A Step-by-Step Guide to Communicate Effectively with Your Global Target Market

Localization is the process of making your brand’s content (like websites or apps) more accessible to people in other countries. Language translation is the first step in localization, but that’s not where it ends. Content localization strategy is the key to building your brand in foreign markets.

What is Content Localization Strategy?

When you localize your content well, you can adapt your marketing strategy to the unique cultural details and tastes of a different country. Localization makes your content feel real to the people you want to reach in a foreign market.  For example, you wouldn’t want to market “sweaters” in the UK because they are referred to as “jumpers” there.

Advantages of a Content Localization Strategy

With a localization strategy, you can reach out to people all over the world and avoid making expensive marketing mistakes.

Here are some of the benefits of localizing content:

1. Getting more visitors, sales, and money

Adding different languages to your website can make a huge difference in how many people visit and how far your brand is known. Studies show that most shoppers from other countries only buy products from brands whose content they can understand. A good plan for localizing your content gives you an edge over your competitors.

2. Increasing customer trust

Customers are more likely to trust eCommerce and online businesses that have taken the time to translate their websites into their native languages. When content is tailored to their culture, they will be more interested. People like brands that know how important it is to market to each person individually.

3. Getting better results from search engines (SEO)

If your SEO keywords don’t work in the language of your customers, they won’t be able to find your content. For instance, Spanish speakers probably won’t look for a “smartwatch” on Google. They would instead look for a “reloj inteligente.” Localized content uses keywords that are good for SEO and help new visitors from other countries find your brand and products.

How You Can Communicate Effectively with Your Global Target Market?

1. Choose the markets and languages you want to serve

The first step in making a localization strategy is to choose which countries and languages to focus on.

So, what is the best way to begin? Here is what we think:

Look at your stats

Website analytics can help find untapped markets that may need websites in more than one language. Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are just some of the websites that have analytics built in. Use this information to sort and narrow down your audience by where they live.

Look into the market

Next, do some research to see if your site or product would work well in a local market. The best place to sell your content will depend on what it is you’re selling.

2. Select the Elements You Wish to Localize

After you know your target audience, you need to decide what content you want to change for your new audience. You can localize anything, from apps to websites and even social media posts.

It’s typically best to start with your most popular content and scale from there. After all, localizing already-made content is a lot cheaper than starting from scratch when making content for other countries. When you translate a website, for example, you should think about localizing all the important content that affects the customer experience.

3. Find the Right People and Tools for Translation

Next, you need to choose which tools for translation and localization you want to buy. Even though it’s tempting to use free machine translation tools for big projects, you might get what you pay for. AI tools like Google Translate can make mistakes in context and with the way words are put together.

Instead, hire a professional translator who knows both the language and culture of the people you want to reach. Most professional translators are native speakers who know a lot about how different cultures work.

4. Measure Your Success

After you have localized your content, it’s time to see how well it’s doing. Keeping track of the return on investment (ROI) of your work can help convince stakeholders to keep putting money into localization.

Many brands use data tools like Google Analytics to get a high-level view of their translation metrics. Often, data shows that localizing your brand can set it up for growth and success in the long run. Many companies in the Fortune 500 found that investing in translation helped them make more money.