’s exactly what we encourage; combined profiles and people forming professional collaborations based on their personal interests.

Not all groups have the same value and it’s important to assess different levels of interests to make this type of strategy successful. For example, if you are a golf club, but are looking for an audience with significant purchasing power, perhaps you would layer audiences by their profession, such as a lawyer or banker, as well as their passion for the sport.

Although creating content that is targeted to this degree does mean reaching out to a smaller number of people, the results are far better. The Spanish newspaper, Cinco Dias, for example, uses beBee to target each article they publish to very specific audiences, such as golfing lawyers – they might only go out to an audience of 100 as opposed to 10,000, but engagement spikes because the content is hyper-personalised. This is a powerful approach. Indeed, according to recent studies, less than 10 per cent of affiliate programmes drive 90 per cent of traffic.

There is certainly a different attitude in Spain towards social network marketing than in other regions. When making purchasing decisions, Spanish consumers demand personalised, authentic experiences and communication. So, there’s a significant focus on breaking down marketing activities to target the right people. In Spain, there is a huge amount of importance placed on the personal touch.

Influencer marketing

As online presence grows, consumers are no longer looking directly to companies to inform their purchasing decisions, but instead to their peers. Research shows that 92 per cent of people rely more on personal recommendations from friends, family and even people who they don’t know, but who share common interests. These social influencers are becoming a crucial component in marketing strategies globally.

However, in Spain there is a move towards the democratisation of influencers. Our platforms and portals are generally created so that any content posted by all users receives equal exposure.

The democratic way in which users can connect with any other user and share any content means anyone can generate a large following. Influencers don’t need to be celebrities or even prominent social media users. Successful influencer marketing is increasingly being driven by everyday people who have gained traction among their peers that are the most influential.

Spanish users value authenticity and seek a more personal experience. Research by the CBI has also revealed that Spanish consumers expect social content to be native-level language and cater to all the linguistic differences found throughout Spanish-speaking countries, It’s this level of personalisation that is most effective.

Personal branding

Personal branding is becoming an increasingly important element in Spain’s social network marketing. Research shows that brand messages shared by employees in Spain, rather than the company itself, are 24 times more likely to be re-shared – to put this into perspective, the global average is eight times more engagement.

Again, this reflects the personal element that people look for when seeking recommendations for purchases. They want to feel like there they are not being sold to, and look to individuals as opposed to companies. This is why sales representatives and marketers have a better success rate when they have a social media presence and why it’s key to invest in personal branding to reflect consumer needs.

Social network marketing: summary

In Spain, they way we approach social network marketing differs from how people in other places like the US do, and this comes down to the Spanish consumer and how they make their purchasing decisions. The Spanish demand personalised interaction, so there’s a significant focus on breaking down marketing activities to target the right people. Ultimately, it is that personal element that is required to succeed.