Why You Should Invest In Multilingual Digital Marketing

The world is becoming a smaller place all the time. Thanks to the development of online communications technologies, which are only continuing to evolve at break-neck speed, we can now connect with others all over the world at the push of a button.

This means that no matter the type of business you have, there is likely a high potential to engage with international customers. Even if you are exclusively targeting customers in your own country, the increasingly multicultural nature of modern societies means that there’s a strong chance that your customer base is multilingual. In the US for example, 13% of the population are native Spanish speakers.

In this context, multilingual digital marketing represents enormous opportunities for businesses. Let’s take a look at why you should consider investing in multilingual digital marketing, and what benefits this could bring your business.

Improve Conversion Rates

Even though many people all over the world speak English these days, it is arrogant and even foolish to assume that your customers and potential customers are comfortable with the English language. Even people with a high level of English language skills will feel most comfortable reading and interacting in their own language. Communicating in your target audiences’ own languages will help you to improve lead flow: the conversion of leads into actual sales and therefore revenue. When sites or content are in their native language, visitors are more likely to spend more time browsing or reading content, they are more likely to interact with it, and are ultimately more likely to ultimately progress to a sale.

Build Better Customer Relationships

Communicating with your customers in their native language is also a powerful way of showing that you value them, which will help you to build better relationships. Having your site set up in a way which allows visitors to switch to their own language if they choose is one way of building stronger relationships with your customer base. In turn, strong customer relationships are extremely good for business: good relationships means customers are more likely to be loyal to your brand, which translates into repeat business and more revenue overall. Securing repeat business through loyal, returning customers is much more cost effective than spending more money on marketing to continually attract new clients.

Open Your Business Up to New Markets

To date, you may have only considered the markets available to you in your own country. Or you may already be operating on a global level, but only within the English-speaking world. There are extensive markets available in other countries, and in other languages which you may not have even considered when developing your business plan and marketing strategy. However, by opening up channels of multilingual digital marketing, you may be able to target entirely new markets, greatly increasing your customer base, boosting sales and revenue exponentially, and scaling your business beyond what you previously thought was possible.

Improve your SEO and Organic Search

Don’t forget that in a multilingual world, SEO and organic search is also multilingual. In order to rank highly on all possible SERPs (search engine results pages) you need to be speaking in languages which people are searching for. The best way to optimise your site for multilingual SEO is by using the same domain, for which you have established strong SEO metrics (or are working towards this). You can then set up subdirectories under this same domain translated into other languages, to be able to rank well on language-specific search engines.

Use Native Translators

When creating multilingual content, it is important to do this effectively. There is little advantage to making content or digital marketing materials in other languages if they do not speak well to their target audience. Having native language translators to create content which reads well to a native speaker is essential. Translating content is not just about the words: context, connotations and references are also important, so you need to ensure that your translators are also deeply familiar with the culture. In this way you will have relevant content which really speaks to your target audience, puts them at ease, and is more likely to convert into sales.

In today’s globalized world, multilingual digital marketing is a must for businesses across just about every sector. If you choose not to pursue a multilingual digital marketing strategy you risk missing out on a large number of potential customers, which also means potential sales and revenue. On the other hand, opening your business up to multilingual digital marketing represents enormous potential for business growth and success.