Nowadays with the social networks everything is at your fingertips, just pull your phone out of your pocket and you have an answer to your question within seconds. Moreover, for many years, social media has become purchasing channels. Indeed, we can promote his brand, services or products on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. This can help to be known, to be aware of the latest news and market trends and especially to be visible to news customers at any times.
While knowing that people spend at least 1 hour per day on the social networks in a personal way, so being able to reach these people in these moments is great for companies. But to increase your chances you have to make the customer feel as comfortable as possible. A confident customer is more likely to engage and one of the best ways to make them want to read your post or article is to have it written in their native language. This concept is called localisation.
What is content localisation and why?
Localising your content is more about making sure that the message is well adapted and understood by the target than about correctly translating the original text. When you localise your content, you are targeting not only your client but also the country in which you wish to convey your message.
When we know that more than 50% of the people that present on social networks speak another language other than English, we can ask ourselves the question of the neglect of other languages. Indeed, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Arabic are very present on Facebook or Twitter. So, it’s important to take this into account if you want to maximise your chances.
It should be noted that there are several benefits to localise your content, it improves the credibility and reputation of your business. Winning new customers in new locations also helps you to become better known.
This also allows you to avoid cultural errors. Indeed, not adapting your content but rather doing a literal translation could be seen in a bad way by your audience which won’t feel directly targeted. You should be aware that words are only part of the translation.
In addition to costing anyone any money, a mistranslation can show a certain lack of respect towards your audience. A simple mistranslation on one word can result in a significant loss of business. As shown in the article ‘The 7 worst famous fails in global Marketing’
For example, when Coca Cola chose ‘Kekoukela’ as its advertising slogan in China, the real meaning for Chinese people is ‘toad filled with wax’…
As you can see, localisation on social networks is very important, but not only that, in any field and on any communication channel it’s essential to not translate word for word without considering the meaning of your message. While it’s true that today big companies have made great strides in translation, for the time being this doesn’t replace the accuracy of a human translation. That’s why 2002 Studios, whatever your project, commits great importance to translating, transcribing, or preparing your scripts with native speakers in order to ensure that your project is as good as possible.