Hot Topics: Translation Industry, Language Service, Online Communication, International Audience

Translation challenges stymying online communication

For a couple of years experts have been encouraging brands to become more global-minded. Today shoppers aren't just looking at US-based or UK-based companies because they live in that country. Shoppers are looking at ecommerce sites from all corners of the world.

by Kristina Knight
  

Kristina: What do you see as the biggest demands and challenges for organizations when it comes to translating content to other locations, languages and cultures?

Paige O'Neill, CMO, SDL: When businesses fail to adhere to the growing demands of globalization, they lose out on opportunities to foster deep relationships with customers. One of these demands is the ability to translate content into the language of the customer. All too often, language has become an afterthought in an organization's customer experience strategy, not taking cultural nuances and idioms into account.

More specifically, businesses are challenged to take into account industry-specific sayings and phrases, going beyond traditional translation. For example, the Travel and Hospitality, Finance, eCommerce and Life Sciences industries all have distinctive needs and nuances when it comes to translation. Organizations can meet these localization mandates by translating at a local and even industry-specific level. With this added layer of personalization and accuracy, consumers can enjoy a truly global and local experience.

Kristina: How do translations differ across industries? Do highly regulated industries like life sciences need to approach translation differently?

Paige: Every industry faces its own unique challenges when it comes to translating content. Life sciences companies require high quality, technical translations that avoid any inaccuracy that could inevitably impact a patient. On the other hand, Travel and Hospitality businesses act as bustling content factories looking to translate a high volume of information to customers across the globe in a timely manner. Link to the full article HERE

Top 3 tips to ensure content is global-ready

To best reach an international audience and generate brand loyalty, organizations need to speak the language of the customer. Here are some valuable ways for marketers to achieve this:

by Kristina Knight

First, make translation strategic.

"[Brands should] instill a language and cultural strategy (specifically designed for your niche market) as a fundamental component in your organization's overall marketing plan. Those who engage with customers in the most culturally relevant manner find the most success," said Paige O'Neill, CMO, SDL.

Second, know how your customers' language.

"Today's consumers live in multilingual setting. An example comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which found that by 2060, those of Hispanic or Latino origin will make up 28.6 percent of the total population. An SDL study also found that 46 percent of the millennial population currently is more likely to purchase a product or service if information is in their preferred language. This is a huge opportunity for brands to embrace localization strategies grounded in customer engagement preference for the most personalized customer experience," said O'Neill. Third, expand the customer relationship. Link to the full article HERE

Google, Yahoo Follow IAB's Advice to Improve HTTPS Encryption

by Mike O'Brien

Both Google and Yahoo are continuing to improve their HTTPS encryption, which protects the privacy of information flow in both directions, following recent urging from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB.)

Last month, the IAB wrote a blog post focusing on the importance of making sure that every tag on every page supports HTTPS delivery: ad servers, agency ad servers, beacons from data partners, scripts from verifications and brand safety tools, and any other systems required by the supply chain. To make the change is a bit more complicated than pressing a button, and requires certifications and increased resource requirements on servers.

HTTPS proves the origin of a resource delivered from a server to the Web browser, ensuring trustworthiness and resulting in a larger set of server identifiers. Additionally, given the extra cost of installing malware on its servers, HTTPS decreases the incidence of cyber crime.

Google searches, which use HTTPS as a ranking signal, are already encrypted for many users. Last year, the search giant moved all YouTube ads to HTTPS. Link to the full article HERE