Content Localization: 5 Key Areas to Go Global
Statistics show that customers are more likely to buy from a company whose website is written in their native language. If English is the only language you’re creating content in, you might be missing out on potential customers from countries where it isn’t the primary language.
That’s where content localization comes in. Content localization is the process of translating content into different languages and adapting it to cultural nuances. Read on if you want to find out what content localization is and how to apply it to your business.
What Is Content Localization?
Content localization is a marketing term referring to the translation and adaptation of content from one language and culture to another. This process aims to help you reach a wider audience by translating your website, blog, and other marketing materials into the language of your target market.
However, content localization is more than just translating your content into another language word-for-word. While translation is a big part of localization, the key to a successful content localization is adapting your content to the cultural and linguistic nuances of the local market you’re focusing on.
For example, if you’re marketing pens in Spain, you’d use the word “boligrafo,” but if you’re selling them in Latin America, you may use the word “lapicero.”
Related Article: Essential Guide to Multilingual Content Marketing Strategy
Why Do Businesses Need Content Localization?
Content localization is essential for any business that wants to expand its reach outside its home country. For example, if you have a website in English but want to increase sales in Spain, you’ll need a Spanish version of your site so that potential buyers in Spain can easily find what they are looking for.
In addition, localizing content builds trust with potential customers in other countries because it shows them that you understand their culture and language, which increases the likelihood that they will buy from you.
Here are four reasons why content localization is vital for your business:
- It boosts SEO results in other countries.
- It increases trust and credibility with local audiences.
- It makes it easier for international visitors to find what they need on your website.
- It leads to more sales.
5 Types of Content You Need to Localize & Why
With content localization, businesses can shape their content to resonate with local markets. The goal of localization is to ensure that the content is relevant, interesting, and accurate for the audience.
Here are five types of content you need to localize.
1. Website Content
If you want people from other countries to visit your site, make sure all of the text is carefully localized into their native language. Your website’s navigation menu, footer text, contact information, copyright information, and other parts of the site should be localized because they’re visible to your customers, even if they don’t click on anything. VPN will help you to access geo-restricted content from anywhere in the world.
For example, if a potential customer from Germany visits your site and sees English-only contact information instead of German-language contact details, they’ll probably leave immediately.
2. Social Media Posts
Given that around 58.4% of the population uses social media, it’s an essential tool to market your business to audiences around the globe. Creating social media content that resonates with each market you’re targeting is extremely important in building a relationship with customers and growing a loyal following.
Many companies that use social media to target different regions or countries set up multiple social media accounts. That’s because the content that’s relevant in one country or region may not be suitable in another one!
Although managing multiple social media accounts can be challenging, this is an effective strategy. It allows you to adapt your content to a particular market, create country-specific promotions, and take advantage of viral trends in that country or region.
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3. Email Campaigns
Email campaigns should also be part of your content localization strategy if you’re targeting customers in different countries. Not translating your email campaigns into their native languages may cost you subscribers and sales. If your customers can’t understand what’s being said, they certainly won’t buy from you!
To localize your email campaigns into your target market’s native language, consider different linguistic nuances. For example, if you use humorous puns or idioms in your email copy, find the right way to translate them into a foreign language to avoid misunderstandings. Also, make sure to adapt your campaigns to the culture of the country you’re targeting. This may include sending your emails at a different time or creating country-specific campaigns.
Related Article: The Ultimate Guide to Designing a Stunning Email Signature
4. Blog Articles
Blog posts are a great way to engage with your customers and build brand awareness. But if they’re in English only, they might not be as effective because you’re limiting yourself to only English-speaking audiences.
To make sure that people who don’t speak English can still benefit from your blog posts – and find them on Google – localize them into multiple languages. Desygner is an excellent example of a company that implements blog content localization. Apart from our blog in English, we also run a blog in Spanish and Portuguese!
5. Videos
Did you know that 55% of people watch online videos every day? If you don’t include videos in your content localization strategy, you’re simply leaving money on the table! You can localize video content in two ways: creating similar videos in multiple languages, which can be extremely time-consuming, or adding subtitles to your videos.
There are many tools on the internet that allow you to add subtitles in multiple languages to your videos quickly and efficiently. However, don’t forget that some video content may need to be adapted to your target market. Not everything will be relevant everywhere!
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Final Thoughts
It’s often said that “content is king.” But when it comes to content localization, the king can’t rule without the right tool at his side. Desygner’s Marketing Localization Engine is an excellent tool for businesses who want to localize their content quickly and efficiently.
We offer a wide range of marketing materials that can be customized for local campaigns. Our AI-powered system takes care of content localization workflow and approvals, as well as auto-translation. Although Desygner doesn’t offer a full-scale Translation Management System, it still allows for individual content customization while saving on localization costs.
In addition, we support different font languages from Cyrillic to Bengali, Japanese, Thai, and Chinese – so you can target these markets without worrying about a faulty alphabet.
Want to discover the power of automated content localization? Book a demo today!
