Over the years, social media has evolved from a mere communication and connection platform for personal use into a vital business tool allowing businesses and organizations to connect with their global audience. And with this global coverage comes the need to translate your social media to meet the needs of your global audience.
If you are still debating whether or not to translate your social media, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss why it pays (and saves) to translate your social media. Let’s get started.
Benefits of Translating Your Social Media
Translating your social media into languages that your global audiences are accustomed to has numerous advantages for your business.
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Massive Global Coverage
One of the key benefits of translating your social media is that it allows you to reach a massive global audience. According to a report by Datareportal, as of July 2021, there are over 4.48 billion social media users globally. This represents about 57 percent of the world population. So, by running multilingual social media, you reach a larger percentage of social media users globally. Massive global coverage translates to increased global brand awareness at an affordable cost.
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Increased Client Engagement
Having multilingual social media gives your global audience a platform to interact with you in their native language. This makes them comfortable, and they feel that you have their interests at heart, which increases overall client engagement.
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Increased Returns
Running multilingual social media is a form of investment for your business because a lot of time and resources go into translating your original content into different languages. And like with any other investment, you expect a decent Return on Investment (ROI) from this.
Typically, when social media translation is done accordingly, it increases global coverage and client engagement, resulting in increased sales. Increased sales translate into increased returns or a high ROI.
Potential Perils of Not Translating Your Social Media
If you fail to translate your social media, your global audience may feel like you don’t clearly outline how your business operates. They may not understand how you collect and process their personal data and the safety of the data collected, among other vital information.
Failing to translate your social media not only reduces global coverage and customer engagement but may also see your business face a lawsuit.
For instance, the Netherlands recently issued a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming that this social media platform had failed to offer its privacy and data protection terms in the Dutch language that younger users could easily read and understand. As a result, TikTok was fined 750,000 euros (U.S. $885,000).
So, in extreme cases, failing to translate your social media can have negative financial and legal implications on your business.
What to Keep In Mind When Translating Your Social Media
So, what should you keep in mind when translating your social media?
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Think of Your Main Language Audiences
Social media translation is a process that calls for a lot of research and planning. You don’t just wake up one day and decide to translate your social media to Dutch or Mandarin.You need to do some research and critically choose the main languages you’ll use to translate your social media to achieve the necessary global expansion.You should think of how your main language audiences use social media. Look at their most prevalent social media platforms.
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Do Not Use Automatic Translation
If you want to run successful social media in several languages, don’t rely solely on automated translations. Poorly translated content can seriously damage your brand, and such blunders can be costly to correct.So, it’s advisable to invest in top-notch translators who provide expertly and culturally adapted content that suits your global audience.
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Consider the Need to Adapt Content (Localization/Transcreation)
Remember that cultural references or jokes in one language may not have the same impact or relevance in another language. So, it’s advisable to consider social media transcreation for your content to make sense in a foreign language market.
Bottom Line
Social media translation is one of the vital tools you need to create and maintain a global audience. Translating your social media helps you reach a large global market, increases client engagement, and offers considerable ROI in the long run.
Photo credits: Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels
