16 May /13

Creating a Global Profile

Regardless of the means of communication, the old adage still hold true: you’re only as good as your message. In 2013, this can be interpreted as meaning that it is important to connect with your audience on their terms, considering factors such as accessibility, media, etc., as well as in their language or dialect. To make this all-important connection, it is necessary to focus on internet localisation, proper and correct translation, and overall design.

Localisation
In order to achieve the best possible impact, it’s not enough to try and make contact with your audience using only the general means and channels of communication. For example, using Google to advertise, due to its dominance of the English language search engine market, would be of little use in Russia, where Yandex is the largest search engine with approximately 60% of the market share. Localisation dictates that the message needs to be tailored to not only meet the needs of the audience, but also to interact with the audience in a well-known and comfortable delivery method.

Translation
There is nothing quite as essential to creating a global profile as translation; it is at the heart of connecting with your audience. Something this vitally important should not be given slight consideration. Assuredly, we are all familiar with website translation gaffes, from the minor grammatical and syntax errors that everyone has encountered when reading a non-English website that has been poorly translated to larger errors of mistranslation, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken’s slogan, “it’s finger licking good,” being literally translated in Chinese to “eat your fingers off.” So, in order to be certain that your message is being “received” exactly as it is intended, great importance should be placed on proper translation.

Design
Common sense dictates that people are more comfortable with something that is easy to understand and able to relate to something which is foreign and confusing. Effectively communicating a message often involves addressing local cultural norms, especially when considering design elements. The design should take into account aspects such as:

  • How is the language read? Is it right-to-left (like Western languages) or left-to-right (like Hebrew and Arabic)?
  • Do colors have a certain signifigance, like how China considers the color red to be lucky?
  • Are certain colors, symbols and messages considered to be offensive and could result in creating a negative brand identity?

Don’t Do It Alone
Though the process of creating a global profile may seem daunting, many people falsely convince themselves that the help of a professional is unnecessary; they believe that, through their own investigating, networking, and the availability of discount translation firms, they can more affordably navigate the process. While, to a certain extent, this may be true, especially for the design and localisation aspects, there are many potential pitfalls when it comes to using discount translation firms, as many of them do not offer the human translators and oversight to guarantee that your translation is fully accurate and your message is being presented as it is intended. Though some translation errors- like KFC’s- are a little humorous, let’s not forget that errors like this represent a message that isn’t getting across to an audience and wasted advertising money. For many companies who don’t have money to waste and are looking to make an impact with their global profile, it is best to lower risk, and, even though it may temporarily increase expenses, rely on professionals.

EVS Translations provides exactly that: professional language and translation services when it matters.