Follower counts do not import anything
Rasp International runs cross-border social media for exporters on a simple premise: the objective is not reach, it is credibility with a small number of people who can place orders. A hundred thousand Indian followers on Instagram is worth less to an exporter than four hundred procurement professionals in Europe who see your factory content every week.
Most exporter social media is domestic-facing by accident. Festival greetings, team photos, motivational quotes. None of it speaks to an overseas buyer evaluating whether you can supply reliably.
What we run
1. Platform selection by market and buyer
LinkedIn is where B2B procurement lives in North America and Europe. Instagram matters for consumer-facing and design-led products. YouTube carries weight for machinery and process-heavy products where the buyer needs to see the line running. WhatsApp is the working channel across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Facebook still matters in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa. We pick two, not six.
2. LinkedIn authority building
Your company page matters less than your personal profile. Buyers connect with people. We build the founder or export head’s profile into something a procurement manager takes seriously, then run consistent posting that demonstrates competence rather than announcing it.
3. Factory and process content
The content that works for exporters is the content most exporters consider boring. Machines running. Quality checks happening. Containers loading. Certifications being audited. An overseas buyer who cannot visit your plant is starved for exactly this, and it does more to build confidence than any brochure.
4. Content calendar and consistency
Two posts a week for a year beats twenty posts in one month followed by silence. Buyers check your feed when they are evaluating you, sometimes months after first contact. A feed that stopped eight months ago raises the question of whether you are still operating.
5. Social listening and engagement
Following your target buyers, their companies, and their industry conversations. Commenting usefully before you ever pitch. The connection request that follows a month of visible, intelligent engagement gets accepted. The cold one usually does not.
6. Integration with outreach
Social and outreach reinforce each other. A buyer who has seen your posts for six weeks and then receives your email is not receiving a cold email. Run in isolation, both channels underperform.
What does not work
- Festival and motivational posts. Invisible to your actual audience and mildly confusing to them.
- Buying followers. Inflates a number nobody who matters is looking at.
- Posting only product catalogues. A feed of product tiles is an advertisement, and people scroll past advertisements.
- Company page only, no human. B2B buyers follow people far more readily than logos.
- Starting and stopping. The most common pattern and the most damaging.
Realistic expectations
Social media rarely produces a direct enquiry in month one and it is not a substitute for outreach or search. What it does is make every other channel work better. The buyer who receives your outreach recognises the name. The buyer who found you on search sees a business that is visibly operating. The buyer who met you at a fair stays warm between fairs. Judged as a direct lead source it usually disappoints. Judged as a trust multiplier it earns its place.
Who this service is for
Exporters with something visual to show, which is most manufacturers, and the patience for a channel that compounds rather than converts immediately.
Frequently asked questions
Which platform should an exporter use?
Depends on your product and market. LinkedIn is where B2B procurement lives in North America and Europe. Instagram matters for consumer facing and design led products. YouTube carries weight for machinery where buyers need to see the line running. WhatsApp is the working channel across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Pick two and do them properly rather than six badly.
Does social media actually produce export enquiries?
Rarely as a direct source, and any agency promising otherwise is overselling. What it does is make every other channel work better. The buyer who receives your outreach recognises your name. The buyer who found you on search sees a business that is visibly operating. Judged as a direct lead source it disappoints. Judged as a trust multiplier it earns its place.
Should I post from the company page or my personal profile?
Both, but the personal profile does more work on LinkedIn. B2B buyers connect with people far more readily than with logos. A founder or export head posting consistently outperforms a company page posting the same content.
What should I actually post?
The content most exporters consider boring. Machines running, quality checks, containers loading, certifications being audited. An overseas buyer who cannot visit your plant is starved for exactly this. Festival greetings and motivational quotes are invisible to that audience.
Related services and resources
- All export growth marketing services
- Buyer outreach campaigns
- Content marketing and trust assets
- Global branding and positioning
- Google and LinkedIn ads
- Trade show marketing
How to engage Rasp International for social media
Tell us your product, target markets, and what social presence exists today. We will confirm scope within one business day and recommend which two platforms are worth your effort.