Any business that aims to enter new markets must deploy localization marketing in order to adjust its brand voice and messaging to suit the new target audience.
If you’re unfamiliar with localization marketing, this post will explain what it is and how it can be implemented to help you build a truly global brand.
Understanding Localization Marketing
Whenever you launch your offerings in a new market, it’s essential to try and get as many people as possible acquainted with your product or service. Localized marketing is a form of marketing that sees your products or services being promoted through the use of localized marketing campaigns.
Brands can use various channels for their marketing strategies once they have been localized. These include social media platforms, email marketing, and affiliate marketing. Unlike a comprehensive marketing approach that caters to a variety of target markets, a localized offer is specifically tailored to a certain demographic location or culture.
In essence, localization can be seen as a unique approach to marketing. Similar to any other marketing plan, localizing your marketing campaign for local markets requires market research and deploying creative thinking. You must also have a deep understanding of your target audience’s culture to ensure you’re providing them with content that resonates with them.
The Difference Between Marketing Translation, Marketing Localization, and Localization Marketing Services
It’s essential to understand that localization marketing is not the same as marketing translation or marketing localization. Marketing translation is the process of translating existing marketing content into another language. Although this approach is quick and easy, it is not as comprehensive as marketing localization since it doesn’t consider cultural nuances.
Marketing localization is the process of translating and adapting your existing content to suit new target audiences. Unlike Localization Marketing, marketing localization doesn’t include a strategic aspect, which means that the ROI of your strategy will be smaller.
Why Brands Must Adopt a Localized Marketing Strategy
When you develop the content for your marketing efforts based on localization, you can expect to see great ROI at local and international levels. Here are some of the main benefits of this marketing strategy:
Improved Engagement Rates
A localization marketing strategy can improve brand awareness and increase engagement rates with your content. Depending on which area you’re targeting, your audience might be searching for different keywords and prefer different content. Cultural differences have a massive impact on consumer behavior, which is why specialized marketing campaigns for each target foreign market can lead to sustained global growth for brands. When you prioritize localization when expanding into international markets, you can create the best strategy to connect with your audience members in every area you expand into.
Fewer Entry Barriers
Localization is the go-to option when it comes to introducing your offerings to a new local market. And the same can be said about marketing those offerings to local audiences. When you provide your target market with content native to them, you can eliminate entry barriers right from the start.
Two Basics of an Effective Localization Marketing Strategy
Although there are great benefits to reap from this marketing approach, they won’t be instantaneous. You’ll need to be dedicated and work with great resources and a careful strategy. Here’s how to get it right from the start:
1 – Work Out if This Approach is the Right Fit
It’s generally advisable for brands to localize their offerings when they expand into global markets and focus on a new target market. But if you want to get better regional outcomes with your global marketing plan, that’s when localization marketing becomes really effective. Before you commit to this approach, you might want to consider if localizing your existing campaigns might be the more cost-effective route.
2 – Set Up Teams and Workflows
If you decide to go the localization marketing route, you’ll need regional teams and local specialists to help you. Customized localization efforts for each new audience are tedious, so dedicated teams are non-negotiable. You will also need to figure out which translation management system to implement. If setting up various marketing teams isn’t an option, you can outsource the service. Working with a marketing outsourcing partner can help you save on costs and lower your investment risk.
2 – Perform an Analysis of all Your Target Markets
Any localization plan is built on thorough market research that examines the cultural and linguistic expectations of the target audience. After establishing your teams or partnering with an outsourcing firm, the most important step is market analysis. Your analysis should include research on local keywords and comparing other brands that have succeeded with localized campaigns in the region. Pay special attention to the following aspects:
- Marketing channels
- Pad promotions
- Local topics and trends
- Resources
Final Thoughts
With localization marketing, the majority of the content you develop for your campaigns will have to be produced in the local language. But this won’t be true for all aspects of your brand. You might also have to optimize other elements of your brand, such as your logo and taglines, depending on the expectations of the local audience.
Now that you understand the basics of this specialized marketing approach, you should be able to determine whether it can help your brand go global. Remember: localization marketing is merely another specialized approach to breaking into the global market, but it is not the only way and might not be suitable for all brands. If you’re unsure whether or not this is the right fit for you, get in touch with us today. Our team of experts is ready to analyze your needs and provide you with insightful options to help grow your brand!