Content Localization : Going Beyond Translation for Global Audiences

Today, in times when local languages are strengthening their foothold in mainstream business, the first thing companies eyeing geographical expansion do is translation. Content localization for the target audience’s language is among the foremost priorities. Of course, that’s obvious and necessary as translation simplifies many things. However, amidst the competition around, businesses cannot merely translate and wait for wonders to happen. They need to go beyond translation and invest in content localization while targeting a global audience. But how do they do it? Here’s the answer.

Targeting Global Audiences – Vital Strategies to Consider

It isn’t about merely translation anymore but localization, contextualization, and internationalization. So, here are some useful strategies companies should consider while working on content localization and paving the way for more global business.

1. Content Localization

Content localization is a broad area encompassing numerous critical factors. Localization deals with adapting a particular product (in this case, content) to the local culture.

Accordingly, it would involve understanding cultural nuances, traditions, values, preferences, and offenses. Additionally, it would require companies to modify their content to match regional dialects, local linguistic styles, and local terms and terminologies. Furthermore, businesses cannot discount localizing images, colors, and symbols to align with cultural likes and sensitivities.

Following the best content localization practices can help companies make their business look native. The potential outcome is increased trust, engagement, and business.

2. Contextualization

Another significant aspect to consider is contextualization. It would involve studying the current trends, social-political environment, and history. Additionally, companies should also consider personalizing examples, idioms, and metaphors to make them locally relevant and resonating. Besides, adapting to different content formats like text length, etc., to match the content usage habits and patterns of the local target audience.

3. Internationalization

Internationalization refers to designing products to meet the needs of various countries or adapting them easily to achieve the desired objective. Thus, essentially, internationalization refers to designing a mobile application in a way that when you translate it from English to French, its aesthetic layout and other elements remain unperturbed and work equally efficiently in both versions. In a nutshell, internationalization requires modifying content to comply with the cultural, technical, and linguistic needs of a particular country.

Benefits of Going Beyond Translation

Going beyond translation has its unique advantages, including the following.

Widened Outreach:

Localization always helps you have the upper hand. It broadens your outreach and helps you cover a wider target audience segment. Precisely, it refers to targeting and capitalizing on leads from a broader geographical area.

Strengthened Trust:

Brands that appear native stand a higher chance of being trusted by the target audience. People want to buy from global brands but in their localized form. This is where localization proves strategically important.

Enhanced Engagement:

Where there’s trust, there’s engagement. Brands that appear reliable to the target audience engage more meaningfully with the target audience. It could lead to fruitful interactions that mean business.

Growth in Leads:

A comprehensively localized website or mobile application can drive more local traffic owing to the presence of the local language. It can mean more local opportunities for the business.

Increased Sales:

A considerable amount of people interact and transact with websites providing them with offerings in their local language. Hence, a digital platform with localized content can have a higher potential of converting leads into sales.

Are you looking to expand geographically and content localization, internationalization, or contextualization services? Partner with Fidel. While following the best localization practices, our experts leverage their linguistic, cultural, technical, and contextual understanding to deliver highly accurate localized content.

Additionally, with over a decade of a successful track record and experience serving diverse business domains, we can prove a distinct localization partner. Please email us at sales@fidelsoftech.com to explore more about our content localization services.

Ref. No – FB01241079