One of the best things about social media is that it gives marketers additional avenues to connect with clients and influencers around the globe.
However, the tough thing with multinational brands is that when they communicate in multiple languages, you need to have a somewhat different strategy.
This is where multilingual SMM comes into play.
With an average of five accounts per individual, there are well over three billion active users on the internet.
However, many businesses continue to undervalue the benefit of having a worldwide social media presence and believe that speaking one language is sufficient to achieve their goals.
Here, we will discuss how to engage your audience with multilingual SMM (Social Media Marketing) and the benefits it can give your brand.
Get to Know Your Audience
Discover the locations of your potential customers, as there are different ways to target the audience. For instance, use analytics tools and global audience research.
By doing this, you can make content that is customized and appropriate for them and adapt your multilingual social media strategy accordingly.
Find information about the language and cultural preferences, gender, age, demographics, regions, schedules, and social media usage of your potential customers.
Many businesses make the error of opening many accounts without recognizing that not every platform is appropriate for them.
Spend some time learning about each site, especially if you intend to post in several different languages and for several nations.
For instance, in some countries, your users might like Instagram, while in others, Facebook might be more preferred.
On the other hand, certain platforms may not be available or are even prohibited in other nations. You’ll ultimately save a ton of time and money by doing this preliminary research.
You’ll ultimately save a ton of time and money by doing this preliminary research.
Consider optimizing your social media strategy by determining the best time to post on Instagram for maximum engagement and reach.
Some marketing companies may provide you with a native speaker to maintain your social media presence for you or, you might have a staff member that is a native speaker who can do it for you.
The ideal marketer would be one who uses social media effectively, speaks the local language, and has a clear target audience in mind.
Someone who can devote at least a portion of their time to working on this should be chosen.
In general, businesses usually do deep research to find an experienced SEO specialist when they consider multilingual SMM for that particular language.
This way they are able to find someone who understands their business intentions and their target audience, which allows them to create a strategy that fits both the company and the audience’s needs.
How you could also achieve this, is by finding and hiring digital marketing companies in Europe, Canada, Portugal, or wherever you are, and letting them do it for you with great expertise.
Native Multilingual Content
You should not only publish content that is focused on your brand but also to share content that is helpful with your followers.
It’s crucial to be genuine and able to connect with your audience when you do that. Ideally, you wouldn’t simply convert English-language posts into another language.
If you do, you will undoubtedly come out as robotic and cut off from the genuine subculture in your language and target regions.
It’s not just about the material; it’s also about the message you’re sending and the tone you use.
Many individuals, who are native or proficient speakers of the language you are using in your online marketing strategy, understand the natural way that language functions.
Hence, they can notice a machine translated text.
In many cases, this kind of method leads to a message that does not have cohesion or does not sound natural.
Simply put, using translation tools without having someone to check the text and rough-tune the message to fit your target audience, won’t have the same effect as native material.
You may occasionally want to translate international “lazy tweets” and other pre-written, pre-formatted information that was originally published in English, since it may be the kind of content that can be spread across many markets without risk.
Even then, be sure to modify it rather than merely translate it. For some situations, transcreation might be an option.
The last important factor to consider when it comes to creating multilingual content for different audiences is to check what platforms your target audience mostly uses.
Some social media platforms and how they are used, differ greatly between countries.
For instance, Twitter and Facebook are quite popular and frequently used for business networking, but LinkedIn is not particularly widely used in Japan.
In order to determine the type of social media presence you require, you must pay special attention to the local market and each language.
They frequently differ depending on the market, as well as how you use them.
Make sure to check country-level data to get informed about the new market you are trying to target to then successfully create a strategy that aligns with that market for your business and the message you want to communicate to your target audience.
Multilingual SMM Benefits
Embracing multilingual SMM offers numerous advantages in engaging your audience and boosting your brand’s success on a global scale.
A key benefit lies in the profound understanding you gain about your diverse target audience, their unique preferences, and the nuances of local cultures in various regions.
Through extensive research and analysis, you can craft a tailored content strategy that resonates with each specific demographic, promoting a sense of relatability and trust.
As you successfully engage and connect with your global audience through multilingual SMM, you foster meaningful relationships.
This, in turn, cultivates a sense of loyalty and advocacy among your international customers, as they feel acknowledged and appreciated by your brand.
Such strong bonds lead to increased brand loyalty and ultimately drive your overall success in the global market.
Conclusion
The benefits of multilingual SMM are far-reaching. By understanding your diverse audience, tailoring your content, localizing your messaging, and collaborating with local influencers, you can establish a powerful international presence, create lasting relationships, and elevate your brand to new heights of success.
