In today’s modern global economy, effective communication is paramount. For companies looking to reach a diverse audience, especially within the Latino community, employing a professional translator for marketing materials is crucial. Too many companies have become heavily reliant on Google Translate, which can embarrass a brand or organization when marketing collateral is sent out incorrectly. Hiring a translator is vital for a business’s marketing approach, particularly when it relates to critical issues like Latino mobilization, diversity and the fight against misinformation.
The Significance of Employing a Translator
The need to hire a translator goes beyond simple language translation; it encompasses cultural understanding, cultural sensitivity, professionalism and building genuine connections.
Preserving Message Integrity: Marketing materials often carry a specific tone, message and brand voice. For this reason, a translator can ensure that these brand standards are accurately conveyed to the target language, thus preserving the integrity of the message. They also have a profound grasp of linguistic nuances, cultural contexts and specialized terminology, ensuring that translations and interpretations are both accurate and precise.
Keeping Cultural Sensitivity in Mind: Cultures are not all the same. Each has unique values, beliefs and linguistic acumen. Hiring a fluent translator can help mitigate confusion and misunderstandings, or even offending the target audience. A translator can ensure that the marketing content resonates with the target audience by being culturally sensitive.
Maintaining Professionalism: Hiring a translator helps reflect how professional and credible a company is. Poorly translated content can make a business appear unprofessional and undermine trust in the brand. Why would anyone want to collaborate with a company seen as lazy?
Localization of Content: When considering translating, a business must consider the localization of the message it is trying to convey. Who is the target audience, and why is it important for them to know this information? This process takes into account not just language but other factors. It includes altering images, videos, formats and even tweaking the tone of the content to fit local traditions. Localization ensures that a business’s content resonates with the local audience and embodies the essence of the target market.
Insights in Latino Mobilization
Maricopa County has the most Latinos in Arizona, at 1.3 million — more than half of Arizona’s 2.3 million Latinos. Because of this, it’s incredibly important to amplify the voices of Latinos and ensure representation to address issues that are particularly relevant to the Latino community, such as immigration reform, education and healthcare.
Audience Segmentation: Marketers should apply detailed segmentation techniques to understand their different demographics better, considering factors like age, gender, country of origin, cultural heritage, region (e.g., East Coast vs. West Coast) and language dominance. Latino mobilization plays a crucial role in this process, as it highlights the importance of engaging the Latino community in ways that resonate with unique experiences and cultural backgrounds. Cultural heritage is significant, as individuals often identify more strongly with their specific background rather than a broad label of “Hispanic” or “Latino.” Additionally, socioeconomic factors play a significant role, as messaging that resonates with one socioeconomic group may differ from what appeals to another. Using these segmentation strategies makes it easier to speak and target an audience effectively.
Value-based Mobilization: Latinos are often motivated to take action based on issues that align with their values. Messaging that emphasizes core values tends to be more engaging and effective. For various demographic groups, themes such as family, economic self-reliance, pursuing the “American Dream,” faith and social justice resonate strongly. The belief in the power of hard work is prevalent across many communities. In recent years, some organizations have seen success by tailoring their messages to emphasize values such as family and economic prosperity. Translating not only ensures that these messages are linguistically correct but also culturally appropriate, making them more likely to resonate with the target audience. Effective translations can bridge gaps and make sure the values and emotions are conveyed in the original message.
Market Research: Market research is a key component in formulating strategy. It comprises several resources, including demographic information, public opinion, consumer and voter behavior, and trends. Polls and surveys are excellent resources to gain information. Research must be approached with an openness to new information, include larger samples and ask diverse questions. This approach is often overlooked during the development of multicultural campaigns, even though knowing a specific demographic within a particular market is important to translate marketing materials. Understanding the nuances of the intended audiences allows for translations that are linguistically accurate and culturally resonant. Many research companies fail to conduct enough sampling to be truly representative of the population, so it’s essential to challenge existing research. It’s important to be careful and sensitive to how questions are worded to extract the most accurate information from cultural groups to ensure the data is meaningful for strategy development.
Language Real Estate Matters: There are various viewpoints on the most effective language to use for different audiences and platforms. In reality, many households have a mix of language speakers. Pew Research found that 40 million Latinos speak Spanish at home. The proportion of individuals who talk exclusively in Spanish varies by region. Among these individuals, 54% are bilingual, while the rest are split between Spanish-dominant and English-dominant speakers. Using bilingual messaging can engage a broader audience. For example, a single communication piece could include both Spanish and English to ensure that everyone in a household can understand the content.
Adding Diversity to Marketing
In recent years, issues of diversity and representation have increasingly dominated headlines across various sectors. According to Penn State University, since the 1980s, Fortune 500 companies and other organizations have been enhancing their diversity-focused marketing strategies to reflect the evolving cultural and ethnic landscape of American society. Statista reports that more than 60% of Americans believe diversity in advertising is crucial.
Given the significance of inclusivity for diverse populations, it is essential to incorporate diverse imagery and language into marketing messages. Having translators is important to ensure accurate and inclusive communication. Developing educational and comprehensive messaging can empower individuals with crucial information. Additionally, using inclusive language is vital to ensure that diverse perspectives, including those from marginalized communities, are both acknowledged and addressed.
Combating Misinformation & Building Trusted Sources
In a time when information travels quickly, business leaders need to ensure that the resources they use for marketing are reliable and factual to avoid spreading misinformation. Professional translation is essential to this. Professional translators provide accurate translations that are essential for preventing disinformation — deliberate falsehoods spread to deceive people — and misinformation — incorrect or misleading information shared without malicious intent. In fields where precision is critical, such as legal, medical or technical areas, precise translations are vital for avoiding the spread of both disinformation and misinformation.
Proper translations minimize the risk of misunderstandings, which helps establish credibility with a business’s targeted audience and positions its brand as a trustworthy source. These experts adhere to strict ethical guidelines to guarantee that content is accurate and devoid of false information. Culturally competent translations reduce misunderstandings and possible backlash by facilitating efficient communication during emergencies or delicate topics. By providing precise and culturally relevant translations, business leaders improve the perception of their companies and fortify client connections with trustworthy and understandable messaging.
Gaby Cardenas is the founder and CEO of The Colibri Collective, the Valley’s first Latina-owned digital marketing agency. With a commitment to creating positive change, Cardenas’s focus extends beyond profit margins to meaningful partnerships. Specializing in marketing for causes that aim to build a better world, The Colibri Collective boasts a diverse portfolio that includes K-12 and higher education institutions, human rights advocacy organizations, political, healthcare services, transit, foundations and nonprofits.
