When it comes to content, consumers expect more than ever these days. They are overloaded with content and it can be hard for brands to compete for their notice. Having engaging content is key and one of the best ways to catch and keep the attention of a target audience is to create multimedia content. When you take that content to a new market, you need to take things a step further with localization.
This is where multimedia localization comes in.
What is Multimedia?
The term multimedia refers to communications made up of multiple forms of content like audio, text, video, graphics, photographs, or animations. These days, you can find multimedia being used in virtually every industry for advertisements, entertainment, education, art, and more.
It’s easy to see why multimedia content has such a large international appeal—it’s engaging.
Multimedia content provides brands with higher conversions and can help make a product competitive in an international market. For example, video content is known to convert better than other forms of media and that video content can become even more engaging with the addition of audio and text.
How Multimedia and Localization Collide
How can brands make the most of their multimedia content when launching in new markets? By localizing it. Localizing multimedia content means adapting it so that it has the same effect as the original content in the target language. Instead of simply translating written or audio content, all elements of a piece of content are considered—including graphics. The local culture is taken into consideration, not just the language used.
It’s important to localize multimedia content and audiences engage and convert better when the content is localized.
The following services are frequently a part of the multimedia localization process:
- Transcription of an original audio
- Script translation
- Subtitle creation
- Dubbing
- Voice-overs
- Production of audio and video
- Creation of animated elements
- Localization engineering
Any multimedia project can benefit from localization—from ad campaigns to online tools to video games to e-learning materials.
It’s worth noting that multimedia localization presents unique challenges compared to simple direct translations. To start, multimedia content has various restrictions due to the fact that you’re balancing multiple forms of media at once. For example, when you translate text into another language it may become significantly longer in its new form. This is especially common when translating English into a different language. If the text is featured on a graphic that was designed to house less text, this can lead to needing design changes or to writing new copy that fits with the design. If this text appears on-screen at a certain point, and an audio narration accompanies it, this also needs to be adjusted so that everything is in sync.
The Takeaway
The appeal of multimedia is that it creates an immersive experience. If the content is not properly localized for the audience you’re targeting, you risk shattering that immersivity. The last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time and money to launch a product, campaign, or piece of content in a new audience for it to fall flat simply.
