Doing Business in Germany: Knowing Your Social Media Channels

The other day, when colleagues from Spain and England and I were chatting about Facebook and Twitter, the one from Spain mentioned a social network for business professionals that I and my English friend hadn’t heard of, despite it apparently having been around for some time. 

The social network was called “shink.” As our Spanish friend filled us in on what shink could do and how we should learn to use it, I mentioned that their “shink” reminded me remotely of our “ksing.”

It was our English colleague who, after listening awhile, had us spell our networks’ names. This is how we found out that whether we called it “shink,” “ksing,” “sing dotcom” or “crossing,” we’d all been discussing the same social network: xing.

The same social network is a different social network

Which, after a round of intercultural laughter, brought us to the following question. Given that we have different names for the same social network, could there also be differences in how we use these social networks? As it turns out, there are. Here is what we found about social media in Germany, who uses them, and what this means for your marketing activities if you are doing business in Germany.

• Google+ – There are no accurate figures for the actual user numbers for Google+ in Germany, but it is estimated that up to 3 percent of Germans are active. This is a far cry from the figures for American users, who make up 55 percent of all users on the platform, and this should be taken into account when trying to engage with German customers.
  
  
• Xing – Used by 2 percent of all Germans at least once per week. In Germany, its core idea is by far its most important: people use Xing to find a new job.
  
  
• LinkedIN – Used by 1 percent of all Germans at least once per week (a decline from the 2 percent measured in 2016).
  

Generally, social media usage has not grown much in Germany over the course of the last year, and usage is not as high as, for instance, in the US. For more details, look into the Online Survey published by Germany’s two large public broadcasting networks, ARD and ZDF. The survey is in German, but the graphics are easy to understand, even for an international audience.

How to Address Your Audience in Germany

In many ways, content marketing and social media marketing in Germany are much like everywhere else. Companies who want to grab the attention of their (potential) customers and eventually want them to hit “buy” should have a compelling story to tell, and they should tell it without being annoying. Don’t overpromise. Stick to the truth. This not only pleases your customers, but also spares you legal trouble.

But there is one respect in which German professionals are peculiar. They tend to keep their business and private lives apart. Maybe this is not as true as it once was, and perhaps things are changing with millennials moving in. But when doing business with Germans, you can still anticipate that they will expect you to put your common business first, while all things social will come later (perhaps).

With the very idea of social media being “social,” where does this leave you and your marketing campaign? The main thing to understand is that in German culture, one’s business and private life usually are kept separate. However, this lesson is not that you should keep your business out of social media. The lesson is that you should design your message accordingly. In short, this means, focus on the benefit you have to offer. Because in this regard, Germans are no different from any other audience you are targeting. 

If they see a business benefit, they will come.

Which social media channels do German users trust?