The Blueprint for Global Content Marketing: How Leading Brands Are Globalizing Their Demand Generation

Transcription

1 The Blueprint for Global Content Marketing: How Leading Brands Are Globalizing Their Demand Generation

2 Introduction In an age where marketers are striving for more personalized marketing, nothing is more personal than language. People naturally expect communication in their native language, and they avoid situations in which they are forced to do business in a foreign language, even one as widely used as English. In today s world, the buyer is in control, looking for whatever information they want, when and where they want it, says Kate Lacey, Director of Professional Services at LeadFabric, a lead generation and marketing consulting company. If you re in a local context, you certainly expect content in your local language. The need to extend your marketing globally has never been more dire, and the rising volume and complexity of marketing programs are adding to the challenge. What s a demand gen marketer to do? This ebook will provide: Tips for creating global-ready content; Best practices for globalizing even the most challenging types of content; and Essential techniques for streamlining the translation process The challenges of today s demand gen marketer are defined by three key trends: In today s world, the buyer is in control, looking for whatever information they want, when and where they want it. - Kate Lacey, LeadFabric International Markets are Surging 20% 16% U.S share of world GDP per year Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 33% 31% 12% 10% 9% 5% English-Only Marketing Turns Off International Customers Buyers Abandon Websites The navigation is not in my language or the site keeps reverting to English I accomplished what I came for and left The site requests too much personal information The site is slow to load and crashes I abandoned the shopping cart due to transaction problems There was too much animation or too many graphics Can t Read, Won t Buy: 2014 Common Sense Advisory Survey of 3,000 global shoppers. International average. Content Marketing Is Exploding 70% of marketers are producing more content than they did a year ago 13 Marketers use an average of 13 tactics. Content Marketing Institute s 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends North America report. 2

3 Best Practices For Global Content Marketing Success The first step to global success is to create marketing content, from the start, that can be localized to suit international markets. Here are some dos and don ts for creating global-ready content: RR Do be careful about the use of numbers, colors, and animals. They have different meanings in different cultures. For example, the color yellow is associated with mourning in Egypt. RR Do avoid culturally unique expressions. Phrases such as barking up the wrong tree, take a rain check, and even help yourself may not translate well. RR Do keep cultural and social norms in mind. The picture on your website of the professional woman with the unbuttoned collar may not go over well in some countries. RR Do design with translation in mind. Leave enough space for multilingual captioning and don t embed text in the graphics. QQ Don t use maps, flags or references to regions involved in border disputes. QQ Don t create content devoid of any humor or cultural references just for the sake of easy and accurate translation. You need a more nuanced and thoughtful localization strategy beyond simply translating your copy. You might need to swap out imagery, idioms or color schemes to convey the desired message and brand experience. You might determine that some assets are simply not appropriate for all geographies. If you have global aspirations, your localization should go beyond the language to encompass cultural and regional nuances as well. 3

4 Launching a global content marketing strategy requires a carefully orchestrated plan. Consider these steps: Decide whether to localize your website by language or by geography One early decision you must make is whether to localize your website by language or by geography. Marketers should consider whether the same French language website will be used for customers in Eastern Canada, Western Africa, and Southern Belgium. You also need to consider the different channels for doing business you may have a different sales and fulfillment process in Paris than you do in Montreal. Most companies start with English, followed by 11 Tier 1 languages that account for more than 88% of the online economic opportunity, according to Common Sense Advisory. Every company is different, and you may identify strong markets where it makes sense to provide support for some less common languages. Include search engine optimization (SEO) in your localization strategy Just as you would localize any other marketing asset, SEO keywords should also be vetted by a language and locale expert. Localized SEO keywords should be added to your terminology database, a resource used by content creators to ensure message consistency and keyword density. Most importantly: Do the keyword research in each locale and language because you might uncover some unexpected results. For example, in Italy, the hybrid term for cheap flights voli low cost has eight times more search traffic than the straight Italian translated phrase, voli economici. Mobile app localization represents a powerful opportunity In countries such as China, Russia and Brazil, where mobile phones are the primary means of Internet access, a modest investment in translating your mobile app can be a much more important first step toward market penetration than translating other longform documents and traditional websites. Mobile apps typically have stripped-down content and functionality and, therefore, are often surprisingly economical to translate. You need to consider SEO, mobile and whether to localize by language or geography as you map your translation strategy. Is Not The Only Game In Town SEO strategy can vary widely by region, particularly in countries that have strong competitors to Google. 80% 70% 60% Naver Coverage in Korea Baidu Coverage in China Yandex Coverage in Russia Source: The Webcertain Global Search and Social Report 2013, Dec. 4, the-webcertain-global-search-and-social-report

5 Strategies For Localizing Video Forrester estimates that 60 seconds of video is worth 1.8 million printed words. Video is an incredibly powerful medium and is a growing line item in most content marketers budgets, but many still consider it to be too difficult to localize and translate. Here are common ways video can be localized: Voice-Overs Voice-overs generally require hiring a voice talent (a person trained in vocal talents) to record in a professional studio environment. This audio can be localized in two ways: Voice-over only. The video s original voice audio track is turned off, and a localized voice-over is applied in its place. This method can pose a problem if talent is speaking on-screen, because lip movements may fall out of sync with the translated audio. Voice-over and original. Also known as overdubbing, this is a technique where the volume of the video s original audio track is turned down so the listener can still hear it while the localized voice-over is layered on top of it. TV newscasts use this technique frequently. You hear the original speaker start in their language, then after a few seconds, that audio track is turned down, while an interpreter speaks over it. This allows the viewer to hear the original speaker s tone, while understanding the interpreter s words. Subtitles Subtitles are translated text strings displayed on-screen. Subtitles work best when the video has little other on-screen text or action commanding the viewer s attention, and when the pace is not too rushed. Don t overlook video as you translate and localize your content library. 5

6 On-Screen Text On-screen text refers to translatable words that appear as part of the video, such as animated text, titles, or text that appears as part of a graphic. Watch any news program to see an example of on-screen text. Provide The Original Project File In general, you should always try to provide your video localization vendor with the original video project file (Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Elements, etc.) used to produce the video output. If you have the original video project file, it can be quite easy to localize trickier aspects like on-screen text and audio, but otherwise it might be necessary to reproduce the segment. Video localization can seem complex and daunting. However, given the power of the medium and the investment you ve already made in producing the video in the first place, the additional cost of localization can be surprisingly modest and the impact of extending it to international markets can be great. 6

7 Social Media And User-Generated Content Brand marketers know that they cannot always control the message. Social media outlets and product reviews contributed by customers have become important drivers of customer perception, especially given the shift to self-education during the purchase process. Brands should be prepared to engage in these conversations, which are happening in multiple languages. Customers acting as company advocates can be powerful brand ambassadors on social media. Positive reviews can be translated to amplify the voice of satisfied customers. TripAdvisor, the wellknown travel website featuring user-generated reviews of destinations, lodging and restaurants, is a great example.they translate their customer reviews into 13 languages to increase the impact and effectiveness internationally. It is tremendous volume two billion words per month! But the move has paid off in increased user dwell times and a reduction in bounce rate from 70% to 25%. They use automated machine translation to process this huge volume cost-effectively and in near real-time. TripAdvisor translates customer reviews into 13 languages. The payoff: increased user dwell times and a reduction in bounce rate from 70% to 25%. 7

8 Should You Centralize Your Translation Management? Most organizations have de-centralized translation management. Many groups within the company marketing, packaging, documentation, product development, legal, etc. have the need to translate content to other languages. Each group works with their own translation vendors without ever comparing notes about processes, costs, and terminology. Organizations with de-centralized translation management often can t even get an accurate estimate of how much money they are spending as a company annually on translation. When you centralize your translation management, you create a translation services group or center of excellence within your organization. When the individual departments have translation projects, they hand the project off to the translation services group, which applies standardized workflow processes, approved terminology and style guides, and works with a short list of approved translation vendors. Manual Translation Process: Manual export/import and copy/ paste between systems Manual (or no) cost reporting & tracking Manual communication through s & attachments Manual project status tracking Manual (or no) application of Translation Memory Manual (or no) updating of the Translation Memory Over 30 manual steps! Translation Management Software: Automatic content transfer between systems Automatic cost reporting & tracking Automatic task assignment, document work flow & notification Automatic project status tracking/ audit trail Automatic application of Translation Memory Automatic updating of Translation Memory once translation is approved 5-6 manual steps... everything else is automated! 8

9 Why centralize? Standardization of terminology for consistent global brand messaging. There may be several different ways to translate the same phrase, points out Lacey from LeadFabric. The other interpretations may be literally correct, but you want to get the correct nuance every time. Consistent terminology use and tone of voice is the cornerstone of building an effective brand. Process automation for speedier completion. Translation Management Software can be deployed to define workflow processes and efficiently move the job between project managers, translators, and reviewers. These software systems can automate processes and speed project completion. is initiated, the CAT software runs the new document through the Translation Memory and any exact matches are translated automatically and at a reduced cost. As time goes by, the Translation Memory gets more and more powerful and saves you more and more money. If Translation Memory can be leveraged across the entire organization (marketing, packaging, documentation, etc.), then the impact of Translation Memory on cost is multiplied many times over. Cost-effective vendor management. Centralization can contribute to improved visibility into all translation costs across the organization, and it gives you the ability to negotiate collectively, based on volume, for the lowest possible cost per word. Translation Memory cost savings. Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) software has a feature known as Translation Memory. Each time a translation project is approved, the software remembers the approved translation for specific words and phrases. The next time a translation project 9

10 Conclusion Marketers are making tremendous investments in content. But those content resources are not working to their full potential if they are only accessible to English-speaking prospects and customers. Marketers must reach a global audience, and each audience member expects content in their native language addressing their local needs. If marketers don t take a global view of their content, their competitors will be happy to fill the gap. While there are tremendous challenges associated with content translation, there are powerful processes and technologies that can make it costeffective to translate content at scale. 10

11 About SDL 201 Edgewater Dr. Wakefield, MA Delivering a culturally relevant and personalized experience to international customers relies on your ability to speak their language. SDL s integrated language platforms provide the technology and services you need to deliver local language content across every step of the customer journey. About Demand Gen Report 411 State Route 17 South Suite 410 Hasbrouck Heights, NJ info@demandgenreport.com Demand Gen Report is a targeted e-media publication spotlighting the strategies and solutions that help companies better align their sales and marketing organizations, and ultimately, drive growth. A key component of the publication s editorial coverage focuses on the sales and marketing automation tools that enable companies to better measure and manage their multi-channel demand generation efforts. 11