Social Media Translation Services: 5 Best Practices to Translate Social Media Content

Recently updated on January 12th, 2024 at 11:23 am

As an integral part of modern communication, social media provides the perfect marketing opportunity to businesses. It offers an amazing opportunity for brands to engage their followers and reach audiences emotionally. But do you know that 51,6% of the content online is English, and only 23,3% of the internet users speak English? For brands building relationships with an overseas audience, language barriers can prove extremely challenging. With an audience who speak a whole host of languages, the use of professional social media translation services is essential to maximize your international reach.

In this article, we’ll review:

Table of Contents

• Why is it Important to Transcreate and Localize Social Media Content?
• 5 Best Practices to Translate Social Media Content
  • Do Local Market Research
  • Develop a Hashtag Strategy
  • Localize Your Emojis
  • Be Aware of the Character Limit
  • Hire Native Translators
• Social Media Translation Services by Chinese Copywriter
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it Important to Transcreate and Localize Social Media Content?

According to Statista, during a June 2021 survey fielded in the United States, 35 percent of respondents stated that their purchasing decisions were influences by social media ads; among respondents born between 1998 and 2006 (Generation Z), the share stood at 50 percent, Social network advertising spending in the U.S. was estimated at 49 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Without doubt, social media is the perfect marketing channel for brands looking to increase revenue. However, it takes lots of efforts for brands tapping into new international markets.

Every country has subtle differences when it comes to language and culture. Consequently, this causes problems for businesses who are reproducing social media content across their international channels. While a word may mean one thing in English, it could be translated into something completely different and ultimately, offend or turn away customers. Chinese Copywriter offer expert social media localization services where you can adapt the copy to meet the demands of your target audience.

Transcreation takes this process one step further by translating the content in order to convey the same message and sentiment. However, the social media content will be suited to your target audience. Our social media translation services allow the intended message and goals of your content to be recreated within the translations.

5 Best Practices to Translate Social Media Content

Do Local Market Research

Creating engaging and viral social media content takes efforts. Before translating your social media content, organize a cross functional team and develop a social media copywriting plan. To effectively address different markets through social media, you need to be aware of who’s using what, how, and where. What languages/markets will you choose for your global expansion? Which social media channels should you use for each market?

Some countries tend to spend less time on social media than others. Some might not even use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter at all, for instance, the most popular social media in Russia is VK while in China is Wechat.

Develop a Hashtag Strategy

A significant part of social media marketing, hashtags are crucial for every social media post and campaign. It’s suggested to develop a hashtag strategy and do some research to find out popular hashtags used by your international competitors rather than translating them directly.

Localize Your Emojis

Emojis add meaning and complement the tone of a message. Using emojis can not only contribute to your creative process but can also -and most importantly- can have a positive impact on the audience, leading them to engage more easily.

Nevertheless, it is worth considering that cultural sensitivities not only apply to words but also gestures and symbols, and emojis as well. A quick example of it could be a fist gesture. In a lot of places, it could represent fighting but, on the contrary, the Germans use it to wish each other good luck. Or the peace sign, which turns out to be quite offensive in the UK. So, it’s essential to pay attention to emojis, and localize them accordingly.

Be Aware of the Character Limit

When translating social media content, an important thing to have in mind is the character limit on each channel. This is particularly true when expanding into the Chinese market where characters are used for written text. In addition, every social platform is different; something that performs well on Facebook doesn’t do so on Instagram. It’s essential to learn your content’s ideal length and be aware of the character limit.

Hire Native Translators

Using Google Translate or similar apps to translate your social media content is a big No when it comes to expanding into new market. A poorly machine translated campaign can seriously damage your brand’s image. The best way to ensure your translation considers the local culture, the linguistic nuances, and industry-relevant terminology is to hire native-speaking translators that are able to provide expertly, culturally adapted content.

Social Media Translation Services by Chinese Copywriter

The professional social media translation services by Chinese Copywriter can help boost your brand’s online presence by tapping into new markets, successfully communicating with new followers in their native language and creating a lock-tight, effective social media plan that ensures success.

Our team of specialist translators have an excellent knowledge of social media marketing and industry-related terminology as well as being a native speaker of your target language. As a result, we are able to provide effective and culturally-accurate translations for social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and more.

Whether you’re creating target-specific content or adapting previous content for new markets, Chinese Copywriter’s social media translation services can help turn your brand into a social media success story.

Frequently Asked Questions