The world of online marketing is becoming more saturated. If you want your business to stand out, you need to feature localized online content.
Nowadays, saying that content is king is not enough. Localized online content refers to delivering a specific message that effectively suits the needs of local consumers. If you want to promote your brand and get the attention of potential customers, your online marketing efforts should not follow a one size fits all approach but use a localized strategy.
But don’t worry. Localized online content is not as complicated as it sounds. If you sell products or services to a certain region, chances are, you have already applied it in your marketing to deliver useful information to your customers.
This post has been updated in August 2021.
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What Is Localized Online Content?
By now, you probably know that your business needs to get on board with having a localized online content strategy. This tip is not merely a trend. Around 79% of people expect brands to give them personalization, so this approach is a must if you want your advertising materials to resonate with people. In short, this will make your customers happy.
Many business owners falsely believe that localization means translation. While translating your message to sound local is a big part of localized online content, there is much more that goes into it. Master this craft and all your content will seem authentic to your audience.
Localized online content also requires brand owners to think about colors, music, symbols, images, and even the subject of their content. For example, if you are selling to a Chinese market, you do not only need to translate your language from English to Mandarin; you also need to change the currency from the US dollar to the Chinese Yuan. Another example is the use of the color white. While this may signal purity in some countries, there are regions that associate it with mourning.
One of the key aspects of localized online content is cultural awareness. So avoid jargon, puns, and jokes that may not register well with a certain group of people. You should also research hand gestures that may have different meanings in some places.
It would be impossible to carry on with this content approach if you do not know your customers. So make sure you have spent time analyzing your audience, as well as their shopping and purchase behaviors online. For example, if you are selling rain boots, your audience in Arizona’s deserts may not have the same needs as your customers from Seattle.
Why You Need Localized Online Content
Now that you know what localized online content is, you’re ready to dive into how this method can help your business.
Not everyone speaks English
What is the most common language on the Internet today? If you think it’s English, you’re making a grave mistake for your brand. Only 25.3% of people on the Internet prefer the use of English over other languages. That leaves almost 75% of individuals who might feel alienated if you only use English as your medium of communication. Think about it. How can you sell products and services to people who do not speak the language?
However, it’s not wise to avoid using English. As a responsible brand owner, you should make translation easier for other markets by using concise and natural language. This strategy will help you decrease the complexity of your message. When your content is clear and simple, it will be understood and appreciated by your audience.
Keep in mind that localization is about making your customer’s experience feel authentic. This goal includes the use of your words. Around 86% of localized ads perform better than English campaigns in conversions and click-through. So if you plan on penetrating markets in Africa or Europe without making an effort to tailor your content to their native language, you are bound to fail.
Customers use varying online platforms
For effective localized online content, you need to prepare assets that include images, promotions, and messages, among other bits of key information. Not everyone uses the same platforms on social media and the Internet. So the only way you can craft an effective campaign is to research which channel your audience uses the most. If not, your efforts will be in vain.
Localization is not easy since it comes with many complicated considerations. For instance, your company may use advertising on Facebook as a critical marketing channel. But if you want to be popular in China, you have to use their preferred platforms, which include Weibo and WeChat. Why is this important? With more than 1 billion people in China and 854 million Internet users, only 1.8 million Chinese consumers are on Facebook. If you place all your marketing funds and efforts on Facebook, you won’t get much of a return on investment in China.
Flexibility and localized online content should go hand in hand if you want your strategy to realize amazing results. Have a clear picture of websites that are popular in particular countries, like Yandex in Russia or Weibo in China. If you are not following these websites and considering these search engines for optimization, your online marketing efforts will not get seen by anyone in these countries.
Generate a better connection
One of the biggest benefits of having localized online content is the ability to catch people’s attention. Localized content works like magic in helping you connect with your target audience. And after all, isn’t this the whole point of your carefully crafted marketing strategies?
Having localized online content will put your customers in context by capturing what they are interested in. This trick will also promote the understanding of your brand, especially when you make references to local places and terminologies that pique their interest.
Once you regularly update your website and social media platforms in the language of your customers, you will also increase your engagement rates. After all, people will be more inspired to share and comment on your post if it speaks to them.
It is also essential to consider that not all campaign strategies will work the same. Just because something became a widely successful campaign in one region does not mean it would have the same result in another. For example, a Halloween campaign that involves kids dressed up as zombies may work in the US. But there are other cultures that won’t receive this image very well.
Improve credibility
Localized online content enables your business to blend in seamlessly with the audience and market you want to target. This ability will transform your business into a familiar brand for consumers and will make you appear more trustworthy.
When you localize your ads, you generate a strong marketing message which will strike a chord in your audience. This result will lead to increased brand loyalty. And increased brand loyalty leads to increased sales and word of mouth benefits for your company.
Give you an edge
Only a couple of years ago, localizing your ads and posts did not give you a significantly different increase in sales. However, that is clearly not the case now. If you still haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, today is a great time to start focusing on localized online content.
Once your customers understand your language and can relate to the imagery, beliefs, and messages you post, they will be more likely to purchase from you. If you produce localized online content creatively, it will position you ahead of your rivals in the industry. Your local customers will be more likely to go with your brand instead of your competitors since they identify with your ads more. This benefit will aid you in capturing a larger market share.
Proven to increase sales
Once you have a website or accounts on various social media platforms, you will have virtually unlimited access to your audience. Gone are the days when selling goods and services online were only done by multinational companies. Now, everyone has a fair chance to succeed on a global scale. However, this can’t be done by only offering your product in one language and ignoring what people want overseas.
With only 26.3% of transactions on the Internet involving the English language, there is a large market that you can tap if you can speak effectively to your customers. Considering this, you may need to translate your website into several languages to access all potential customers.
Increased visibility
The goal of every business is to share space with its audience at all times. Having localized online content will not only help you get the right message out to your customers, but it will also aid you to improve your ranking on various search engines. When your website and social media accounts are localized, and you’ve considered appropriate keywords and images, your message will become more visible.
Visibility is important. If your potential customers don’t see your offer, how can they purchase from you? Your goal should be to appear high up on search results. For instance, if you are selling vacation rentals globally, and use the term “vacation,” it won’t do well in countries like the UK and Australia. The reason is that people in these countries use the term “holiday.” Naturally, their queries will differ compared to people from the US. Locally-relevant information will improve your authority for geo-modified search results.
It is also important to remember that not all people use Google. For example, Baidu is China’s largest search engine. Knowing this will help you take important factors into account to help you with your ranking and conversion rate.
Be culturally appropriate
You may be shocked to learn that even some of the biggest brands in the world have experienced failure because of translation issues. When Coors’ slogan “Turn it loose” was translated into Spanish, they wrongly used the colloquial term for diarrhea. Ikea products were even marketed in Thailand with Swedish names that locally translated into “getting to third base.”
Once you have localized online content effectively, you will be avoiding these mishaps. This process is essential since many countries, especially in the Middle East, have a severe punishment for culturally taboo ads. When localizing your ads, ensure that you employ the right people and do enough research on the region’s languages and dialects, fears, and beliefs.
Localized Online Content is Getting More Traction
If you want to increase your sales or expand your business, you have to improve your engagement with local markets. After all, customers today want a brand that speaks to them and offers products that they believe in. Now you know how localized online content can help. With this knowledge, your brand is ready to take the leap and become the next big thing.
So consider employing localized online content for incredible results!
