Expanding your advertising and marketing efforts to international markets is an exciting and crucial moment for your brand. Do it properly and you maximise your potential audience and revenue.

If you’re a newbie to the localisation world, the process might seem daunting and expensive. With that in mind it is essential that you establish a budget from the beginning.

We at TranslationsInLondon have created a simple 6-step-guide for you.

• STEP 1: MARKET & REGIONS 

– Define the markets and which social media channels are used by your target demographic. In some countries, certain types of social media are not allowed. You can refer to this article for more information.

For example, Facebook and Twitter are banned by the Chinese authorities. There are alternative social media channels which are widely used in China such as Weibo, Qzone or Renren.

Once you’ve found the most appropriate social media channel in the country/market you want to target, it’s fundamental to find out how people are using social media in those regions/country. Are they mainly sharing videos? Communicate private messages or sharing their own content?

We need to find out why the particular channel is successful in that country and for the demographic you are chasing. It is no good for example to appeal to a younger audience on a site such as LinkedIn which is generally used by professionals looking to network.

• STEP 2: LOCALISE IT

The content needs to be translated and sound native to the target audience. It is important to deliver a transparent and clear message which doesn’t leave any room for misinterpretations and misunderstandings. We have spoken many times about transcreation.  Also, as simple as it sounds, try to not offend your audience by doing some research into potential culteral issues with your message.

• STEP 3: CREATE GUIDELINES

Think about the style and tone you want to come across in your target market and language. Invest some time and write some style-guides so that you and your team can keep the same tone and style in all of the shared social media.

• STEP 4: PRICES, PHONE NUMBERS, UNITY OF MEASUREMENT

This may be an obvious one but do ensure the products/ service you are selling are in the right currency for your customers, making their buying decision easier and increasing your revenue potential. Phone numbers, units of measurements and dates should be adapted and formatted according to the local market, a pyscological barrier is taken down with this and consumers will be more willing to engage with you due to the perceived accessibility of your business. At the end of day, we want to make the user’s experience as easy as possible.

• STEP 5: GRAPHICS AND LAYOUT

Northern European countries ofter prefer an essential, sleek and minimalist style while Oriental countries prefer bright and colourful interfaces. Make sure you are on board with any graphical trends of the moment.  Check out this blog post on the Scandinavian inspired design that influences a lot of northern and western European design currently.

• STEP 6: RULES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

You should carry out some research to find out what are the marketing and advertising rules in your target countries from a legal perspective. Are some words banned? Are there any advertising standards that you must adhere to?

Kick off your social media campaign with TranslationsinLondon. Go Social with us!