Make the translation of marketing content a smart investment!
Snapchat® grabbed our attention recently when we heard the news that a High School in the US had raked in millions of dollars thanks to a smart investment by a venture capitalist, who persuaded his children’s school to invest a relatively small amount of money in the development of a new, untested app.
He’d noticed that his own children were spending a great deal of time using a platform which he wasn’t aware of. That app turned out be the global youth social network platform, Snapchat. If you’re unaware of Snapchat these days, you are probably a) over 20, b) don’t have kids under 20, c) live on Mars and get your news off the gramophone or radiogram.
However, that wasn’t the case when, Barry Eggers bet that the fledgling app had potential for success. Barry had the choice of 2 investments that week: Snapchat or punting £500,000 on Douvan at the Cheltenham Racing festival – as Chairman of the school’s growth fund and a smart cookie, Barry decided against the latter.
With some quite amazing results!
Since Snap’s recent IPO, the school has sold two-thirds of its shares, raising a whopping $24 million for school funds. Whereas, the punter who gambled £500K is looking for a new shirt for his back and is now dancing for money…allegedly. Snapchat, of course, took off across the world and is now available in 20 languages, due to global demand. Sadly, not everyone has the foresight of a venture capitalist.
So how can you ensure that your product becomes visible in the way that Snapchat did? After all, it was an app among millions released daily. So how did it stand out from the rest? Who knows the real answer to that question? If we did, we’d all be making a fortune.
Business Leaders the world over believe that when we create a product, or a service, the only way to give it a fighting chance is to give it maximum visibility. This can take many forms, but we believe that marketing is key. The downside: marketing costs money and some companies may be tempted to try and avoid incurring extra costs.
Whereas it doesn’t make any sense to throw large sums of good money after an uncertain outcome, (think Cheltenham), if you don’t at least set a realistic marketing budget, you may as well consign your must-have product or service to the history books. Companies are also much less likely to limit themselves to single markets now, so why narrow your chances of success?
Unless your product really is country-specific, there will be people outside the UK who will need your product or service. You just need to tell them about it.
Remember Snapchat is operating in 20 languages now and has grown internationally and exponentially.
If this is your aim, the only way of targeting your audience is by speaking to them in their own language, with all the cultural and linguistic nuances that accompany that language. Your product or service must strike a chord and appeal. Only a professional translator will have the experience to produce translation of marketing content that speaks directly to your audience.
It’s easy to undervalue the real worth of professional translation services, but if you speak to any company that uses them, they will be able to explain how these services have contributed to their success. As long as the groundwork is done, including researching whether there is a market out there for you to tap into in the first place, then translation of your marketing content by a professional is are your best bet to communicate your brand’s message in overseas markets.
Do Snapchat users outside of the US and UK use the English app? Out of choice, Millennials (their target audience) want to communicate on their own terms, in their own language. Give your product its best chance of success by including a budget for translation in your current and future marketing strategy.
ALM Translations is a preferred translation agency of prestigious brands across the globe, both large and small, and would be delighted to discuss the translation element of your marketing strategy. We can show you ways to get the most out of your budget, where cost savings can be made and when it makes sense to spend a little more.
Take a look at our website for further information about our company, our team and our services, or alternatively…I’ve got a tip on the 3.30 at Haydock if you’re feeling really, really, really lucky!