„The email is dead! Long live social media!“ Or at least that’s what they want us to believe.
Even if it’s true that the use of email for social communication has dwindled in recent years, the same can’t be said for email marketing. Many brands have invested considerable amounts into their social presence in order to promote their brand’s image, but research on e-commerce shows that 4.24% of visitors make a purchase encouraged by email marketing, in comparison to 2.49% of visitors who make purchases encouraged by search engines, and 59% by social media. Not only that, but the average cost for a visitor’s order made through email is three times higher than an order from a visitor from social media. This proves that the email is still the king of the digital market around the world.
Most of the Internet is in English
It’s undeniable that more than half of Internet sites are in English. This is also the reason why it’s the most studied language at the moment. The statistics show that marketing in English is more effective in finding potential clients. But as always, there’s another perspective. Even though Chinese and the Indian subcontinental languages make up only 2% and 0.1% of the Internet, they cover a whopping 36% of the world’s population. With the advent of the Internet in these countries, a number of large and unused markets become open to digital marketing.
The most important thing is that about 55% of visitors buy things online when information is presented in their native language, but when they know English as well, the percentage rises up to 80%.
What do I need for multilingual marketing?
Now that we’ve convinced you that emails are still relevant and that you have to be able to communicate in your client’s native language, you’re probably asking yourself how you’re supposed to do that.
- Choose your goal
Multilingual email marketing has a fantastic potential to improve the attraction of new customers and sales. Ask yourself if users are browsing your target market and if this is enough to justify a local marketing campaign.
One way to determine that is with the help of Google Analytics, which will give you a full breakdown of user visits and user behavior in webpages, based on the user’s location. A high number of international users implies that the international audience is already interested in your brand and in what you offer. You could also check for market data and market predictions.
- Language and content
The most obvious requirement for a multilingual campaign is language, of course. Google Translate isn‘t the solution! Never use it for professional translation – machine translation is prone to ridiculous amounts of translation errors. You’ll have to use the services of trained linguists and professionals. You’ll have to localize your campaign as well. The text has to be adapted to the local socio-cultural sensitivity, which is mandatory when it comes to marketing. A difference must be made between each market, like the British and the US market, for example.
Final thoughts
Multilingual email marketing is a powerful tool for access to potential global markets with a more reliable return of investment, unlike other forms of digital marketing. However, if you don’t carefully study your local target audience, you won’t be able to achieve any return of investment.
Email marketing specialist Jordie van Rijn loves to apply the following culinary analogy: “It has to be made clear that every region has its own taste, preferences and work methods. Some national dishes are spicy or sweet, while others have a fine aroma to them. Knowing the international audience is very important if you want your emails to have an actual purpose.”