According to the Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” You’re probably already engaged in content marketing in one form or another. This might include distribution of research reports, infographics, ebooks, blog posts, and organized social media campaigns. All of these forms help generate leads and nurture customers, and the quality of your content is crucial to differentiating you from competitors.
What’s surprising is how many companies abandon content marketing as part of their global strategy. You can be sure that your native-speaking competitors in a new international market are engaged in content marketing. Approximately 75% of Fortune 500 firms added international or domestic multicultural markets over the past year, and according to research from Common Sense Advisory the companies that translated information in order to communicate with and retain their partners were 2.67 times more likely to experience revenue increases. They were also 2.6 times more likely to generate improved profits. CSA also reports that 60% of global consumers feel receiving information in their own language is more important than price.
McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2025, annual consumption in emerging markets will reach $30 trillion. To be competitive and effective in this environment, content marketing efforts will need to become multilingual. It currently takes 13 languages to reach 80% of the online audience (and an additional 8 to push that reach to 90%). If you’re investing in quality content that drives interest in your products and services, you’re leaving a lot of potential revenue on the table by isolating your content marketing to an English-only audience.
As the numbers show, there’s no room for “second citizen customer” thinking when it comes to global content marketing. Translation and localization for your target international markets is a core part of a successful sales and marketing strategy.
