Video is one of the most effective content marketing tools in recent years as it brings great feedback for the international internet traffic of websites. People also predict that videos will make up over 82% of the organic traffic in the coming years. With about 81% of businesses using video marketing in 2021, the competition in the global e-commerce industry is brutal.
However, battling against a large number of competitors means that you have to do everything that will benefit your global video marketing. One way of doing this is by investing in video translation. It will help your company in advertising your ideas, products, and services to international audiences.
What is video translation?
Video translation is the process of adapting the audio and video to other languages, trends, and policies. It may be in the form of translating on-screen texts, dubbing the audio, changing the playback speed, or editing the background sounds.
Despite the localization challenges that companies pose to video translations, it is still an ideal strategy to make viewers feel comfortable with the platform and the content. Your global audience should be able to relate to and understand the message of your videos. With over 80% of Youtube viewers outside the US, it proves that video localization can largely impact the outcome of your global marketing efforts.
Here are some of the video localizations that you can do to increase your global traffic:
Subtitles
If your company is considering a tight budget, subtitles are the best fit for you. It lets your audiences enjoy your video with translation texts at the top or bottom of the screens. It is also easier to create a variety of translations with this type of localization.
Dubbing
Dubbing is the act of overlaying original voices with interpretations in other languages. It is more expensive than subtitles but is easier to understand by the viewers.
Voice-over
This is the best type of video localization for videos that are mainly narrations. If the speakers in your marketing videos are not visible, a voice-over is ideal for you.
Benefits of subtitling your video contents
Whether you are targeting native speakers or multilingual, subtitling your videos can be beneficial for your business. First of all, subtitles offer a more convenient way of translating your content into various languages without paying for voice-overs. Studies even show that reading is more convenient than hearing for most people between 11 to adults.
Aside from that, not all people have the ability or chance to hear the audio of your video. Examples of these are those with hearing difficulties and people who are in public. By subtitling your videos, you can offer accessibility and a better user experience for your audience.
Furthermore, subtitles can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) by allowing the search engines to crawl on your closed captions’ texts. If you want to improve your SEO ranking, it is best to put subtitles in your videos.
Tips for effective video translations
Consider your global audience.
The main goal of translating your video content is to communicate and build a relationship with multilingual audiences. This will require a cross-cultural approach and lots of research. You can start by setting global buyer personas to know your target viewers for the content. Make sure that you do enough research about their local trends and taboos.
Moreover, you should avoid using cultural references that involve religious and political topics that may not be relatable to some countries. Instead, use general pieces of information that are widely known internationally. It is also better to create simple video transcripts with shorter scripts for convenient translations that your audience can understand.
Choose over subtitles vs. dubbing.
Deciding on the ideal format of your video translation is essential. Whether it is voice-over, captions, subtitles, or dubbing, consider the type of video you have and your available budget. Make sure to retain the core objective of your video while enhancing the experience of your viewers.
Moreover, having proper communication with your audio-video translator during the conversion process is important. Some countries have their preferences between subtitles and dubbing, which could impact your user experience. If you want, professional translation agencies can help you decide about the format of video translations you can use. It is also best to ask them for native speakers for your project to maintain a high subtitle and voice-over quality.
Provide metadata translations.
Metadata is essential to make your content easier to find in the search results. Ensure that your video translators follow the proper guidelines when translating data for SEO and user experience purposes. Localize your titles, descriptions, and tags on your target languages when publishing your translated videos.
Synchronize your subtitles to the video.
Synchronization of subtitles is important if you want to improve your user experience. If done incorrectly, your audience might feel uncomfortable watching the videos and reading your content simultaneously. This can even cause you to lose audiences and possible user engagement.
Thus, make sure that you synchronize your subtitles to the video. To make sure, rewatch your video on other devices or let other people watch it first to know if there are any delays. Ensuring this will help create a great impression on your audience and improve engagement.
Use translation tools.
To make the video translation easier, you can also use localization tools to enhance its accuracy and consistency. They can vary depending on the type of translations that you require.
For example, Computer Assisted Translations (CAT) is ideal for improving the speed and efficiency of translations. Meanwhile, Translation Management Systems (TMS) can help you manage your translated files depending on their languages. There are also other tools to assure the quality of translation.
Some tools may deliver a single function, while some can help in multiple tasks that you need for your translation project. Other translation agencies use these tools to improve and assure the quality of their services.
Wraping it up!
Adapting your videos to other languages and cultures through video translations is an efficient and effective marketing strategy. Even if it might seem like it’s just an extra task for you, subtitles are essential to improve your user experience and increase customer engagements. It is also a great way to improve your SEO ranking.
Now, trust me and start using video translations now!
