Expats love the Internet and especially social media – it’s how they communicate with their loved ones at home, or connect with like-minded people who speak the same language and who face the same challenges abroad.

When expats first arrive abroad they usually don’t have any brand loyalties. Either they buy the first product they see, ask colleagues for recommendations, or they research options online. This means online marketing, in particular content marketing, is an essential way of reaching expats.

Here is our advice for creating engaging content for your expat blog or website.

1. Headline

Starting from the headline it should be clear who is being targeted by your post, article or e-mail. Is it approaching expats worldwide, expats in China, or English native speakers living abroad? The reader wants to know from the headline onwards whether the article might be worth reading.

2. Audience

Before you start writing think about the people you want to read your content. Who is your audience? Defining your readers as expats is not enough. Do you want to target the whole expatriate market or a specific segment? Do you want to target singles, couples or families? How old are they? These and more questions have to be answered before creating content. The information you provide, as well as your style of writing, will depend on this definition. Which language do they speak? Of course, the majority of expats speak English and will be able to read your content, but what about running your website or your blog in different languages? It might be even enough to include some translations in your blogpost. Expats will appreciate your effort and multilingual SEO will help you to reach a wider audience.

3. Interaction

The typical expat is open-minded, loves networking and giving advice. Give your audience room for interaction and discussion! How? Close your blogpost with a call to action! This can be a link to your newsletter sign up or to your Facebook or Twitter page, or a simple question that should be answered in the comments. In addition, you can include contests and surveys to encourage readers to share your content all over the place.

4. Information

Which kind of information appeals to expats? Most expats are looking for tips and advice on living in another country, moving and adapting abroad. However, they don’t only look for information, but are also happy to offer information and advice. So provide a platform for communication. Include photos, infographics and videos in your content strategy. These get shared much more often across social media. Statistics say that 90% of the information which enters the brain is visual. This is one of the reasons why articles with images get 94% more views and engagement than those without. It is not only about writing articles for your company website or blog. It is about becoming visible!

And last but not least, remember that a content marketing strategy is not developed on a short-term basis. It takes time to build long-lasting relationships with your customers and it takes time to create content appealing to your target group!


How would you target expats using content marketing? Please share your ideas and best-practices in the comments below!