If your business audience is spread over multiple countries with different languages, or perhaps you’re looking to grow your business by targeting the wider international audience, you’ll no doubt require some form of translation services.
Translation services can be for online marketing material, such as websites, social media accounts, white papers, and more. Targeting a new location (and language) can be a tricky process, and requires a careful and considered approach. Tools like Google Translate can be good for single words or phrases, but a professional translation service is the way to go for business material.
Professional language translation services can cater for the subtle differences which machine translation simply isn’t cut out for. A seasoned translator will be able to advise on nuances and turns of phrase which AI won’t.
So if you need a translation service for your business, take a look at some of our reasons below to go professional.
It helps to account for culture differences
As mentioned, machine translation is fine for translating simple words or phrases for personal use, but it has no way of accounting for cultural differences, and when marketing to an international audience, this is something which needs to be done right, or your marketing efforts will fall on flat ears and lead to embarrassing mistakes.
When taking a domestic marketing campaign to an international audience, it’s highly likely that changes will need to be made to better target the campaign to specific countries and cultures. This is where a professional language translation service would be vital, ensuring the message is delivered in a way that makes sense, as well as being well received and impactful.
For technical translation requirements
Many businesses and organisations provide customers with technical content, from manuals and instructions to software and safety documents. The translation of this kind of content needs to be impeccable, with no room for ambiguity.
When it comes to translating technical content, a professional service is a must. There is no room for error with the translation of a document which can impact the health and safety of a customer, as such mistakes can be incredibly costly.
Technical content also needs to consider how things work in other countries compared to the company’s existing location, such as which units of measurements are used for example.
Reach a wider audience
One of the more common reasons for businesses wishing to use a language translation service is simply so they can target a wider audience and grow their business. Branching out from a single target country to an international audience can have a profound impact on a business, and depending on the business type, can be easier than you might think.
For an ecommerce clothing retailer, expanding their audience to new countries isn’t too difficult from a content translation perspective, as these kinds of websites are mostly product / image based, and have little content. However, the social media campaign which runs alongside the website will need much more focus from a professional translator, in order to best communicate and get engagement from the local audience.
Whatever your reason for requiring a translation service, in almost all cases it pays to use a professional service, as it helps you to get the message right the first time, and get the most out of your international marketing budget.