How to Ensure Your Translated Marketing Campaign Works

When choosing to translate your marketing campaign, there are a number of essential factors to consider. Marketing translation is a specialized field of translation requiring expert knowledge of both the translation and the marketing industry. This is not something all language service providers can offer due to the expertise required. However, when you find a company that offers expert marketing translation, there are a few things you should look out for…

Check for Marketing Expertise

This might sound obvious, however it’s the most important step in finding the right translator for your marketing campaign! Ideally, you should seek an expert in both your source and target language pair and the marketing industry. This way, you can rest assured that your project is in the best possible hands. It also means that if there are any issues with direct translation, the translator has enough external knowledge to know the best course of action for problem resolution. This reduces mistakes and makes the process quicker than if the translator had to wait for external help.

Determine your Target Audience

In order for your translator to effectively complete the translation, they must be aware of the target audience. This knowledge will allow the translator to guarantee the content is both localized and in context. Your target market will also determine the language choices your translator will use. Localization is often overlooked; but it can make or break your marketing campaign – particularly if it’s missing.

Make Your Brand Known to the Translator

Although you know your company inside-out, your translator may be limited in their knowledge. You must ensure that you fully convey your company’s mission, ethos and ultimate goal for them to be able to adequately emulate your brand’s voice, for example with careful word choice. Many brands have a set database of pre-approved terminology for use in marketing. Sharing this with your translator as well as working on a database of the same terms for your target language will establish consistency across the projects and future endeavours.

Allow Enough Time and Budget

When compared with other types of translation, translating marketing campaigns can be very time-intensive. In marketing translation, the meaning of the text tends to be more open to interpretation. It’s up to the translator to create text in the target language that reflects the intended meaning of the content. This is particularly true for headlines, slogans and copy, as these usually require multiple revisions to get them over the line. Having said this, sometimes marketing translation isn’t enough. If needed, transcreation can guarantee your message is heard correctly and clearly by your target audience.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of language service providers out there, but when you need a specialised translation, it’s important to ensure you’re working with the best. If you would like to find out more, check out our page about marketing translation services, or email us at hello@transglobeinternational.com.