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The Multilingual Content Marketing Strategy

February 14, 2017

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A report from Pagefair says that approximately 200 million people worldwide have installed ad-blockers. This obviously came as bad news to marketers who had been relying heavily on paid ads as part of their marketing strategy. Lucky for them, content marketing is a way to continue marketing efforts and reach consumers with messages they need.

The fact that many of the companies out there are swaying towards content marketing should not come as a surprise Content marketing works by getting people interested in content that matters to them. This also serves a hidden purpose wherein the brand that you represent gets promoted as well.   But what if your target consumers do not understand your content? This is the reason why multilingual content marketing strategy has become the wave of the future.

Why multilingual? Isn’t English enough?

According to Statista, English accounts to around 1500 million speakers worldwide in a population of 7.4 billion, i.e. 20.27% only! Some of the major spoken languages include: Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi-Urdu, Arabic, Portuguese and more.

This is why going multilingual matters. It already ensures a strong overseas base, even before your content is out there. Getting the language right is half the battle. People who know English (in places where it is not their native tongue) still prefer content in their native tongue.

The ‘Can’t read, won’t buy’ study showed that more than 56% people in over 10 different countries preferred buying in their native language. The study also showed that people were six times less likely to spend time on a webpage that did not speak their language. Going multilingual is important – it is no longer about efficiency, but rather, it is a necessity. Without language translation, it would be pointless to target an audience who don’t speak the language that you do.

So, how do you prepare for going multilingual?

1. Conduct a thorough research and understand your market.

Mastering Content Marketing is no easy feat. It takes time and resources. That is why it is very important to know as much as you can about your market. If you are new to the type of market you want to fit in, and then think about how appealing your product will be for people of different cultures. Adapting your product and content to the local preferences is key. Globally successful businesses consider other factors like culture alongside multilingual translation services.

2. Your core message is important. Develop it.

Think about your brand. Think about it as hard as you can. Ask yourself, ‘Why is it appealing? What is that one thing about my brand that makes it stand out from the thousands of others in the market? Am I promoting an item of luxury or something ordinary with a twist?’ All of this should be thought of with one thing in mind. Cultural diversity. Is your brand checking all the boxes of the requirement for people of different cultures? This is where giants like Pepsi and KFC stand out. Their menus communicate with everyone, no matter where they are from; but at the end of the day, it serves the same quality at all of its outlets.

3. Localizing your content the right way.

Automatic translation is always there to help you, but it does not always translate as per the context in a sensible way. Content marketers should never rely on this process of automatic translation. You will not get the response you want all the time. The best way to overcome this is hiring local writers for multilingual translation services to make sure that your message gets communicated the way you want it to. It might not be a bad idea to familiarize yourself with the native preferences. But how can one find the right translator and verify if the translated content is 100% accurate? That is where Language Service Providers (LSP) or translation companies can help you. Translation companies will help in choosing the right translator considering your target dialect, intended audience, domain and much more while ensuring the quality of the translations.  Apart from this, they also help in choosing the language that is best suited for your requirements. Dealing with translation companies ensures a much smoother experience.

4. Simplification of content management.

Content management has never been easier. Management systems like Drupal, WordPress etc. make it very easy to manage and simplify your content as opposed to content management  five or ten years ago. In addition to supporting multiple languages, the customers can also change the language interface whenever they want! Local media managers can further help you in simplifying this process while also keeping all of your accounts up to date, ensuring a quick and efficient response.

Multilingual approach to marketing is still relatively new as it requires a lot of manpower, analysis, research and focus. It can be incredibly rewarding if done right. There are very few companies that are established in the multilingual marketing industry. This does not mean that there isn’t fierce competition. Every minute, companies are looking for multilingual translation services to reach audiences that are farther away from them. There may be no competition when it comes to the big brands like Coca-Cola or McDonald’s because they are already established in the industry. One must aim to be one of them but not forget that there are a hundred other people and companies that are vying for the same spot. The more unique your product, and the more honest work you put in improving your multilingual base, the better your marketing strategy which will determine how fast your product sells.


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