With 2021 in the rearview mirror, many companies have already begun rolling out their 2022 communications plans and priorities. However, before you hit “send” on any communications—digital, video, or print—it’s important to make sure you’ve thought about how your plan will resonate with your multilingual consumers, prospects, partners, vendors, and workforce. The world we live in no longer allows you to assume your employees and stakeholders are speaking the same language you are.
And, yes, we mean that quite literally.
A multilingual communications strategy tells your audience that you respect their uniqueness and ensures they can understand and relate to your message—translating to win/wins. Especially if you’re looking to grow in international markets, you’ll need to ensure you’re considering local language and cultural nuances strategically.
So, what elements should you consider when building a linguistically inclusive communication strategy?
- Implementing live, simultaneous interpreting for meetings: To drive the best and most integrated experience for your internal and external meetings and events, provide your relevant stakeholders with in-the-moment access to the information you’re sharing in the language they speak. Don’t wait for replays to translate, which can make your international and non-English-speaking stakeholders feel like a secondary audience.
- Translating all key documents and messaging: If content is worth creating, it’s worthy of consideration for translation. Of course, you’ll need to know your audiences’ language needs and preferences to determine this, but, at minimum, all crucial employee information, including on benefits, company strategic direction, and job-related requirements should qualify for translation. If you’re growing internationally or know a new target demographic requires translation, it’ll be important to take these efforts external as well.
- Creating localized websites and intranets: One of the easiest ways for employees, customers, and potential future partners to connect to your company is through your website or intranet. In addition to ensuring you’re translating the language on these digital channels, you’ll want to consider other local nuances and cultural preferences to build a fully optimized experience that truly translates for your target audience.
- Promoting accessibility: If you’re one of the many companies focusing on inclusivity, consider whether you’re being inclusive in your communications by ensuring people can consume them in a way that’s comfortable for them. This includes your non-English-speaking as well as your non-hearing and visually impaired stakeholders. That’s why more and more companies are considering subtitles, captioning, and transcriptions as standard when creating content, seeking to make information accessible to everyone who has a hand in their success.
2022 could be your best year yet, both when it comes to business results and inclusion. If you’re interested in learning more about how INGCO International can help support you in developing a multilingual communications strategy, check out our website or reach out to get started.