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According to GWI, one out of three working-age internet users relies on digital tools to translate text into their native language every week. It could be significantly higher in some locations. It shows that despite living in a technologically advanced age, language barriers are still an ever-prevailing problem that shatters the customer experience of many online shoppers
Today, we will discuss the customer experience and how you can enhance it through multilingual content for your international audience. We will talk with leading experts who have worked in a translation agency or who have been long-time gurus in the digital marketing community.
If you want to learn more about this, then keep on ready!
Two Barriers that Prevent International Customers from Fully Immersive Experience through Your Content
There are two barriers that content marketers have to overcome if they’re planning to create an immersive experience for their international customers: cultural and linguistic barriers. These two usually go hand in hand as you can culturally connect with your customers without considering the linguistic aspect of content creation.
Let’s first discuss the cultural considerations you must consider when planning your multilingual content strategy. There are six dimensions of culture to consider when taking into consideration:
- Power Distance – It’s the acceptance and expectation of social power distribution from businesses to individuals.
- Individualism vs. Collectivism – Some countries lean more towards individualism over collectivism and vice-versa. In a more individualistic society, they prioritize independence. Collectivist societies emphasize the interdependent relations they have in their society.
- Masculine vs. Feminine Cultures – In more masculine cultures, they are motivated by wanting to be the best, while more feminine cultures are motivated to enjoy what they do.
- Long-term Orientation – Some cultures have a pragmatic approach and embrace change in their culture, while others have a normative approach and are wary of change.
- Uncertainty Avoidance – Some societies have high uncertainty avoidance and feel threatened by the uncertainty of the future. At the same time, some societies are low in uncertainty avoidance and comfortable with change.
- Indulgence – Some societies are more restrained while others are more open with their desires and impulses.
By studying your target market’s cultural dynamics, you can better understand how to best approach your audience. Even though you might be targeting a non-English speaking market, if the demographic group you’re targeting is predominantly English speakers, you can still incorporate the English language in some of your content.
There are risks to translating content into another language.
Based on failed marketing campaigns in the past, they translated their marketing content word for word without thinking of the cultural relevance. It is why we advise that before you start planning your multilingual content marketing strategy, you should seek out professional translation agencies and marketing experts with the experience and skill to market to a foreign market.
Due to the high risk of marketing in another country, some companies create online communities for their target market to have a more nuanced understanding of their target users before having a full-on content marketing campaign. With the assistance of a translation agency and local moderators, they create content and directly interact with users who joined, enhancing the overall customer experience. But that’s one way you can promote yourself through the multilingual content you create for your target locale.
What is Customer Experience and Why is It Important?
Let’s first define it since we’re discussing multilingual content enhancing the customer experience. The customer experience (CX) is creating a positive experience for your users by solving their problems, providing relevant information, or providing entertainment.
CX is more important now than ever in content marketing because of how highly competitive it has become. Most people don’t look to ads to buy products. They get introduced to a brand or product through the content that they read online.
Because CX prioritizes and concerns itself with providing the best service to your customers, the same can be said for the content you create.
For example, have you searched online for something because you needed to solve a problem? You found an article that seemed like it could solve your problem. But after reading it, you realized it was a waste of time because it didn’t help you with your problem.
That’s an example of how a negative CX in your content can drastically affect how your customers perceive your brand. Now think about your international customers who are non-English speakers.
As mentioned above, one out of three non-English speakers online uses translation tools as they search online. But suppose your users rely on online translation tools, like Google Translate. In that case, it isn’t advisable because even though it has greatly improved, there’s a higher chance that the translated content will be inaccurate and awkward. It’s because you will still need a specialized translation agency to translate marketing content to do it, as automated translation isn’t capable of comprehending the cultural nuisances in a text.
Lessons from Master Marketers in Creating CX-Centered Multilingual Content
Now that we’ve discussed the various considerations and reasons why cultivating positive CX-centered multilingual content is crucial if you’re planning to attract international customers, let’s discuss some advice and tips from master marketers from professional translation agencies and the content marketing sector from around the world
Tomedes
Tomedes is a translation services company that provides multilingual content creation and market research solutions to small-medium enterprises and Fortune 500 worldwide. We were fortunate enough to talk with William Mamane, Chief Marketing Officer of Tomedes, who has managed several translation projects for content marketing campaigns.
“From my experience managing translation projects for 6 years in Tomedes, the most common problem that I noticed is that they don’t have a deeper understanding of their target audience,” Mamane explained.
He said that market research is absolutely crucial for the success of a content marketing campaign. He said that having a period of research and preparation has a higher chance of successfully creating a content marketing campaign for their target market than a rushed one.
Anvil Media
One of the reasons why most markets get wrong when creating content is that they failed to hire advisers or experts from the country they’re planning to enter. That’s according to Kent Lewis, the Chief Marketing Officer of Anvil Media, a marketing agency specializing in SEO and social media marketing.
“Just because someone speaks a language doesn’t mean they truly understand the cultural or linguistic nuances of the language, country, or region. Native speakers are helpful, but those that have lived in those countries have the most valuable experience, ideally meshed with copywriting or marketing experience,” Lewis explained.
His advice for creating CX-centered multilingual content is by hiring native marketing employees or professionals, like a translation agency, who have a better understanding of each country you’re planning to enter.
Marketix
Failing to collaborate is one of the most common mistakes content marketers make. For Shoaib Mughal, founder of Marketix, an award-winning SEO Agency in Sydney, it doesn’t mean having partnerships and brand ambassadors promote your content.
“We mean finding real people that you may make an article about or ask for an honest review from. Interactions from clients and users help build your brand and content credibility. To successfully market whatever niche you may have, you will always need to promote first-hand experiences of people with your brand,” Mughal said.
This will create more intimate and compelling content that many onlookers may connect with—creating potential leads to your benefit.
HARO SEO
Lack of tactics and no financial planning for ROI are another reason why many fail successfully to create CX in multilingual content. For Sam Browne, the CEO of HARO SEO, an SEO and digital marketing agency that has been facilitating companies for 15 years.
“In the digital age, it’s almost pointless to execute a marketing tactic without considering SEO as such a tactic, in the first place, will not be perceived or seen by the audience,” Browne explained.
He continued, “While marketing is generally a risk, such a risk should still be calculated. Consult your foreseeable expenses with a financial advisor so that you can have a backup plan when marketing tactics slide down the drain—and ROI can gear towards fruitful outcomes. We don’t want efforts to go to waste just because risks aren’t calculated properly.”
OSDB Sports
It’s not just as simple as translating for your current regional strategies. According to Ryan Rottman, the Co-Founder and CEO of OSDB Sports, the messaging really matters but you should also consider the location and the products or services that you offer.
“[M]any advertisers don’t take the differences between markets into consideration, including what may appeal to specific locations and what doesn’t. This is why your marketing campaigns should be altered to work differently with local partners and collaborators, as well as exploring potential affiliates that are more visible in each market,” Rottman explained.
Rottman explained that it’s vital that not only the brand message adapts to the preferences of your target audience but also the products or services to make it more accessible and relatable to them.
Final Thoughts
Even though times have changed in how we promote brands and advertising, creating a connection with the target audience has always remained consistent. The same can be applied to how we create multilingual content. That’s why it’s crucial that if you want to enhance and maximize the CX in your multilingual content, researching and planning out your content strategy with or without a local marketing adviser or a translation agency can drastically affect the success of your multilingual content marketing.
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