Video engagement is at an all-time high with social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube fueling the trend. You can join the hype if you localize your video!
Besides watching funny videos, consumers find product videos extremely helpful when making a purchasing decision, which is great for businesses. Today, videos cover webinars, interviews, product reviews and demos, vlogs, and product presentations. Businesses now use video content to scale their business, and improve sales and brand recognition. And to boost engagement and reach across international borders, businesses are turning to video localization.
Video localization involves adapting your video produced in one language to suit another region and audience.
Why would you do this?
Because consumers value content in their native language, especially when it comes to making purchasing decisions.
Shooting new videos for each region will be costly and time-consuming, that’s why businesses are turning to localization.
Now that you know why you need to localize your video is beneficial, here’s how it’s done.
The Video Localization Process to Engage Your Target Audience
By engaging professional translators who use state-of-the-art recording studios and the best voice talents, your project is sure to be a success.
Here are some things that will ensure success:
- The first step is to work with your chosen localization company to find the best talent for your project.
- Provide them with a link to the video for review
- Send a video transcript that will be used for the localized video
- Ensure your service provider has files of the original video
- Supply additional information to inform the voice talent of your needs and the context of your video content
- Provide a pronunciation guide
- A glossary of English terms should be provided. Many artists will find it helpful, especially for abbreviations and acronyms.
Once you’ve got that out of the way, you’ll need to choose one of the following video localization methods.
Subtitling
One of the most affordable and common ways to localize your video content is through subtitling. Subtitling allows the audience to watch your video content with text on the bottom of the screen translated to their preferred language.
Dubbing
This is an old process which is more expensive than subtitles but easier for the viewers to process without too much distraction. It is popularly used for the translation of motion picture films.
To dub video content, localizers study the actors’ lip movements to get the closest match in the language of their target audience. After a professional dubbing, the video appears initially filmed for the target audience.
Voiceovers
Voiceovers are excellent for video content that does not have people talking to each other. For instance, a voiceover will suit a product description where only the product is visible. Voiceovers also make great choices for documentaries, cartoons, and animated videos.
There are two options for voiceovers.
Off-screen Voiceovers
If your translation video consists of cartoons or illustrations, this may be the best video localization tool to use. With no talking heads, timing the translation to match the video is simple and straightforward. This method is generally cheaper as production is usually easier and you may only need one voice artist.
UN-Style Voiceovers for Video Content
This method is for interviews with a known personality. It doesn’t replace the speaker’s sound. Instead, a recording is made over it. The original speaker’s voice will be lowered as the voiceover begins.
This method requires precise timing to match the voiceover with what’s happening on the screen. And since this voiceover style is best for real people, you need two voiceover artists to localize the video.
Get Video Localization Strategy Help from Professionals
Offering your video content in more languages means a broader audience. This translates into more revenue, global recognition, and brand awareness. There’s really no reason any brand shouldn’t leverage this marketing strategy to scale their business.
To adapt to a broader market seamlessly, you need to hire a reputable agency to help you with your localization requirements.
At Day Translations, we offer wide range of translation services and can help you break into a new market. With a team of professional translators, voiceover artists, linguists, and state-of-the-art recording studios, you can expect high-quality localized content.
Contact us today for a free quote.