Today’s world is all about communication and data. There are thousands of bytes of data flying every which way. Transferring information breaks linguistic barriers and brings people closer. Through translation, you can share the same information with a much larger number of people. You can reach audiences across the world that you might not have reached otherwise. Thanks to this more and more content is translated, scientific, philosophical, literary, commercial, political, artistic, and more. It used to be a domain for the few, but now it has become a widespread business tool. Marketing content included.
Translation is not just a concept but an entire process. It is a complex activity that requires close reading of a passage in the source language, analyzing it, understanding what it means, and then creating a meaningful equivalent in the target language. But it's not as easy as simply taking a piece of content in English and translating it into French, Spanish, Chinese, or any other language. You need to mind the target culture, standards, voice, tone, style, and flow.
And localization is even more than that as it gives that final touch to linguistic work aimed at new markets speaking different languages that have their own culture different from other cultures you want to communicate with. It's not just converting a piece of text into a native language of some people you don't know. It's about serving your global market, embracing cultural nuances, minding the locale, and overcoming cultural differences to create brand awareness in foreign markets.
Establishing a presence in a global marketplace is a challenging process for marketers. Many people think that in the era of the internet and Google there are a few things easier than that. Wrong. Providing relevant content to internet users concerning cultural norms while overcoming language barriers has become a complex business process. User experience requirements are evolving very quickly and demand different ways of handling them. Market research is no longer providing all the required details about different target groups. There's no single type of content that you could map out to a specific group once and for all. The best way to reach new customers worldwide is a clear content localization strategy that will build your brand loyalty.
In the quest for the best localized content, marketing executives ask many relevant questions that enable them to run the whole show effectively and get the desired results. If you are one, here are twelve questions you should ask yourself first before you go on asking questions to your potential language service provider and take your next steps in your content translation and localization journey.
Often, translation service companies need clarification concerning the professional translation that other organizations demand. The more specific the translation, the more clarity is needed. Even if the text is not specific, it might have been written by a non-native writer, which makes the language ambiguous. These are the reasons, among others, that require a professional translator to ask questions. If you don't hear questions from a translation agency, that's a red flag.
Sometimes, even though the text is clear, the provider may want to ask questions to confirm what to avoid or add. Other times, various terms might have multiple meanings depending on the context. You have to make sure to openly communicate your preferences regarding the content that you want to translate/localize.
If you are running on a tight deadline, it is better to discuss these matters at the start instead of getting stuck somewhere in the middle or counting on the translator to guess what you want. It's a time-consuming task that doesn't need to be that way, actually, and you might not have the time for that.
Another thing that we cannot overlook is the human factor. Some errors might have slipped into the source text while it was being created. When this happens, the translator will have to ask questions so that they can avoid the same mistake in the target language. The willingness of a linguist to correct errors they spot in the source text is always a good sign.
For any translation to be good, you have to make sure that it is:
All these details are checked during the Quality Assurance (QA) phase of your translation/localization project.
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There are a lot of things that clients can confuse with translation. And you need to know what you're buying, right?
These include:
You might feel like getting into the project as soon as it lands on your desk but take your time. It will save you time later on. You need to know what type of project you are working on and what you actually want. That is why you should ask all these questions before starting your content localization project. What? Who? How? Why?
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The very first thing that you need to do is to define a project’s scope. What are the specific business needs that you want to be addressed through translation? The scope will help you set realistic goals to meet your goals. One of the most important tasks in any translation project is assessing the source materials. You have to make sure that they are what you need to deliver the result you expect.
Yes, we know you want to start to localize your marketing materials ASAP but if you don't plan your actions, your efforts may work against you on the international market.
The scope of the project is always a result of a well-devised content localization strategy. In turn, the scope affects the workflow and the nuances of the marketing localization project, such as international SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and keywords, translation process and/or content localization process, tools, success metrics, and so on. This way, your localization efforts will be laser-sharp and you'll avoid burning a hole in your pocket with the speed of light.
You have to know what content formats you want to be localized. And there are multiple formats your localized content can be made available in to your audience.
It could be a simple PDF file that you can email to your client. It can be a blog post in HubSpot CMS or WordPress or a technical marketing piece created in Adobe InDesign or Microsoft Publisher with all those layout details important for how your new app will be perceived in your target markets. It can be a social media post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter directed towards a new audience on a local market that's supposed to get your global brand new followers who will become your potential customers and ultimately, buyers of your product or service.
There are a lot of options for you, but you have to consider what the clients can work with best. If you are using a CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tool, there are some formats that do not work with it. Asking for the client’s requirements about the file format can put your mind at ease, and you won’t run into any issues mid-project or at the end.
You might not have considered it, but knowing the target audience is crucial for the entire localization process. That's what content localization actually starts with.
For example, you have some marketing material that needs to be localized. Your translation service company needs to know who is the recipient of this material. Whether you are talking to children or parents? High-tech executives or gamers?
Different target audiences mean different options and different outcomes. For a younger audience, you will not use heavy-handed words. You will want to keep it simple and clear. If your audience is a literary bunch, you will want to use idioms and write in eloquent language. This is why understanding the needs of the target audience is vital for you.
These special instructions could be anything. That is why you need to have them ready as early as possible. Suppose you are working for a software development or distribution company. In that case, there might be certain words that you would want to be kept in the source language. They may be commonly accepted words that do not need localization. Or untranslatable product names. You may want to keep the source language for some phrases but add the translation in brackets for people who do not understand. This is a common technique when translating software documentation or help when the UI itself has not been localized.
You also have to know how long the text can be and whether there are any character limits. Your translation provider needs to know that so that you don't have to resize the user interface elements later during testing.
The same is true for website content or marketing content. In marketing content, you may be asked to keep certain phrases relating to the company intact.
You are free to define any relevant requirements, instructions, or more. And your marketing translation service provider has to know about all of these things before they start their work.
Instructions are particularly great for accountability and quality scoring. Usually, all these details are defined in service level agreements (SLA) between you and your LSP.
Why would you need a glossary for a marketing translation project? There are many benefits to that but it all leans on one thing: your unique specific brand and industry jargon.
An approved glossary of terms helps keep the translation and message consistent across all your communication. It also helps you save time and energy. If you don't have a glossary, you can order glossary creation from your provider. They will extract the common terms, build the list of term candidates, and once they got your approval, they will translate them and send them for your final sign-off. When everything is ready, they will use a terminology tool so that translators can see live what term you prefer to be used in your multilingual localized content.
The more the merrier. The more context and additional information your language service provider has about the materials they work on for you, the better the quality will be. Sometimes even the best translators in the world can't figure out what it is your writers wanted to say.
Translation changes depending on the context. Also, some phrases have different meanings depending on the context. With insufficient context, there are increased chances that the translation will be incorrect. Just look around you. You will start noticing t-shirts, manuals, and other mediums with the wrong translation or translation that doesn’t make any sense. The chances are that the translator didn't have enough additional information about what they were working on.
This is one of the most important questions you need to ask before starting any translation project. It becomes even more critical if you and your localization company are based in different time zones. For this reason, you don't only need to know how much time you have for translation but you must objectively assess how much it will really take (your provider will tell you, yes, they do have credible efficiency metrics for anything they do for you and they will be more than glad to share it with you so that you are on the same page on what's possible and what's not). Then you can easily work out the final deadline that works for you and doesn't affect the quality of your multilingual assets.
A good starting point is analyzing how many words your translation agency will be able to do daily. Your team’s productivity can tell you all about the timeline that you need. However, it's not always the same for all materials. For example, it could be 3000 for manuals, but you will have to lower it when marketing content is required. Creativity takes time. The same holds for software strings. Take a look at the example below showing productivity in words for different types of content.
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You also need to make time for any unforeseen circumstances and other steps in the process. Depending on your project specs and scope, localization involves additional actions like revision, quality assurance, and linguistic testing. This means different people or even teams working together at the same time.
With a bit of good localization project management, the turnaround time is always under control as per your requirements.
Some languages have multiple versions depending on the culture, geography, and more. These include English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and many others. English is spoken in America, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, but they all have their spin on it. The same is true for the Chinese language. There is Mandarin, Cantonese, Simplified Chinese, and more. Same for Brazilian Portuguese vs. Portuguese used in Portugal.
Knowing which dialect you want can help your translation provider with their task. If you do not have this information, you run the risk of doing a lot of hard work for nothing. This will increase the project’s cost as well as time. With improper locale, your content won't resonate with your audience. For example, a voice-over for a commercial in Arabic for a Saudi Arabian company recorded by an Egyptian voice talent will not be received with much enthusiasm, to say the least.
What are you looking for in a localization company? Speed, quality, low price? What are the results you expect? Pass on this information to your translation company openly. Leave no margin for interpretations. If they understand what you want to accomplish, they will come up with a tailored solution that will work for you.
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Yes, translation is a complex task with multiple factors affecting it. Marketing content localization is even more so. If you start your translation journey without asking the right questions, you might end up on a dead-end street.
With open communication, there comes full transparency between the two parties. Only this way can your provider deliver exactly what you want the way you want without your investing any unnecessary time and effort. And that's why you hired them in the first place, right?
Hold on, that's not all... Go and grow!
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