2018 business translation dos and don'ts

With the New Year well underway, it’s time to get stuck in to your 2018 business translation projects, if you haven’t already. With that in mind, we’ve put together a few quick dos and don’ts of business translation, to help you quickly and effectively tackle all of your corporate translation needs. 

…Think about localization

Many companies jump into the translation process without thinking about their localization needs as well. A professional localization company can help to ensure that the messages your company is delivering are entirely appropriate for the intended audience. Localization takes account of religious, cultural and other differences between the original audience of the copy and the target audience. The process can help to reshape documents in order to ensure that they are received in the manner intended, without inadvertently causing offence (or amusement) and triggering unanticipated reputational damage. 

Bear in mind that your company name, strapline, logo and stock images may also need adjusting to fit with local considerations when you reach out to foreign audiences. 

…Innovate to reach new customers

The start of a new year is always a good time to rethink things, so why not consider new ways of reaching out to your customers? Video translation is a rapidly growing service, as companies around the world use video to reach new audiences. Is this something that your business could take advantage of? From multilingual video reviews of your products to video testimonials from satisfied customers, don’t underestimate the power that a good video can have – particularly when it comes to reaching out to new customers via social media. 

…Map out a multilingual social media campaign

On the subject of social media, why not trial a campaign in multiple languages, targeted at your company’s particular demographic in several different countries? A small investment in social media translation and targeted advertising can lead to a quick win in terms of understanding which countries are most (and least) receptive to your products. 

Don’t…

…Leave it to the last minute

If you know that you have a translation need coming up, let your translation company know. Even if you won’t be ready for the translation to start for a few weeks, discuss it with your translation agency. That way, they can ensure that the right translator is lined up for your project, including the right specialism (legal translation, marketing translation, etc.) as well as the right language pairing. The agency can also ensure that the translator is briefed about your company and its requirements. That way, when you are finally ready to start the translation, you’ll have the perfect translator lined up and ready to start work immediately.  

…Use machine translation

Machine translation is not good enough for professional business documentation. It really is as simple as that. Professional human translation is the only way to ensure that your company comes across well no matter which language it wishes to use. Technology is a wonderful thing and machine translation has come on leaps and bounds in recent years – but if you want to deliver accurate copy that is perfectly suited to a business setting, human translators are still the only solution. 

For all of your business translation needs in 2018, the Tomedes team is on hand to help. You can contact us by email, telephone or live chat via our website for further details. We also have an online instant quote form that you can use to find out the approximate cost of your translation project before you speak with a member of the Tomedes team.