My first collaboration with Passport to Trade 2.0

Internet Mobile has evolved in Spain and Spanish Social Media habits have changed, impulsed by the greater sales of smartphones and tablets. When I started to prepare my colaboratio with Passport to Trade, I didn't know how far Internet Mobile has changed the Social Media landscape in Spain. 

Why is guest blogging so appealing for me?

On the one hand, it is an ideal excuse to research about one particular topic. Information is power, so it is always good to know more. Besides, Social Media is a matter I feel particularly attracted, as it changes all the time. Even before I had planned to study Marketing, I was a quite active Social Media user. Before Facebook and Twitter, I spent my hours uploading pictures in Flickr, sharing staff in Fotolog and I even had two Space Groups (The ones from Msn, not a MySpace). Nowadays, I am the one my friends ask to know "What is that of Tumblr" or "What is Pinterest for". 

On the other hand, I have always blogged in Blogspot. Although I know how to use Wordpress, I have always used Blogspot. It is my pending task and I hope I can start to sort it out early, as I have realised Wordpress has loads of SEO pluggins and customisation options. 

Finally, the project is just amazing. 

What is Passport to Trade 2.0 about?

Well, #P2T2 project (as you can find on Twitter) is an European program to help small and medium-size companies and students going abroad. Passport to Trade 2.0 is a guide about online and face-to-face communication in 31 different cultures. It worths a look if you want to learn something about other European cultures. It is also available in nine languages, besides English. University of Salford - Business School is part of this project along with seven more European organisations. No doubt why Business Culture website has been shortlisted for the European Search Awards 2014. 

I am glad to have been part of this project. I hope I can write some more posts in the future. 

What is your opinion abour guest bloggers?

What is the most effective Social Media network in Spain?

When doing business abroad, it is vital to have into account the similarities and differences in the choosing of Social Media networks. British people have a different behaviour than Spanish one. As I am Spanish, I have decided my first post will talk about which Social Media platform should be used to succeed in Spain. 

Source: mkhmarketing

Did you know Spain is the 5th country of the world in the use of Social Media? 

Apparently, Spanish enjoy building online relationships as much as they like establishing offline ones. So, if a British company wants to internasionalisate and decides to go to Spain, one of the first steps should be designing a Social Media plan. Another important detail should not be forgotten: Social Media pages should be translated into Spanish if Social Media strategy is focus in customers. 

Another interesting point is that the 60% of Spanish believe what their friends recommends online and only a 18% do not believe social recommendations, these figures meaning a high confidence of the Word-of-Mouth between Spaniards. 

So what Social Media shall be used in Spain?

It depends. It basically depends on the target, although there is a Social Media platform common for all ages in Spain: Facebook. According to Socialdente, 16 millions of Spaniards have a Facebook account. Facebook should definitely be imprescindible. Not convinced yet?. What if I tell you Facebook is the second most visited page in Spain? 

Source: Mashable

On the other hand, Twitter has become very popular, achieving 4,5 millions of accounts in 2012, which makes Spain the 3rd in the rank of World Twitter penetration (Source: Mashable), after Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. In my opinion, though, Twitter's penetration is quite important in the urban and most populated areas of the country, while other Social Media networks may be more influential in rural areas of Spain. Its users are, generally, young people and professional adults. Besides, the also high penetration of smarthpones in this country has definitely beneficed Twitter. 

What is Tuenti?

Source: Tuenti

If your target is very young, Tuenti should be your first choice, as it is very important in Spain. Maybe its popularity is the reason why Telefonica has recently acquired the 100% of the company, or maybe it is the fact that Tuenti is growing notably in the Americas market. Besides, Tuenti achieved 12 millions of users in 2011, 90% of whom are from 14 to 35 years old. 

What should I use to B2B communication?

Definitely LinkedIn. The 4th most important Social Media network in Spain is LinkedIn, having 2 million of users in Spain. Recruiting through LinkedIn is not very common between Spaniards, but it is often used as a professional agenda of contacts. Personally, I strongly believe LinkedIn has a huge potential in Spain. Time will tell.