Marketing translation is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of the target audience, their cultural background, and their language. Unlike other types of translations, marketing translation involves not only translating the text but also adapting the content to the target audience’s language, culture, and region. This adaptation process, known as localisation, includes adapting elements such as currency, measurements, dates, design, and layout to ensure that the marketing materials resonate with the target audience and are culturally appropriate.
In addition, marketing translation also requires paying attention to other details such as puns and idioms, humour, brand, videos and imagery, and digital marketing aspects like SEO. A mistranslation or misinterpretation of any of these elements can lead to confusion, offence, or even failure to connect with the target audience.
At Bubbles Translation Services, we understand the importance of accurate marketing translation and the challenges that come with it. Our team of professional translators has extensive experience in marketing translation and understands the nuances and subtleties involved. We work closely with our clients to ensure that their marketing materials are accurately translated and adapted for their target audience, helping them to achieve their marketing objectives in any language and culture.
To help you with your marketing translation, here are our 7 tips:
1. Reflect on Localising Your Content
When it comes to translating marketing materials, it’s important to remember that translation is just one piece of the puzzle. While translating the text accurately is essential, it’s equally important to adapt the content to the specific culture, language, and region of the target audience.
This process is known as localisation and often precedes the language translation. It includes adapting elements such as currency, measurements, dates, design, and layout to ensure that the marketing materials are culturally appropriate and resonate with the target audience.
For example, a promotion offering “50% off” in the US may need to be changed to “half price” in the UK.
2. Consider Cultural Nuances: Mind Your Puns and Idioms
Be mindful of puns and idioms and ensure they make sense to your foreign audience.
Puns and idioms are figures of speech that can be challenging to translate into other languages. What may be clever or witty in one language may not be understandable or even offensive in another language.
For example, the phrase “kick the bucket” means “to die” in English, but in some other languages, it might not have a similar equivalent. When translating marketing materials, it’s crucial to ensure that puns and idioms are adapted to make sense in the target language and culture.
3. Navigate Humour (Carefully!)
Be careful with humour and humour styles, as what’s funny in one culture may not be in another.
Humour can be a powerful marketing tool, but it’s also subjective and can vary greatly across cultures. Jokes, memes, and other forms of humour may not translate well, or worse, may be considered inappropriate or offensive. It’s important to understand the cultural nuances and sensitivities of your target audience and use humour that is relevant and appropriate.
4. Translating Captions for Visual Marketing Materials for Accessibility and Engagement
Don’t forget to translate captions on videos or imagery to increase accessibility and engagement.
Videos and images can be an effective way to communicate your marketing message, but it’s crucial to ensure that any text or captions are translated accurately. Captions make your content accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and they also help to increase engagement and understanding among all viewers.
For example, if you’re promoting a product in a video, you need to ensure that the captions are translated into the target language so that your foreign audience can understand the benefits and features of the product.
5. Maximizing Discoverability (Keyword Research and SEO Optimization)
Conduct keyword research and update your site’s SEO settings to adapt to different searching habits in different regions: SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of improving your website’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages.
It’s important to adapt your SEO strategy to each language and region to ensure that your website appears at the top of search engine results for relevant keywords. Conducting keyword research and updating your site’s SEO settings in each language will help to ensure that your marketing materials are discoverable and accessible to your target audience.
6. Maintain Brand Consistency
Ensure that your brand and its message are accurately translated and represented in every language: Your brand is your identity and is essential for establishing a connection with your target audience.
It’s crucial to ensure that your brand message, voice, and tone are accurately translated and represented in every language. Your translated marketing materials should convey the same values, emotions, and feelings as the original content to maintain consistency across all languages and cultures.
7. Analysis for Accuracy and Effectiveness
Finally, it’s essential to analyse your final translation to ensure that your message carries across perfectly. Review your translated marketing materials with a critical eye, and assess whether the translated content accurately reflects your intended message and tone.
It’s also helpful to seek feedback from your target audience or local representatives to ensure that your marketing materials resonate with them and are effective in achieving your marketing objectives.
(Bonus Tip) Partner with Marketing Experts
We may be biased, but we believe that one of the most important tips for successful marketing translation is to work with a professional translation service provider like Bubbles Translation Services.
While it may be tempting to use free online translation tools or rely on bilingual employees, friends, family or local representatives, professional translation services offer several advantages that can make a significant difference in the quality and effectiveness of your marketing materials.
So, if you’re looking for expert marketing translation services, look no further than Bubbles Translation Services. Our team of professional translators have over 20 years of experience in translating marketing materials across a wide variety of markets, industries, languages, products and services – ensuring that they are accurate, culturally appropriate, and effective in achieving your marketing objectives.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you reach your global audience.
