Content Marketing is the buzzword in online marketing. With internet users becoming savvy and the growth in technological advancements, content marketing is certainly the way to go for any business/website that wants to make a strong online impact.
People feel much more comfortable communicating in their native language. Thus developing a multilingual website is a highly efficient and a very cost effective way to reach new markets and leave an impression similar to what a localized business would give. This helps in bridging the communication gap between the business website and its users.
But isn’t English the lingua franca of the online world?
No. While English does hold a strong position on the World Wide Web, other languages are certainly gaining users at an unbelievable pace. As of April 2019, English Internet users account for only about 25%, with Chinese accounting for 19%, Spanish 7.9%, Arabic 5.2%, Portuguese and Indonesian 3.9%, French 3.3%, Japanese 2.7%, Russian 2.5% and German 2.1%.
The important thing is that businesses that are going global need to ensure that their audience can browse their websites and other resources in a language that their audience understands and which can connect with them personally and build trust.
The 8 steps for a successful Multilingual Content Marketing Strategy
- Research about the target audience: Before moving ahead you should do a thorough market research. Evaluate the pros and cons of entering a new territory and if all looks good, move ahead to further evaluate the audience. Understand their interests and how you can engage them.
- Your core message: Keep that in mind and develop your strategy by tailoring your core message according to the needs of the new market. It doesn’t mean changing the core message but adapting it.
- Content Creation: This is the most important aspect of your content marketing strategy. Ensure that your content is original, high quality and appeals to the local audience.
- Keyword and Search Engine Optimization: Do a thorough keyword research and remember to use local keywords as well. This will really help in your Search Engine Optimization efforts.
- Content Management System: Use an easy to manage Content Management System that has good support for multilingual websites.
- Translation and Localization: When translating content you might have to change the tone, images or other aspects. Keep in mind that content localization is very important when it comes to multilingual content marketing strategy. Word to word translation just won’t work. Therefore it is always recommended to use a good translation company that has the necessary expertise.
- Integration with other Social Media Channels: Promote your content using social media popular channels and platforms.
- Measure Results: You can use free software such as Google Analytics to evaluate and measure the results.