Audio and video transcriptions can be a very powerful marketing tool, though they are far too often overlooked completely. The best transcription services are generally those provided by human transcriptionists, as can be evidenced from Google automated closed captioning fails, some of which we will look at here. It is surprisingly easy to find affordable transcription services online, that are an increasingly important part of social media marketing with video in both international and even domestic digital marketing campaigns.
The best place to start is generally for audio and video translation services, though this may also include video transcription services so that closed captioning can be used to further enhance both visibility and organic traffic.
According to Reuters, the Facebook user interface is available in 111 languages and notes that 31 additional languages are common on the site itself. Twitter supports 35 languages but again, there are additional languages that are commonly being used on the website. 98 percent of the content on the internet exists in only 12 languages, and 50 percent of that content is written in English.
What can you take from those numbers? If you move away from the English language, you move beyond a majority of the content on the internet. That means that suddenly you will find yourself with much less competition, at least for the time being. Wired Magazine also has projected that 2020 will be the first year that less than 50 percent of the content being written for the internet will be in English.
In short, you can learn how to set up and run an international digital marketing campaign now or you can wait and try to catch up to your competition later. Given the popularity of YouTube and Facebook video campaigns and their propensity to establish online influencers, that will be a good place to begin the journey.
Subtitles or Closed Captioning for Video Transcription and Translation
Many video editing software programs make it very easy to transcribe video content and create subtitles that are hard-coded into the video. While the relative simplicity of this process makes it tempting, it is certainly not the best option.
Hard-coded subtitles will always be there, and any attempt to use video translation or transcription to create closed captioning, will have to compete with the subtitles. This conflation of text may create confusion and will definitely be difficult for the viewer to read.
The presence of both subtitles and closed captioning in the video transcription will most likely reduce the number of viewers and interaction with the video itself. The presence of nothing more than subtitles however, has been shown not only to increase the number of views, but also the audience interaction with the video, including likes, shares and comments.
Certainly among the biggest benefits of srt closed captioning for YouTube videos is the fact that the srt files are fully indexed by the search engines. Bear in mind, YouTube is the second most popular site on the internet, and also the second or third largest search engine on the internet on any given day. (It competes with Amazon for searches, but generally with very different search intent)
The use of video translation or transcription to create numerous srt files should similarly increase the visibility (ostensibly at least, much more) on the foreign language search engine results page. The University of Southern California has put together an excellent resource for posting srt files on YouTube, and it is well worth checking out.
However, as more and more people begin using website translation and even business translation services online, there will be an increase in the level of foreign-language competition as well. While this cannot be said with any certainty, especially as Google is given to changing its algorithms, it is at least likely that those websites that have a long history on the foreign language SERP will stand a better chance of ranking well even when there is more competition.
Though this is true only as long as their website and video marketing content is viable and their video transcriptions and website translations are done by professional transcriptionists and translators. This raises just one simple question. How do you get multilingual YouTube and Facebook videos out in front of a foreign speaking market?
The Importance of Multilingual Social Media Marketing
The foreign language search engine results pages are certainly going to provide more exposure for the video marketing campaign in the early stages at least. However, do you rely solely on organic traffic to drive people to your website?
While many people engage in social media marketing, certainly a ripe audience for establishing someone as an online influencer, many people remain blissfully unaware just how multilingual the world of social media has become.
Do you remember earlier in this article where we showed you the statistics for language use on some of the social media websites? There are approximately 142 languages being used on Facebook at any given time. Users are also likely to share posts and videos on some of the other more popular social media sites like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram leading the pack.
Reaching out to these other viewers in their own language should help to create a more diverse and expansive following, even on social media platforms. It should similarly increase views for the videos and other digital marketing materials, and ultimately, drive more people to your website.
Website Translation Services for Landing Pages and More
What however, are you going to do with all of those foreign visitors to your website if you have not undertaken at least a partial website translation? At the very least, landing pages should be translated into all of the relevant languages.
A complete website translation offers far more beneficial opportunities to the webmaster learning how to create a successful international digital marketing campaign. Among the most notable benefits is having all of the content on your website now ranking in the search engines in all of the languages covered by the website translation.
It may be tempting to use the many website translation apps that are readily available, though this is not always the best idea. Many of the translation apps provide less than ideal translations and are lacking in one key area. They do not provide a source of foreign language content for the indexes to crawl.
There are some website translation apps coming out these days that do allow for PEMT or post edited machine translations. Some of these translation apps may charge a monthly fee where a full website translation merely incurs a one-time fee, perhaps even cheaper than the monthly fee depending on the size of the website.
Remember we already looked at the limited competition that you will have once you move beyond English with a website translation? Other notable benefits include offering you everything that you need for multipurposing all of your content in numerous foreign languages.
Multi-purposing content is a common and effective digital marketing tactic and allows for the same content to be used as the basis for introducing even more content in other media formats. Looking back at the number of foreign languages used on the social media websites, would this not provide you with a vastly wider array of marketing tactics to actively engage foreign markets online?
A website translation will provide you with everything you need to convert the foreign language articles into videos, podcasts and other marketing formats online. You may wish to use a native language speaker as a voice-over artist in order to create a properly interpreted podcast.
These foreign language multi-purposed and multilingual content offerings will also provide you with more material to broadcast on social media in a variety of languages, again helping to get your message out in front of even more people.
The Importance of Localization in Successful Multilingual Digital Marketing Campaigns
A full website translation will also offer you everything that you need to focus on a very important aspect of digital marketing known as localization. While the translation services will allow you to speak to your audience in a language they will understand, properly implemented localization strategies will allow you to speak to your audience on a personal, emotional level.
One of the most compelling marketing tools is the ability to be able to create a connection between the brand and the customer. The connection must be both personal and emotional, indicating to the customer that you understand them through their point of view, see their problems through the same localized perspective that they do and ensure them that you have the answer that will work for them personally.
There are additionally many different expressions and forms of local vernacular that are relevant in conveying a meaning, but that will be difficult to translate literally. In a legal or medical document translation, this may be conveyed through the use of translator notes. In terms of website translation, it presents an opportunity to use localization strategies to connect personally with the target demographic.
The local expressions may have similar or even very different counterparts that convey the same meaning. These local expressions in the language translation can be replaced by other local expressions in the other language from the pair.
The same concept is also true for the use of pictures on the website. Pictures on the portion of the website in one language may be exchanged for more appropriate pictures on other portions of the website, based in large part on the translation and localization required for the new target audience.
These same localization strategies should be implemented within all of the multi-purpose marketing content, no matter what media or format is being used. Ultimately, the combination of website translation in conjunction with localization strategies should help you to greatly increase your influence across social media, video marketing and even with the visibility of your website within more international markets.
The Importance of Accurate Transcription Services and Translations
“‘In a rapidly shrinking world, it’s becoming more and more important to have translations that are both lightning-fast and actually understandable.’ To underline how hard this is, here’s that sentence translated from English to Thai to Russian to Japanese and back to English, courtesy of Google Translate: ‘Become increasingly important in order to convert the world to fall faster, as well as lightning, to understand the actual.’” This at least, according to Cracked website as they explore six mistranslations that changed the way we view the world.
You should be warned, some of the photographs on that site may not be safe for work due to some displays of potentially offensive language. However, it does indicate the importance of using a professional translation company or at least the services of a professional translator for your marketing content translation services.
Unlike in a traditional brick and mortar store, you are not likely to meet all of your online viewers face to face. All they know about you is what they see on the site and in your other marketing content online. The use of professional translation services should, at the very least, ensure that you can speak to their hearts and minds in a good way, and not just alienate an entire segment of the global population.
The global citizens or “netizens” are more than happy to follow your influence and willing to accept you should they agree with you. The website translation and multilingual marketing campaign must speak to them through translation in their own language and localization to reach their hearts.
