Why Multilingual Digital Content is Really King
There are 196 countries and roughly 6,500 spoken language in the world today. With a population of 7.3 billion people (United Nations data, mid-2015), the world houses many cultures and nations who all speak different languages and have varying habits, tastes and preferences. According to independent research firm, Common Sense Advisory, 56% of consumers say that the ability to obtain information in their own language is more important than price.
A key challenge for global content marketers, digital content professionals, creatives and product managers is to develop global content to meet the language and cultural needs of local audiences. Each culture and society has its own words, phrases, idioms and values which will affect how e-content is viewed and digested. Localizing and translating digital marketing campaigns is an integral part of the overall e-content marketing strategy.
Explosion of E-Content
Large and small brands are reaching customers around the world by publishing online content through websites, social media, blogs and videos. One of the reasons digital e-content is exploding is due to the pace we can create, develop and publish it. Digital content can be quickly made available to a wide, global audience compared to more traditional offline and print methods. With most people having access to a mobile device, e-content is available to potential readers and consumers anywhere in the world. To gain someone’s attention, digital content professionals have to be contextually relevant and this means tapping into a local mind-set, publishing content in the right language and ensure it is culturally appropriate.
What is Transcreation?
Creative marketing e-content is often based on popular culture and contains local elements and demographics that consumers can relate to. For certain target audiences, content has to be adapted so that it sounds natural. This is known as “transcreation,” which is part of the overall global marketing, translation and localization process.
Transcreation takes the concept from the source content, including taglines, copy, graphics, web banners, audio, video, and online multimedia, and recreates it. The talent used in this process is often linguistic copywriters, specialist designers and illustrators who are native and can meet the requirements of the intended target language market at a local level.
The success of a marketing campaign often depends on factors like tone, style and emotion as well as factual information which is why campaign material needs adapting and not just put through a straight translation process.
Tips for Reaching a Global Audience
So how do global content marketers and creatives develop e-content to suit a global audience? Here are some best practices for developing multilingual e-content campaigns:
Do the research. Don’t make assumptions that you know what will work in certain local markets. Global digital marketing requires specialist knowledge of each market. Understand all the relevant target demographics. Awareness of country social platforms like Facebook and Twitter in the US and Europe and Wiebo in China, will ensure e-content is published in the right channels. The social media landscape can vary across continents. Don’t invest in a huge Twitter campaign if no-one in your target local market can access Twitter. It’s also important to know what levels of technology your target audience has access to so you can tailor your e-content to the appropriate technology platforms.
Be found. Make sure content can be found in each market and will get maximum visibility. Which search engines are used in China, USA and Europe? How do you optimize for local markets? What keywords and phrases are used? Access to technical knowledge of how to optimize content for the different engines is a necessity for any digital and SEO marketing campaign.
Develop the right e-content. One piece of content will not fit all. Developing digital content for a global audience doesn’t just involve translating words but also culturally adapting messaging and content. Most digital content involves transcreation which requires a deep cultural understanding of target consumers and adapting content to suit their needs.
MOST IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to localize the whole experience! All touch points of the buyer’s journey should be translated and adapted for the target audience. From the banner ad to the website through to payment and customer service. Keep the global brand experience consistent.
Most of us have now become obsessive content consumers at home, on trains or planes as we are constantly consuming information, interacting with brands, products and services and sharing thoughts and reviews with others. Digital e-content is everywhere and has to be language appropriate and culturally adapted to reach a wide, very diverse world.
To find out more about Welocalize multilingual digital marketing services, connect with us here.
