Erica Sunarjo / February 12, 2020
More than half of all queries on Google are in languages other than English. And you can’t ignore this fact. If you want to sell your products worldwide, you should make your website accessible for non-English native speakers.
Statistics show that 78% of online buyers are more likely to place an order on the websites that are localized. So if you localize your site, you will attract more customers from overseas and boost your sales.
In this article, we will show you five best ways to boost your marketing efforts and get the most from your marketing localization strategy. Let’s get started!
Local translators are the best localization experts, and that’s a fact. They know the best how to use this or that slang word, or how to express the specific idea using a local proverb.
Local experts can help you not only translate your website correctly but also to optimize your international marketing strategy. Ask them for advice, and they will point out the weaknesses of your current plan and suggest ideas on how to improve the situation. Yep, when it comes to localization strategies, local translators can help you more than your marketing department.
For instance, if you are going to enter the Mexican market and need to translate your website into Spanish, don’t hire an expert from Spain. Do your best to find a qualified translator from Mexico. It will help you to boost your localization efforts and achieve the goals set.
If you believe that successful localization is all about translating every page of your website to 101 different languages, then you are wrong.
The point is that you don’t have to localize each piece of content to achieve the results you want. You shouldn’t waste your time and money on that. Your primary task is to analyze the behavior of your local customers and figure out what specific pages should be localized.
Let’s consider an example to understand how it works. Imagine that your company targets Brazilian and French customers. You look at your website statistics and see the following:
If you want to optimize your website for these markets, you should focus most of your efforts on two tasks. The first task is to provide more details regarding shipping in Portuguese for your Brazilian customers. And the second task is to translate customer reviews in French to make them accessible for French customers. If you do it, you will take your marketing localization strategy to a brand new level.
According to statistics, seven of the ten top markets by iOS downloads and nine of the ten top markets by Google Play downloads are non-native English markets. What does it mean? It means that the vast majority of users who download apps from the Apple Store and Play Market are not English native speakers, but they have to use apps with an English interface.
If your brand has an app, you should localize it. You should make it accessible for prospective customers from your target markets.
But you should also understand that the process of app localization is even more complicated than web localization. It’s a tricky task to translate menu buttons, CTA’s, and error messages from one language into another by using approximately the same number of characters.
Take a look at the following screenshot: there are three phrases in English, Germany, and Japanese. As you can see, the length of phrases varies a lot from language to language.
“If you want the app localization goes smoothly, you need to do one of two things. You can hire a localization expert who is familiar with the basics of UX writing. Or, you can invite localization experts to collaborate with UX designers, so they will be able to create an easy-to-localize app for your brand,” says Rebecca Scott, an expert in certified written translation at The Word Point.
Your website and your app are not the only things that you should localize. If you want your brand to succeed in a digital age, you should also localize your social media presence.
Statistics show that 95% of 18-34-year-olds and 92% of 35-44 year-olds social media users follow brands on Instagram. If you want to reach this audience, you should make sure that your content is written in accessible language. There are many ways to localize social media presence, and you should choose the one that fits your company the most.
Here are two bonus tips for you:
Image Credit: Instagram
Image Credit: Instagram
The first rule of business is simple: don’t expect to get excellent services for little money. If you hire a newbie in translation who charge $2 per hour, don’t expect that your marketing localization strategy will bring any positive results.
The localization process is rather sophisticated and time-consuming. And you should understand that the price of high-quality translation and localization cannot be low.
So if you operate on a budget, you should conduct research online and read real customer reviews before making a final decision. You should make sure that you are choosing the best localization agency (or the most qualified localization expert) and that you will get the best service for your money.
If money is no object for your company, you shouldn’t rush to pick the most expensive localization service on the web. You should consider a few options and read reviews to make sure that you will not overpay.
Effective marketing localization strategy is a great tool to reach overseas customers and increase sales. So don’t hesitate to use it. Hire real experts in localization, and you will take your business to the next level.
