What do we translate or create and why?
Given that most nonprofits have tight budgets, you don’t need to translate all of your organization’s written material. Prioritize. You can develop a content marketing strategy for your Spanish content by answering six questions.
- Why do we want to develop content?
- Whom do we want to reach with our content?
- What will we write about?
- When will we create our content?
- Where will we share our content?
- How will we know that our content and strategy are effective?
The central question: Why do we want to develop or translate content in Spanish or another language?
It’s crucial that you understand whom you want to reach with your content. Go beyond demographics. Learn about that community; specifically, how it gets its information. For example, if you provide financial services to the elderly, it might not make sense to translate your entire website because the group you’re trying to reach might not have tech skills or Internet access. Instead, you could translate brochures or print newsletters to distribute at places seniors might frequent.
Focus on content that will most effectively reach your goals with your target audience. Start with the essentials. Gauge your results and slowly expand your translation efforts.
What should we not translate?
One key factor is respect for your brand integrity. Two tips can help ensure that you don’t hurt your brand in your attempt to reach a wider audience:
- Protect your organization’s name or trademarks. While a few notable organizations have translated names (such as Doctors Without Borders, the English translation for Médecins Sans Frontières), it’s best to stick to one easily identifiable name.
- Carefully consider your target audience before translating slogans or taglines. In most cases, your best bet is not to translate slogans and taglines that will appear on all of your organization’s materials. You might be surprised to learn that most will understand your slogan in their second language because slogans are designed to easily and succinctly define a brand.
It could help, however, to provide a translation if you’re offering a program or service specifically for the Latino community. But you should only do that if you have a trusted translation team that can ensure your message doesn’t get muddled. You certainly don’t want to cause an uproar such as the famous blunder that transformed the American “Got Milk?” ad campaign into the uncomfortable “Are you lactating?” in Spanish-speaking areas.