Five video translation ideas to help your company engage with overseas customers

Video translation is an increasingly sought after service. According to HubSpot, 43% of people want to see more video content from those creating marketing materials. The company reports that businesses in 2017 published an average of 18 videos per month, with 83% of companies now using internal resources to produce videos in-house. 

If your business isn’t using video yet, it’s a little behind the curve. As such, we’ve provided five ideas below of how you can make video work for you – both in your company’s home country and overseas, though the power of professional translation.  

Product demonstrations

When potential customers land on your website and browse your products, you want to provide them with plenty of relevant information in a short space of time. Creating product demonstration or review videos is a great way to do this. They allow the customer to see the product in action and to quickly grasp how it works and what its benefits are, without having to read through dense blocks of text. Make the video lively and engaging so that viewers can imagine themselves enjoying your product. 

Testimonials

Plenty of businesses include customer testimonials on their website. However, there’s no reason why such testimonials should be written down. If you have satisfied customers who are will to leave a testimonial to say how happy they are with your service or products, why not ask them to provide a brief video? You can then use it on social media as well as on your company website. This is a great way to add social proof marketing to your repertoire – and with professional video translation you can do so in multiple languages. 

Adverts

With so much focus on the potential new uses of video, let’s not forget about good, old-fashioned advertising! Advertising translation can open your business up to new markets. After all, if you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of producing an advert, then why not gain maximum value out of it by using it in multiple countries?

We should of course add a note about localization services at this point. Translating an advert (or any other kind of video content) will deliver it in the language of the intended audience. However, that doesn’t mean that it is appropriate for that audience to view. A localization expert can work with your business to ensure that your video won’t cause offence. He/she will consider cultural and religious factors, from considerations like should the women in your video have their arms or hair covered to whether your company name means something rude or amusing in the target country. Localization is often an invaluable part of reaching out to new, foreign audiences. 

Video competitions 

Videos can be a great way to engage with users. You have just a few seconds to capture people’s interest these days, so running a video competition on social media channels can be a quick, snappy way to engage potential customers. Keep your video short and sweet – let viewers know what they can win and how to enter your competition. Directing them to your website or Facebook page is a great way to drive traffic to your web presence. 

Meet the team

People often feel inspired to do business with people that they like, so if you have a great team, then why not showcase them on your website? There are plenty of ways to approach this task, from a formal introductory video to a company singalong at the Christmas party and the approach you choose will inevitably speak to the ethos of your company. Think about the impression that you want to make on your customers and then work from there. It can be worth bearing in mind that different approaches might work better in different countries, given how much business cultures can vary around the world. Advice from a decent localization company can again be really useful in avoiding any missteps in this respect. 

If you’re feeling inspired to get behind the camera, why not speak to the Tomedes team before you start? Our video translation and localization experts would be delighted to talk through your strategy and help plan which overseas audiences you should reach out to.