The Language of Globalization in a Post-Covid World
Acolad is a Business Reporter client.
Is globalization in decline? By some measures, it seems to be. The pandemic has caused a sharp decrease in the movement of physical goods and people across borders. And even before the pandemic, there was a strong movement towards onshoring and shorter supply chains.
The reality is that globalization isn’t weakening as a business trend, but is changing, driven by digital technology.
In a world of digital trade, globalization is no longer about having a physical presence in other countries; online assets are now more important. And, especially in the absence of local structures dedicated to each market, it’s essential that businesses communicate effectively in each of the territories they wish to trade in.
But how can a business communicate effectively in countries where different languages are spoken and consumer behavior is influenced by different values, beliefs and cultures?
Fewer than 5% of the world’s inhabitants —about 360 million people —speak English as their first language. And while many more can understand English (some 1.5 billion people who are learning it), people are much less likely to buy products if descriptions are not in their own language; recent research shows that 76% of online shoppers prefer to buy products with information in their native language.
Finding the right partner to adapt and localize products and ensure clear and accurate communication in international markets is key for any growing business. Since 1993, Acolad has helped businesses communicate effectively with their audiences worldwide and deliver effective messages in a large variety of languages. A top-five content and language services provider, Acolad employs a global network of 20,000 language experts and can handle more than 300 language pairs (such as English to German, or French to Italian).
Working with renowned companies in each field, Acolad offers a unique translation capacity across 15 different industry verticals, from bioscience and e-commerce to financial services and high-tech, with experts who understand the specific problems and jargon of these industries.
Strengthening global communication with culturally adapted content
For global brands, translation isn’t a simple process of turning a word in one language into a word that means the same thing in another language.
A simple example is seen in the differences between British, American and Indian English. In Britain, people generally talk about the “boot” of a car. In India, it’s the “dicky,” and in the U.S., they have a “trunk.” Any translation of “boot” clearly needs to take the word’s context into account.
There are lots of examples like this, and while they don’t necessarily cause complete confusion in different markets, they it’s likely that a marketing message will be weakened when someone comes across a word they aren’t familiar with. Different channels and audiences require not just accurate translation, but also different content.
This is where Acolad steps in, with local subject-matter experts who can help localize the meaning of the message for the local audience. More than simply trying to find the right words in another language, Acolad focuses on the intent of the message and how it should be perceived by its audience. This gives a strong competitive advantage to companies that are exporting goods and services, even when they don’t have detailed knowledge of the export market.
Effective localization requires local insights into what is relevant to the target audience in that territory, including an understanding of how a brand is used locally: —for example, whether it is considered a luxury or mid-market brand—and the age of the target market. In addition, the cultural context must be considered, and color, icons and humor may all require careful localization.
For example, as well as marketing content, it’s important to localize software, product instructions, internal communications, e-learning content and even multimedia such as graphics and video.
Non-linguistic aspects of localization are also important. When translating documents such as flyers or white papers, formatting can be a problem because some languages take up more space than others. For example, German is 30% longer than English. In this case, localization needs to consider the layout of the document as well as the message. This may might mean that parts of an English document that is being translated into German may need rethinking completely.
Driving efficiency through technology
With a workforce that includes 200 technologists, Acolad also leads in technological innovation, especially in the fields of connectivity and integration.
The use of connectors that integrate with existing content management systems allows all new content created online (for example, on a website or intranet) to be automatically translated to all target languages through an efficient, centralized process.
This type of approach is extremely effective for companies that manage large and rapidly changing sets of content, such as retailers. Global brands that deal with dozens or even hundreds of different languages can also benefit from the increased speed and savings that Acolad’s innovative technology can bring.
Optimizing for search engines by understanding local language use
Sometimes, localization demands that translation doesn’t take place at all. Accepting this is important for search engine optimization (SEO), an important part of any marketing activity.
Finding the most effective search terms in the local language will affect the success of a marketing campaign. But it isn’t correct to assume that keywords always need translation; the English versions of some technical words are sometimes used more frequently than local terms. For instance, in Taiwan, the word “dropshipping” has more searches than its Chinese equivalent.
That’s why it's important to understand local behavior when localizing content. Local search engines and language versions of global operators maintain different indexes that reflect these differences in behavior. So, when optimizing keywords, it’s also important to check the terms used on local search engines.
Choosing the right global content partner
Businesses continue to globalize, and translation services and language technology are becoming increasingly important. However, effective translation is far more than turning a word from one language into another. It involves translating meaning, tone, and emotion as well as words, and adapting translation for the local markets where it will appear.
The complexity of this challenge is why choosing the best global content partner is important. Acolad combines translation technology with human expertise to offer high-quality language and content solutions.
High-quality localized content delivers a better user experience for audiences and more effective marketing campaigns for exporters and companies reaching into new markets. By combining technology with the deep insights into local markets that native industry experts provide, Acolad is helping to assure the successful future of global business.
With Acolad as your global content partner, your organization will be empowered to optimize its international marketing opportunities, reach new markets and deliver a better user experience.
This article originally appeared in Business Reporter. Header Image Credit: iStock id1219919130
