Marketing for a multilingual audience is complex; each country, culture and language has its own unique traits and quirks which won’t translate well into another language.
And, if you’re hoping to motivate a new audience to buy your products, use your service, or endorse your brand, you’ll need to connect with them in their language and on their level.
Below you’ll find 5 factors about multilingual copywriting that every firm should know to increase your chance of success…
1. Customers Engage when Copy is in their Native Language
If you aren’t localising your firm’s website, advertising materials and social media for each location – you should be!
Most customers prefer to purchase from websites in their native language, using local currency, and which meets their expectations for typical design and layout.
If your website only offers an English language version, foreign-language speaking customers may still be able to use your site, but they are less likely to engage with content on a deeper level or feel compelled to purchase your products or services.
Localise your content for each location, checking you’ve selected the right language, tone of voice and approach for your target audience.
2. It’s not just Language which needs Localisation – images do too
It is easy to concentrate so hard on getting the language aspects of your multilingual copywriting correct that the images on your website or marketing materials are overlooked.
This can be a huge mistake.
International audiences may be offended by some of the images or find they are at odds with the written aspects.
For instance, an advert showing a partially dressed woman may be perfectly acceptable in the Western world, but to an Arabic-language speaking audience, it is likely to cause offence.
Localise images based on the dominant culture and consider other aspects such as, colour, nature, landmarks, people, and so on, to give your new audience the experience they deserve and expect.
3. Multilingual SEO
Multilingual SEO is vital for success in a new territory.
Simply allocating a massive budget for a new overseas expansion isn’t enough to ensure success – you can throw lots of money into a multilingual website and advertising campaign, but if you haven’t considered how your customers will search for you, what search platform they prefer, or what keywords will be needed, then you run the risk of no one even finding your website.
As with language and images, multilingual SEO requires a unique approach for each region and language.
Ask your translation provider or professional Language Services Provider (LSP) for advice on multilingual SEO, well in advance of copywriting and content being created, so it can be perfectly planned.
4. Research, Research, Research
You might have guessed by now that one of the key points to successful multilingual copywriting is knowing your audience.
Research is vital to understanding your audience and should include (at the bare minimum) the following:
• Language and dialects
• Culture
• Location (people, places, area, settings, and so on)
• Target market
• Demographics
• Audience expectations
• SEO information
• Marketing laws and regulations
• Competitors (especially those that are native to the country you are targeting)
• Professional Language Service Providers best suited to your requirements
5. Use a Professional Language Services Provider (LSP)
It is tempting, especially when working with a limited budget, to use cheap alternatives for your language services such as, Google Translate, or a bi-lingual employee.
However, while this might save money in short term, it is likely to be at the expense of accuracy which will cause a lack of custom and sales over the long term.
Using a professional LSP for multilingual copywriting (one that specialises in the desired target language is best) and pays dividends in the long run.
Your multilingual copywriting will be linguistically accurate, culturally appropriate and appealing to customers.
For advice, or more information regarding multilingual copywriting for international audiences, call our expert localisation team on +44 (0)20 8408 2268.
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