Virtual entertainment has turned into a basic piece of any business’ showcasing system. However, if you want to reach a global audience, it’s essential to have multilingual social media accounts. According to a study by Common Sense Advisory, 75% of consumers prefer to buy products in their native language, and 60% of consumers rarely or never buy from English-only websites. In addition, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have more than two billion active users each month, with a significant portion of these users located outside the United States. This makes having multilingual social media accounts crucial for businesses that want to expand their reach and increase their revenue.
However, managing multilingual social media accounts can be challenging, especially when it comes to translating content accurately. In this blog, we’ll share some tips on how to manage multilingual social media accounts through translation successfully.
1: Hire a Professional Translator
The first and most important tip for managing multilingual social media accounts through translation is to hire a professional translator. While it may be tempting to rely on automatic translation tools such as Google Translate, these tools are often unreliable and can produce inaccurate translations. Inaccurate translations can confuse your audience and damage your brand reputation.
Professional translators, on the other hand, can ensure that your content is translated accurately and effectively. They have the expertise and knowledge to understand the nuances of different languages and cultures, ensuring that your content is culturally sensitive and appropriate for your target audience.
2: Plan Ahead
Another important tip for managing multilingual social media accounts through translation is to plan ahead. Develop a content calendar that includes all the posts you plan to publish on your social media accounts. This will help you plan your translation services in advance and ensure that you have enough time to get everything translated.
Planning also enables you to create a cohesive content strategy across all your social media accounts. It ensures that your content is consistent and relevant to your target audience, regardless of your language.
3: Be Culturally Sensitive
When translating your content, it’s crucial to be culturally sensitive. Different cultures have different values, beliefs, and customs, and using language that could be considered offensive or inappropriate in other cultures can harm your brand reputation.
To be culturally sensitive, you should work with professional translators who deeply understand the culture and language you are translating into. They can help you avoid cultural faux pas and ensure that your content is appropriate for your target audience.
4: Keep Your Brand Voice Consistent
Regardless of your language, it’s essential to maintain a consistent brand voice across all your social media accounts. This means that your content should reflect your brand’s personality and values, regardless of the language you are using.
Keeping your brand voice consistent reinforces your brand identity and makes it easier for your followers to recognize your content. It also helps to create a sense of trust and familiarity with your audience, which can lead to increased engagement and loyalty.
To maintain a consistent brand voice, you should work with your professional translators to ensure that they understand your brand’s tone, style, and values. This will help them translate your content in a way that reflects your brand’s personality and resonates with your target audience.
5: Engage with Your Audience
Engaging with your audience is essential for any social media strategy, but it’s even more critical when managing multilingual social media accounts. When engaging with your audience, ensure you do so in all the languages you use on your social media accounts. This will help to build a strong relationship with your followers and create a sense of community around your brand.
Responding to comments, likes, and shares in your audience’s language shows that you care about their needs and preferences. It also demonstrates your commitment to providing excellent customer service and building long-term relationships with your followers.
6: Monitor Your Social Media Accounts
Monitoring your social media accounts is essential to ensure your translations are accurate and your followers engage with your content. By monitoring your social media accounts, you can quickly identify any issues and address them.
Make sure to track your engagement rates, follower growth, and post-performance across all your social media accounts. This will help you identify which languages and content types are resonating with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
7: Use Translation Tools
While hiring professional translators for accurate translations is essential, you can also use translation tools to help you manage your translations more efficiently. Translation tools such as SDL Trados, MemoQ, and Smartcat can help you translate your content quickly and accurately.
Translation tools can also help you save time and money by automating tasks, such as translation memory and terminology management. They can also improve translation consistency by ensuring that the same terminology and phrasing are used consistently across all your content.
Real-Time Data References
To illustrate the effectiveness of these tips, here are some real-time data references:
72.4 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by Common Sense Advisory stated that they would be more likely to purchase a product if it contained information in their native tongue, and 56.2 percent stated that the capacity to obtain information in their native tongue is more important than price.
In another study, research by CSA Research found that companies that invest in localization see an average return on investment (ROI) of 157%.
Additionally, research by the European Commission found that 42% of EU citizens never buy products or services online in a language other than their own. This highlights the importance of having multilingual social media accounts for businesses that want to reach a global audience.
Conclusion:
Successfully Managing Multilingual Social Media Accounts
Managing multilingual social media accounts through translation can be challenging, but by following these tips, you can do it successfully. Hiring a professional translator, planning ahead, being culturally sensitive, keeping your brand voice consistent, engaging with your audience, monitoring your social media accounts, and using translation tools are all crucial for managing multilingual social media accounts effectively.
Doing so can reach a global audience, increase your brand awareness, and improve customer engagement and loyalty. With the right strategy in place, multilingual social med
