Modern organizations already recognize that “knowing their audience” and mapping their strategy to target personas is the most effective way to resonate with the user and achieve higher growth and customer retention.
But when it comes to scaling your business globally and communicating your marketing message to global markets, the buyer personas and related customer journeys are often overlooked as a part of the process to tailor communication. Most of the time, marketing and localization departments have to focus on budget and deadlines and miss the market-specific attributes and behaviours that need to be built in.
As you communicate in so many different ways, how can you be sure the essence of your carefully crafted messaging doesn't get lost in translation? The answer might be simple, but requires strategic decisions from your side.
Different purposes, different localization approaches
Factual and accurate content
If you’re looking at informational messages, which do not need a cultural context, nor are subject to any misinterpretations, a standard translation is often the best choice. For example, when you are adapting content like technical brochures, the focus is on factual and technical accuracy, with a smooth, readable style.
A persuasive message in any language
When it comes to your brand’s personality, a simple transfer from English to a target language won’t do – as correct as it may be. The tone might be too formal or informal for some markets; the use of denominations can evoke a different context in different languages. To ensure your statement is still strong, but easily accepted by the target audience you need professional marketing translation.
Speaking to the heart of your audience
Finally, think of emotional connection. When you want to create the same feeling or emotion across your international audiences, you need to consider all linguistic and cultural nuances. In this case, transcreation allows you to recreate the same impact of the source message on its audience, for the target language’s market. The focus is not on content accuracy, but more on adapting your message while still preserving its intent. The approach is creative, with emphasis on your audience engagement and ensuring the copy will maintain true to your campaign goals.
So which approach to choose?
This is never an all or nothing decision. It all depends on your project, objective and not to forget; your budget. While transcreation can incur more cost, it brings a proven higher ROI when it comes to both quantity of leads and qualified conversions. Having a partner that can help map translation services and drive creative content across languages is key to ensure your campaigns success; generating demand and thought leadership worldwide.
Curious to know more? Learn how Acolad maps content to purpose – in every language! And how through combined digital knowledge, market expertise, linguistic talent, and multilingual copywriting skills; we can deliver content that succeeds across languages, consistently driving engagement and conversion in each and every market.
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