More than 75% of CMOs say that digital marketing will account for more than a third of their spending over then next five years.
It’s no secret that digital marketing, and it goes without saying, content development, is extremely important.
Now, if you are a newcomer to the Spanish market, exporting to the country, it can seem like a real challenge! Not to fear, in this post we’ll be going over key concepts to bear in mind to make sure your content resonates when adapting and creating it for the Spanish Market.
Adapting & localizing content, the golden rule
First of all localize, which means adapting content to the Spanish culture (including the language). You will have an impact on the Spanish market, if this is your common practice. Study the market well so that you include valuable cultural references in the very content.
For example, say your product is in the wheelhouse of the culinary industry, and to attest its usefulness you’ve employed a famous U.S. chef representing his specialty recipe. Given the circumstances, it would be best in this case to use a local Spanish Chef and Spanish recipe.
You’ll have to investigate cultural factors based on attitudes, behaviors, lifestyles, and your product. Spanish society tends to lean more liberal (in line with European thinking) in terms of risqué material for example. Humor is a tough one, very specific to culture, so you should try to be careful with it. If you are working with a professional translator they will know that direct translations of jokes, comedy, sarcasm, etc. do not work.
There are many other localization details that you will need to look out for as well – design and layout for the Spanish market, currency (€ in Spain), sizes and other units of measure (metric in Spain), local formats for date (day/month/year in Spain), and addresses and phone numbers.
The delicate art of slogan adaptation
You’ll also especially want to pay attention to slogans. Of course, it’s essential to keep your core message consistent across all markets in terms of globalization. Nevertheless, overall tone and message can be maintained while making the proper adjustments.
For example, the McDonalds slogan “I’m Lovin’ It” has been translated to “Me Encanta” in some Spanish-speaking countries, which directly translates to “I like it a lot” and was a more fitting cultural translation in some cases. Interesting note, in Spain it was decided to not translate “I’m Lovin’ it” and leave it in its original form.
Slogans often include idioms, play on words, and cultural references that have taken much time and consideration just in the original language to come up with.
They will require the same expertise and dedication to be adapted properly to the Spanish market. A local translation specialist can help you, with your slogans and other localization and content adaptation needs. Hello Translator can put you in touch with the right person for your project.
SEO for L10n (Search Engine Optimization for Localization)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is also an essential part of the mix. While your content most likely will have been optimized in its original language (let’s hope!), it must now be re-conceptualized.
Keywords and phrases will need to be established, looking at relevant product and service term and phrase combinations that are linguistically and culturally appropriate. Just as thought and consideration was needed in slogan adaptation, likewise keyword placement will have to be woven carefully into headers and titles.
It really will be best to work with local linguistic talent to help integrate all of your content localization needs with your new Spanish market strategy.
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