It’s International Day of Translation today, so I thought it would be good to talk about a multi-lingual audience and share some top tips for communicating in a different language. Firstly though, you need to establish if you are really ready to start communicating in another language – have you got an effective communications plan in the existing language, do you have an engaged audience and content that works well, and do you have the time and resource to start again in a different language?
Are you interested in reaching out in a different language (producing a brochure in a different language, translating social media content, or conducting interviews in another language)? The first question I always ask is:
Do you have that language on your website?
Your website is the hub for all activity and where you should be strategically driving enquiries in order to convert them to sales, if this hub only features one language then the rest of your content should follow suit. What will the call to action for your communications be – where will you send them for more information if you do not have that language used anywhere else?
The second question would be whether you or any of your team actually speak that language? Again, if you communicate in another language, people will assume you can speak it – they will more than likely want to be able to talk to someone for more information. At the same time, media outlets may well pick up on the translated content (whether this is a translated press release you have issued, or even simply a tweet) and may want to conduct an interview, and it would look very unprofessional to then not be able to provide a spokesperson.
If you do have both of these bases covered, then it may well be time to dive in to a communications strategy that features multiple languages. There are two main points to remember before you get started:
1. You can’t just translate existing content.
Communications in another language should each be drafted from scratch in each language by a native speaker to ensure any humour applies and the desired sentiment remains. Language is not just about words, it is the phrases and expressions, the sensitivities and humour. Remember to review the images too, as not all images, graphics or memes will work across different languages – and some may even go as far as to cause offence.
2. You need to create additional social media accounts
Content and messaging should be personalised for each audience, don’t try to reach everyone at the same time. It is therefore more effective and engaging to have different pages/accounts for different languages. People don’t want a feed full of multiple posts from you with the same message in different languages, particularly if they cant understand it. Create different pages/accounts for the different languages and then share the relevant content for each at the right times.
There’s a lot of time and work involved in engaging with a multi lingual audience, and as I said at the start, you really need to establish if you are ready for this – and if it’s worth the investment! Make sure that there is enough demand for multiple languages, depending on the area you operate, many people are happy to communicate in English for business, and you need to be sure the input required has the potential to generate the desired outcome.
For any questions or advice, as always, please do feel free to drop me an email: sam@footstepcommunications.com
