Let’s say you want to expand your business abroad. You want to sell your skincare brand, or you want to offer your healthcare app. A new country often means a different language, culture, traditions and habits that you must know if you want to communicate with them. How can you convey your message to your new audience? How can you be sure that your content really resonates with people from diverse cultures? The answer is content localization.
What is localization?
Localization adapts your content to a specific locale or market. This process involves different aspects such as the translation of texts and subtitling, the adaptation of images, time formats or currencies.
Benefits of localization
Why do you need to localize your content or your product?
- Go global: Thanks to localization, you can reach new markets and expand your business.
- Make your brand local: Localization conveys your message to the specific audience you are addressing to.
- Better SEO and UX: if you localize your content, you’ll adapt and improve your SEO and UX as well.
- Increase trust and engagement: People prefer to read content and make purchases in their own language. Therefore, localized content helps you to build trust with your customers and to increase your engagement.
Are you ready to localize your content? I made a list with a few tips to help you through your journey.
5 tips for localizing your content:
1. Pay attention to idioms, puns and wordplay
These elements can’t be expressed with a basic literal translation. You need to convey the same ideas and concepts to the target language.
2. Use relevant references
A celebrity well-known in France can be totally unfamiliar in Italy. The same goes for national sports, music or television. Adapt your references using equivalent examples that are culturally relevant to your target audience.
3. Choose appropriate graphical elements and images
Pictures and colors can have different meanings depending on the culture. For example, in Western cultures white represents elegance, purity and peace, while in some Asian countries (such as China and Korea) symbolizes death and bad luck. Therefore, it’s essential to choose what is more suitable for your target to avoid unpleasant situations.
4. Adjust date, time formats and prices
Your e-commerce should display the right currency for the target audience. Spain and Portugal? Convert prices in Euros. The UK? Use pounds. Don’t forget to adapt date and time formats as well!
5. Use inclusive language
Avoid words or expressions that could exclude specific groups of people. Try to use gender-neutral terms such as humanity, police officer, person instead of mankind, policemen or man/woman.
Ready to take your business on the Italian market? Contact me and tell me about your project.