It’s a great idea to expand the number of languages that your business operates in. This can be something as simple as offering all the main or popularly spoken languages in your area on your website. People like to engage with brands in the way that they feel most comfortable. For example, if you operate out of Florida, not offering a Spanish side to your website can truly alienate a lot of potential customers.
Many companies fall into really unfortunate issues when it comes to translating and offering multiple language platforms, so to help you avoid their mistakes, here is everything you need to know, in advance.
They Use Automated Translations
Automated translations do have their use. You can put a translator plugin into your site so that customers can translate your content to any language, for example. This is a quick and easy way to cater to those who speak languages that you do not currently support. They might not be completely accurate, but they should help people navigate your site.
What they should not be used for, however, is with your business-facing content. If you have a Spanish, French, or German side of your site, it must be professionally translated. Only then can you really benefit from language nuance, and with a professional translator working for you, you can make sure that your content reflects your brand identity.
They Don’t Create Content with the Audience in Mind
You need content that appeals to the audience that is reading it. This is basic stuff, but simply translating posts often doesn’t make the cut. Big pages, master posts, and white pages can be translated professionally and should offer value to everyone who reads them. However, fun pieces that you use for a holiday or other purposes need to be specific to the audience.
A good way to add content in other languages correctly is to hire a freelance writer who’s native language is Spanish or whichever language you are focusing on at the moment. This way, they can create and recommend content that will appeal to that customer base.
They Don’t Have a Streamlined System
Small language projects can often be handled in back-and-forth email correspondence, but when you have a lot of translating jobs to be done, this is not sustainable, nor is it efficient. As you grow, you will need translation management software.
Translation management software is a language-specific management system that streamlines the translation process and makes it easier to manage and approve your translators’ content. The best ones can also link up to your existing CMS systems, expanding their capabilities.
They Don’t Offer Customer Service in that Language
You may have to outsource for this part but know that customer service should be handled in the languages that you feature on your website. This is the best way to grow brand loyalty because when someone has a problem, they don’t want to stumble through it and try to explain it in their second or third language. Your main team can handle the requests, but there should be a native speaker there to understand the problem and assure your customer.
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