In today’s international, multicultural business landscape, companies must continuously expand their geographical online reach and customer engagement. This process begins with a robust localization strategy—a plan for effective communication across multiple cultures and languages.
This blog explores the importance of localization and how partnering with a Language Service Provider (LSP) can enhance your global marketing efforts.
The Importance of Localization
A target audience who feels a company is speaking directly will respond positively.
However, many marketing teams fail to integrate a localization strategy until after other key marketing plan elements are already in place. Social sharing influences 81% of internet shoppers, so local company reputation is crucial. The stakes are too high to make localization an afterthought; it must be part of the initial strategic planning.
Localization is crucial from the beginning because it ensures that the marketing message resonates with the target audience’s cultural and linguistic nuances. Starting with localization prevents the need for costly and time-consuming revisions later on and helps in building an immediate connection with the local audience. Incorporating localization at the outset enhances brand credibility and customer trust, leading to better engagement and conversion rates.
Tip: When selecting an LSP, prioritize those with expertise in your target markets and industries.
How an LSP Helps Plan Strategy
Early Involvement in Quality Control
Bringing an LSP into the process early ensures that the quality of communication is not compromised when a message is delivered to diverse audiences through different languages.
An LSP can bring several more benefits when involved early, including:
Quality Control: Ensuring the messaging is accurate, culturally appropriate, and maintains brand integrity across languages.
Consistency: Maintaining a consistent tone and style throughout all marketing materials.
Efficiency: Streamlining the localization process, reducing time and costs associated with revisions.
Expertise: Providing insights into local market trends, consumer behavior, and effective communication strategies.
Resource Allocation: Helping to allocate resources effectively by identifying potential challenges and opportunities in different markets early on.
Early involvement allows LSPs to maintain quality control over the message and delivery style before advertising space is purchased or marketing materials are designed.
Effective Local Keywords and Social Hashtags
LSPs can choose effective local keywords and social hashtags by examining how the target population searches for the product or service. They also provide the necessary background for social media, which must be localized to gain traction.
Local keywords and social hashtags differ from general ones in that they reflect the target audience’s specific language, culture, and search behavior. They can significantly impact a campaign’s success by:
Improving Search Engine Rankings: Local keywords enhance the relevance of content for search engines, increasing visibility in local searches.
Boosting Engagement: Social hashtags that resonate with local trends and conversations can increase engagement and interaction on social media platforms.
Enhancing Relevance: Using locally relevant terms makes the content more relatable and appealing to the target audience, leading to higher conversion rates.
Speaking the local language means more than using the correct target language words; it involves utilizing local nomenclature and slang while appropriately addressing local concerns.
Tip: Select a provider with proven expertise, a solid cultural understanding, and robust quality assurance processes. Ensure they offer comprehensive services, utilize advanced technologies, and have positive case studies. This will help ensure high-quality, culturally relevant content for better engagement and results.
Website Content Localization
When planning to localize website content, LSPs provide essential information on desktop publishing and website issues, such as producing text of ideal length and tone. Design elements like colors and images should be considered at the start of the design process to meet cultural expectations and avoid alienating customers from different cultures.
Some Best Practices you should consider:
Cultural Sensitivity: Ensure content respects and reflects local customs, traditions, and values.
Linguistic Accuracy: Use professional translators to maintain accuracy and appropriateness in the target language.
Visual Adaptation: Adapt images, colors, and design elements to suit local preferences.
User Experience: Optimize navigation and user interface for local users, considering factors like reading direction and local internet usage patterns.
Legal Compliance: Ensure content complies with local regulations and standards.
Common Pitfalls you can avoid:
Literal Translation: Avoid word-for-word translations that may not make sense or may be culturally insensitive.
Ignoring Local Preferences: Failing to adapt content to local tastes and preferences can alienate the target audience.
Inconsistent Messaging: Inconsistent tone or style can confuse or deter customers.
Overlooking Local SEO: Neglecting to optimize for local search engines can result in poor visibility.
Lack of Testing: Not testing localized content with local users can lead to undetected issues.
Tip: When selecting an LSP for website localization, it’s crucial to prioritize providers with expertise in digital localization. Look for LSPs with a proven track record in adapting digital content to diverse cultural and linguistic contexts. They should also excel in SEO and content optimization, ensuring your website ranks well in local search engines and resonates with local audiences.
The Primacy of Localization in Internet Marketing
As web-based advertising becomes more sophisticated, effective ad targeting becomes crucial. Targeting local populations with uniquely relevant content increases reach through social media. Incorporating multilingual SEO when translating websites is essential. This includes adding local business names, addresses, phone numbers, and working hours where appropriate.
Website headings (H1) and subheadings (H2) should reflect local preferences. Even the web address (URL) can be tailored to appeal to different populations, pointing back to the original website.
It is important to prominently display sharing buttons with links to local social media accounts on landing pages. Local search engine optimization (SEO) supports these platforms, helping people find the company when seeking its services.
Multilingual Marketing in the Global Workplace
As the internet shrinks the world into a connected network, marketers must deliver materials and messages across borders, cultures, and languages. Companies that fail to do so are disadvantaged compared to those producing materials consumed and spread organically by local populations.
Adding local elements as an afterthought to a product designed for a different market is ineffective and potentially harmful to a global brand. Effective localization starts at the beginning of the marketing strategy, involving the LSP in the inner circle of planning.
Effective localization is essential for expanding online reach and engaging customers across diverse markets. Early involvement of an LSP in the strategic planning process ensures that marketing messages are culturally relevant and impactful.
Contact Morningside for expert localization services that enhance your global marketing efforts. Our team of specialized translators ensures that your messages resonate with target audiences worldwide, driving engagement and success.
About Morningside
Morningside, a Questel Company, is a recognized leader in comprehensive language solutions. We provide a full suite of services, including document translation, interpretation, website localization, and multilingual marketing support. We deliver customized solutions based on your needs, utilizing industry-leading technology for accuracy, lower costs, and faster turnaround times.
For more information, contact us today to learn how we can support your translation needs.
Madeline Sturdivant, Brand Marketing Manager at Morningside, a Questel Company, is an accomplished marketing professional with over six years of experience in digital marketing, branding, events, and strategic communications. She leads global marketing strategies, driving brand growth and managing multi-channel campaigns that connect with diverse audiences. Passionate about storytelling, Madeline excels in creating compelling content that resonates with customers and stakeholders. With a proven track record of enhancing brand visibility and fostering engagement, she leverages data-driven insights to craft strategies that exceed business objectives.