Companies selling products and services in various countries around the world have become increasingly common. Many organizations are now global entities with offices and marketing throughout the world. Localization has been a common denominator in the spread of these businesses into new markets. What should you expect in localization trends in 2018?
What is localization?
As the world becomes one large marketplace, a lot of marketing has become homogenous, catering to this global audience and customer base. At the same time, global marketing means you are dealing with innumerable cultures, religions, languages, and belief systems. What works as a great tagline in the United States, for example, might not work at all in India. Localization ensures the following when marketing globally:
- Adhere to local cultures and values
- Abide by local legal regulations and rules
- Use local currency and units in ads
- Appeal to local consumption and buying habits in campaigns
- Use content in the local language for better comprehension
Top localization trends for 2018
- Localization for small emerging markets: Localization was usually looked at only once markets became viable and started growing at a rate that was acceptable. However, it has become increasingly clear that without localization, many markets will never catch on to a new product or service. They need to be able to identify with a new product or service, something that is only possible to achieve using localized campaigns and marketing strategies. 2018 will see a lot more efforts to localize ads and other marketing material.
- Localization of CTA and native campaigns: CTA refers to a call to action, an important part of ads and marketing campaigns. A CTA tells people what they should do once they hear about a product or service. A CTA that works in a city might not work in a rural setting, for example, which is why it needs to be localized for maximum impact. Creating native campaigns ensures that CTAs connect with the local population and create a viable market for a new product or service. The importance of localized CTAs will only increase in 2018.
- Localization in booming markets: Many organizations believe that once a market has accepted a new product or service and is helping the organization grow in the market, there is no need to further localize marketing and other material for that market. However, lately, trends and research have shown that people will stop buying products and services if they no longer appeal to them or connect with their beliefs and switch to other products and services that do. In 2018, the focus will be on retaining and further growing booming markets using targeted localization.
- Localization of live videos for marketing: Live streaming videos have become an increasingly popular trend, especially on social media. They give an unbiased, unedited version of an event to all viewers. Many organizations and brands have been using live streaming videos as a marketing tool of late. Although this works really well, live videos give a glimpse of culture and language in a way that is raw and real. For such videos to work well in different markets, they have to be localized. People in such videos should look and sound like the people being targeted through the video campaign for the target audience to identify with the product or service. In 2018, expect to see a lot more localized live streaming by brands and organizations.
Localization is no longer considered a factor to be considered as an add-on. It has become integral to succeeding as a global enterprise and is crucial to becoming a global brand and business.
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