Translating your website can do wonders for your Spanish marketing attempts. Business marketing in Spanish requires careful use of language, as marketing in Spanish isn’t simply a direct translation of marketing in English. Marketing to Hispanic customers involves far more subtlety and nuance than that. If you need a translator, accurate website copy in Spanish, and guidance on how to market effectively, then it’s time to call in the professionals. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to do so, as well as why.
Spanish marketing through website translation
If you’re looking to capture Spanish customers’ interest through your website, then the quality of your marketing in Spanish needs to be tiptop. A key part of knowing how to market effectively to Hispanic customers is making your audience feel as though your marketing and advertising Spanish translation was written just for them.
This can be a surprisingly complex task. It involves a great deal more thought and planning than simply translating your website into Spanish. Language services provider Tomedes points out that Spanish marketing needs to consider precisely who the Spanish-speaking audience is made up of. ‘Latino’ or ‘Latina’ customers, for example, are people of Latin American descent – and could well speak Portuguese rather than Spanish. ‘Hispanic,’ on the other hand, refers to people of “Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin,” according to the Office of Management and Budget. Understanding which particular audience(s) you are targeting your Spanish marketing at will be key to its chances of success.
Using your website for marketing to Hispanic consumers
Once you’ve identified your target audience, it’s time to find the right translation agency. Don’t’ just Google translation services NYC (or whichever city you’re based in). Try to focus your search by looking for Spanish website translation services, for example. It doesn’t matter where the translation agency is based, as even a local agency will likely be using translators working remotely. As such, the world is your oyster when it comes to which firm to use to support your marketing in Spanish.
When considering translation companies, be thorough in your due diligence. Read reviews, look the company upon the Better Business Bureau, and ask them a whole host of questions about their experience of website translation, marketing translation, and targeting Spanish speaking customers in your particular demographics.
Your chosen translation agency will guide you through the website translation process in terms of its practicalities. Even if you opt to use a translation plugin, such as those available through WordPress, you should still be working with a translation agency to undertake the language conversion element of the task. Be clear that the focus throughout needs to be on marketing to Hispanic consumers and that the website needs to be localized to their cultural needs and expectations. This will help to create a site that truly captures Spanish customers’ interest.
A quick word on quality when it comes to Spanish marketing
The quality of your Spanish marketing translation needs to be spot on. Your website is your window to the world – and the world will judge you very quickly if the language is poor. That’s why it’s important to avoid machine translation. Is Google Translate accurate? It’s certainly more accurate than it used to be, but if you’re seeking a Spanish website that reads as though it was written by a native speaker (and you really should be), you’ll need human translation.
Of course, the key advantages of the Google translator and it’s like are the fact that they produce near-instant translations at no cost. However, the language just isn’t good enough. Machine translation is superb if you have something in a foreign language that you want to translate to English to get the gist of. But it’s just shy of the mark when it comes to the quality that your business website deserves.
Why is accuracy important in translation? It’s because the language that you use will lead those reading your website to make certain assumptions about your brand. Would you like them to feel that your brand is professional, reliable, and doesn’t cut corners? If so, then every element of your business marketing in Spanish needs to convey that, from the language and imagery on your website to how well things like your checkout and payment processes work.
Why take such care with your Spanish marketing?
Marketing to Hispanic consumers can be an excellent way to grow your business rapidly. By 2060, the Census Bureau projects that Hispanic people will comprise 28.6% of the overall US population. That’s 119 million Hispanic customers who could potentially be buying your products. Many of them will be bilingual, but there’s a difference between being able to speak English and the language you choose to use when online. By undertaking your business marketing in Spanish as well as English, you’re ensuring that you appeal to Hispanic customers regardless of which language they prefer to use online.
And then, of course, there’s the whole COVID-19 pandemic to consider. US economic output shrank by 9.1% in Q2 2020. That’s the steepest quarterly drop in economic output on record. Businesses, therefore, need to do all they can to ensure that they appeal to as many customers as possible in order to stay viable. If you run an English-only operation at present, then adding Spanish marketing to your repertoire in order to capture Spanish customers’ interest could just be key to your economic survival.
