Importance of Localization in 2022
Increased globalization has brought about more international companies carrying out their activities beyond the borders of their home countries. In order to reach more and more consumers in the foreign markets, they need to have their goods and services translated into the language of their new target groups. But it is not as easy as it sounds because a mere translation is never enough when it comes to market and advertise goods and services in foreign lands. That’s where localization comes into play.
Localization can be considered as a cultural translation, which is to say that localization is to translate source content not only linguistically, but also culturally. Localized content is culturally adapted translation of source content. In short, when localizing source content, we translate ideas, concepts and messages rather than words verbatim.
A study conducted by the CSA Research agency in February 2022 has shown how important localization is to online marketing. According to the study, 65% of the online consumers expressed their preference for websites or other online platforms in their own mother language when they are shopping. Moreover, 40% of the consumers participated in the study stated that they refrained from purchasing anything from a website in a foreign language. These findings underline the usefulness of localization for companies wishing to expand their target beyond the borders.
Statistical data from a company that produces videos for social media accounts of various companies indicate that seeing something local in a video on social media makes people more inclined to engage in that account. What is even more compelling is that it is not limited to online content or websites. The findings also show that consumers tend to visit stores that adopt locally relatable advertisement and marketing strategies.
One of the biggest industries that make use of localization is the gaming industry. Most of the gamers prefer gaming in their own languages, even though they are proficient in a foreign language. For this reason, if a gaming company wants to reach more gamers around the world, creating a game in a global language, such as English, may not be the best and most effective way to do it. They should invest in localization of their games as regards the target gamers.
Sources:
https://www.avensia.com/knowledge-hub/blog/posts/stats-february-2022-localization
https://mobidictum.biz/tr/lokalizasyon-onem-ve-neden-yapilmali-mbc-2022/
