The Must-Knows Translation Guidelines for Marketing Material

Have you ever found that you get more questions than answers when trying to create your translation guidelines or the style guide? If so, you have come to the right place—or blog—to clarify some preliminary points.

Maybe you are wondering what the right approach is. Or how to reach everyone at the same time, but without losing conviction along the way. Perhaps you have also heard the debate about adapting or globalising content as the most effective strategy.

If these questions or others have crossed your mind, let us first tell you that it is completely normal. And it is beneficial that they come up before outlining the specifics; because, like breadcrumbs, they show you the way to what needs to be better clarified to achieve consistency and fulfil your goals.

Without further ado, welcome to this comprehensive guideline. Here you will not find ironclad rules of translation; instead, you will find an extensive list of essentials for a successful translation of marketing material. Hopefully, it will help you clear up those doubts to get your guide ready. Shall we start?

5 Translation Guidelines for Written Materials

The following guidelines are some of the most important ones to keep in mind when translating marketing content. For more information, we also recommend reading about multilingual marketing strategies for global brands.

#1 Fine-tune Your Content First, Then Translate

This is more like a pre-translation guideline. Is your content ready for a new language? If you have no clear and quick answer to this, it might be better to do a check-up before the translation step.

It often happens that the original texts fulfilled a demand at the time, but could now perhaps have a different story arc or include more updated examples. For example, all those blogs that were written at the beginning of the quarantine by COVID-19, are they really in line with today’s reality? It is incredible how things change in such a short time and how obsolete the content can become.

Another aspect you might want to polish up on is style and clarity. Are all your marketing materials consistent with these two factors? Do they show the voice and tone of your brand? If you have old content, perhaps created before important new business definitions or rebranding processes, etc., consider doing a review. Also, while the overall goal of these types of texts is to inform and persuade, remember that clarity comes first. Therefore, get rid of that fancy and complicated wording.

Finally, how many people have created content for your company? Even with a writing style guide and localisation standards in place, you may want to check that the way of addressing the audience is still consistent.

Learn more about how updating your old content can improve your SEO ranking.

#2 Rely on Native Speaking Translators

It is advisable to have a clear idea of your content’s destination to hire the appropriate and most convenient language services. For example, if your goal is to make your way into Brazil, you should team up with professionals who are natives or long-term residents of that country. Would a native speaker from Portugal be helpful? Sure, but not the most suitable option. 

This does not mean that native speakers living in a country with a different language will forget their skills. However, they do get rusty. As for proficient/non-native speakers who have never been in contact with the language daily, they tend to develop a more academic and bookish tone. This, taken to marketing, is not the best idea if the aim is to approach the readers in a more familiar way. In both cases, their vocabulary and styles may not be up to the task.

Every language is full of idiomatic phrases, analogies, and metaphors. Each one organises its worldview in its way, but that worldview is not static. It changes according to the collective—and sometimes individual—experiences of its users. And to understand these experiences, they should come from first-hand.

#OptimationalTip: Only a professional who is in contact with a certain language daily can master its updates to perfection. Having the right translators for each project is one of the key translation guidelines to ensure high-quality results. 

#3 Make Communication with Your Language Service Provider (LSP) a Priority

More than a guideline for translation, the key to success. Efficient business communication is a cornerstone for any company’s growth, regardless of the project, area of expertise, or industry. It must flow, be precise, clear, and concise. Therefore, you should define which will be the appropriate channels for communication. Also, the frequency (if necessary) and any other element that you consider relevant. 

There is no need to communicate constantly with your LSP, just provide them with the necessary information and resources. In addition, work together to establish the procedure to follow in case new specifications are required. For example, what the translator should do in case of ambiguity? If there are cultural references in the original text, what do you expect the professional to do? Translate or localise? 

Keep in mind that any obstacles or delays in communication can impact turnaround times or compromise the final quality.

#4 Be Aware of Space Limitations

Do not assume that the target text fits in the same way as the original text. There is a linguistic phenomenon in translation that we call language expansion and contraction. In a nutshell, it means that, when translating, some languages take up more space than others. 

A certain language may have a different way of communicating events than others, or even another writing system. So, what took up two lines in the original text will not necessarily occupy two lines in the target text. For instance, when translating from English into Spanish, there is usually an expansion of 20%. And, from English to Swedish, a contraction of 10-15%.

Why is this translation guideline so important? Because most of your marketing materials will be displayed in a digital interface and will need enough room.

Failure to consider spacing can result, for example, in CTA with too long messages. Or ebooks with too short content. Even infographics with more text than graphics or “overcrowded” website pages. 

The best solution? Consider the localisation of your content from the very beginning. Also, discuss with your LSP the purpose of the texts and where are you going to insert them. Finally, leave time for a final review, which allows you to adjust the content after testing how it looks in its intended location.

#OptimationalTip: If the marketing material you want to translate is for your website, keep SEO in mind. You can rely on comprehensive SEO translation services, which include local keyword research and content localisation standards.

#5 Consider UX as One of Your Translation Guidelines

You may be wondering how marketing and user experience (UX) writing can relate. They are two very different types of content writing, so their methods are also quite diverse. 

As we said, the aim of marketing materials is usually to persuade. On the other hand, the focus of UX writing is more about helping; to make content more accessible and simpler to use. Additionally, marketing copy tends to be longer, aiming to explain topics in detail. UX, on the other hand, strives for shorter and plainer texts—without sacrificing the purpose.

So, why should we integrate them as one translation guideline for written materials? Because there are texts with hybrid functions. Some contents seek to inform, but conclude with an action for the reader.

For example, a blog may contain a CTA to download an eBook. Or a landing page for a webinar registration may have a topic summary—seeking to tempt readers to participate; meanwhile, if they want to subscribe, the goal is also to offer a smooth registration process.

In other words, UX and marketing copywriting are not the same, but they can be good partners. You can seek to create brand awareness, localise to increase organic traffic, and grow your leads. But also provide an inclusive and positive user experience.

#OptimationalTip: What about slogans? You should try to make your brand recognisable globally and cohesively. However, the slogan translation should make sense in the target language, and not be ambiguous or have a negative connotation; otherwise, you might want to resort to localisation or transcreation.

Setting Translation Guidelines to Go Global by Going Local

The preceding list contains some of the guidelines for translation that we consider of special significance when making international content. We encourage you to include them in a style guide so that they take on a formal and orderly framework; this will allow you to expand the details or edit them as you deem appropriate.

Note that, although these are not fixed translation rules, you can adopt these tips in all your multilingual projects; they are the must-knows for the success of your global content. They can help you to expand your client base, optimise the existing resources, and avoid unnecessary time and budget outlays.

Last comment: Are you still wondering whether to globalise or tailor your content? Then remember that localising is essential to go global. Yes, it is geographically specific, but also a part of a broader plan; it is all about regional appeal, but within a global growth strategy. So, you can use universal references, but also adapt what is convenient and relevant to the local taste.

Are you ready to put your translation guidelines to practical use and start your multilingual content strategy? At Optimational we have native professionals from multiple countries ready to help, contact us today.