Marketing translation – so much more than just translation
Translation of marketing materials involves a lot more than merely translating from one language to another. Read more about the reasons for this in the article.
If you are going to market a product or service in another language, then you need to tailor your language to suit your new audience. What appeals to a Swedish reader might not be as attractive to a British, Finnish or Spanish audience.
With effective marketing you can build your brand, create interest and drive sales.
Translating marketing texts is an artform that requires both linguistic skills and an understanding of marketing principles. A direct or AI-generated translation is not recommended and could even work against you and drive customers away.
If you ask a professional agency for help, it is likely they will want to meet you before the translation process begins.
They may want to discuss issues such as:
- how much freedom the translator is allowed,
- what the tone of the text should be,
- what the intended target group is
- who might be choosing the relevant keywords for search engine optimisation.
Transcreating – freedom with responsibility
For your marketing to succeed, you need to employ an agency that specialises in translating marketing material. What you don’t need is a traditional translation. Instead you need a copywriting translation, or transcreation as it is also called. Creative translation and localisation are also terms we use in the industry. In principle they all refer to the same requirement – that the translator needs to step away from the source text and tailor the translation to its new context.
What you and the agency need to agree on is how much freedom the translator will be given to tailor the text to the audience.
Tonality and form of address – subtle tools that are critical to getting things right
The agency will also want to discuss tonality with you as the client. What sort of tone would you like – soft and friendly or catchy and commercial? Professional and serious or chatty and humorous?
Form of address is also important. Should it be warm and friendly or formal and more distant? In Swedish we almost always use the informal you. But in other languages it can be important to choose whether to use a more formal or informal form of address.
Once the agency has gained an understanding of your required tone and form of address, it is the role of the copywriting translator to then convey this in the target language to recreate the same effect as in the original. Cultural differences play a crucial role. Humour, form of address and tone can vary greatly between different cultures. What works in one country can be completely wrong for another country.
Target groups and goals influence translations
It is also important to identify your target group. How texts are perceived can differ greatly between generations. Is your target group made up solely of young people or does the text need to be tailored to suit all generations? Does your target group live in urban or rural areas?
A professional translator will want to know who your target audience are so that they can formulate their marketing copy accordingly.
It’s also important to know what the marketing goal is: do you want to boost your brand, drive sales or just inform and educate?
SEO is important, but who is doing what?
SEO – search engine optimisation – is an important aspect of marketing. But the first question is who is going to be responsible for choosing the relevant keywords? Will it be the client or the translation agency? Once work begins, the translator needs to know what both the primary and secondary keywords are for each campaign or project.
If the project is complex, then it might be wise to enlist the services of an SEO agency, which can not only identify the best keywords but also provide a clear SEO brief for each project.
Pricing – per project, hour or word?
Pricing for marketing translations often differs from traditional translation, which is typically charged per word. Translations of marketing texts are more likely to be priced per project or per hour instead.
The reason for this is that these kinds of texts require more in-depth research along with a creative approach and additional work to tailor copy to appeal to your target group. Specialist SEO input is also required for this type of project.
You get more value for money
A translation that is tailored to the market is a wise investment that pays off.
A direct translation of a marketing text often leads to a flat, uninteresting result that doesn’t reach your target group. But a creative translation of your marketing material will create interesting texts that stimulate feelings and encourage action. You will strengthen your relationship with your customers, increase sales and build a successful brand in your new market.
Novoterm is a highly regarded translation agency that was established in 1996. We offer language services in more than 40 languages provided by translators and proofreaders who understand your industry – we listen, we understand, we translate.