Content marketing is one of the most important parts of the digitalizing world. It is a marketing strategy implemented by creating informative content using written texts and visual media to reach the targeted audience. This includes many auxiliary uses such as social media, websites and blogs. However, in order to give the target audience what they need, some important factors should not be ignored. These factors may vary from country to country and from time to time. Therefore, in this article, we will examine the issues that need to be considered in content marketing on a European basis.
First of all, when we say Europe, it should be taken into consideration that we are talking about a population density of over 740 million because this situation is accompanied by the issue of cultural difference, which is the first factor to be taken into consideration. In content marketing, cultural differences should be taken into consideration. Cultural differences include a wide variety of symbols, expressions, formats (day, month, year representation or units of measurement) and colors. For this reason, the meaning attributed to each differs from each other. Therefore, even the symbols, expressions and colors used in content marketing should be taken into consideration. This is the most basic situation in conveying the message to the target audience in marketing. As one of the most important examples, McDonald's has traditionally adopted the distinctive “red” and “yellow” color combination that comes to mind when everyone hears the name of the brand. In order to show that it supports the environmentally friendly movement and to increase the environmentally friendly image of its brand, McDonald's has adopted the colors of its logo in Europe. It can be shown to change to “yellow” and “green”. We see that these new logo colors used, including on the website, evaluate the cultural difference in the brand’s emphasis on environmental friendliness in terms of color.
Another factor to consider is it is a matter of language. Europe has 24 official languages. For this reason, language differences must be taken into consideration professionally in order to reach the target audience in content marketing and to ensure that the message is conveyed correctly, without leaving any room for misunderstanding. For this reason, translations must be made accurately, and differences in punctuation marks and tones from language to language must be examined in detail. Especially the issue of tone is important. The level of communication with the target audience emerges here. Although the use of casual or formal “you” expression is not noticeable in writing in English, this is not the case in other languages. For example, attention should be paid to the differences in personal pronouns such as (tu, vous) in French and (du, ihr, Sie) in German.
Lastly, and perhaps the most important point is that it is a matter of which the publishing area should be preferred in Europe. Each country’s use of the digital world differs from each other. Just as giant billboards adorn the roads in America, smaller advertisements may be popular in Europe. In such cases, it is necessary to review the marketing behavior of countries carefully in content marketing. While Facebook may be more preferred in one country, social media applications such as TikTok or Instagram may be popular in another country. Since the contents to be published here will differ from each other, this must be taken into consideration.
In conclusion, Europe is a large area with many differences. While this field offers very important opportunities in terms of marketing, it also brings with it great attention and care. Those who want to convey the information or message accurately they want to give to their target audience must pay attention to cultural differences, language differences and the country’s social media attitude towards receiving content when creating their content. These three factors are key points in content marketing for Europe.
