Do you want to expand the boundaries of your business and reach an international market? Your contents are valuable and interesting and they can help your business grow abroad? Do you want to reach new customers through the creation of a multilingual site and you want their experience to be great? To make new customers feel comfortable, interact, and purchase products and services you need to rely on a team of localisation experts.
If you want to clear your mind about localisation, this article is for you!
What is localisation?
The term localisation is used to define the process of adapting content from a source culture so that it becomes linguistically, functionally and visually familiar to the target culture.
The content to be localised can be websites, software, applications, files, text, as well as multimedia content such as images and videos.
In front of a professionally done localization, the customer feels at ease, has no problems with comprehension, since the content comes out spontaneously, as if it was originally designed in his or her language; for this very reason, the customer should not be able to distinguish the original version from the adapted one.
Elements of localisation
Localisation is a complex operation that must take several elements into account. Unlike translation, which focuses only on the text, localisation deals with the cultural and linguistic aspect. For example, necessary changes will be made in a website to the alphabet, writing systems, numbering, date and time format, holidays, currencies and digits, weight systems, sizes, etc. with the goal of adapting content to the target culture.
In addition, there will also be a need to modify humor, idioms, irony, sarcasm, double entendres, or puns, all of which usually differ from one culture to another, and which must be repurposed correctly to achieve the desired effects.
Other cultural elements that may be subject to localisation are images and colours, which will be replaced by those more appropriate to the target audience.
The closer the site is to the social, cultural, and communicative characteristics of the country into which one wishes to introduce the business, the greater are the chances that the user, who considers the site as originating in his or her native language, will be encouraged to trust, interact, and make purchases.
Moreover, depending on the market to which one aspires, the tone of the communication, privacy regulations, legal information, payment options, addresses, contact information, customer support, and banners will also need to be considered.
Much attention also needs to be paid to SEM and SEO, to avoid localisation work being fruitless. Therefore, the use of a local domain, the identification of the proper keywords, translation of metadata, with the aim of optimizing ranking and indexing in international search engines, marketing advertisements, social media posts, promotional emails, etc. are equally important elements for the successful localization and success of your website.
However, it is also important to keep one’s identity intact, so the original site and the localised versions should be consistent with each other, such as through the use of small design elements, logos, menus, which should not undergo drastic changes.
Localisation process
Obviously, to achieve an optimal result requires a team of experts who know how to carry out the localisation process.
The basis of the localisation process is planning: the languages to which the content is to be adapted are chosen, the needs and goals of the company are identified. Once the guidelines have been drafted, the process moves on to the translation performed by professional native translators. Finally, the process concludes with the revision and the correction, to verify that the client’s needs have been satisfied and that the content is suitable for the target audience.
Why to choose localisation
Both large multinationals and local companies can leverage localisation to engage international customers, or even local language minorities, through the creation of specific websites.
Major research organizations have shown that most web users prefer to consult websites made in their own language. And, above all, the largest percentage of users make purchases if they consider content native to their culture, as they have no problem understanding the features of a product or service, and feel more confident by being able to understand the shipping process, return, or contractual terms of the purchase.
So, by making your content available in multiple languages and offering an authentic experience, localisation will allow you to reach more users, increasing your chances of gaining new customers.
Do you want to export your products and services abroad, investing in the future of your business, and do you want to do so by being successful? Rely on our team of specialists in localization, translation, cultural adaptation who will listen and meet your needs.
Contact us now, don’t wait any longer to reach your goals!