By Megha Sawhney
This article is edited from a Modlingua internship assignment submitted in July 2018. It records the author's views and project experience at that time. Unsupported statements about conversion rates and results have been removed, and one sourced reference on multilingual content has been added.
Content writing, online marketing and translation work best together. A product page, a social media post or a press release only helps a business if the right readers can understand it and feel it was written for them. My assignment looked at how translation connects writing and marketing, and I added an example from my own work.
Content writing and marketing
Businesses in almost every field, including law, medicine, education, fashion, lifestyle and social work, need to explain what they offer. They use blogs, press releases, social media posts and technical writing to reach audiences and customers. Good content does not rely on one skill. Writers, designers and marketers each contribute, and the result is stronger when the work is planned together.
Where translation fits
Translation is one way content can reach readers who do not share the original language. When a brand's message is available in the languages its audience uses, more people can read it, share it and respond. This is why translation is often part of a marketing plan rather than a final step after the writing is done.
Google's guidance on multilingual and multi-regional sites shows how seriously search platforms treat this. It recommends giving each language version its own URL and linking the versions clearly, so that readers and search engines can find the right page. I did not cover this technical side in my assignment, but it supports the same idea: language is part of how people find and trust a brand.
People and culture behind the words
Translation also brings together people who work in different languages and regions. A brand page that draws on several languages and cultural viewpoints can feel more welcoming to a varied audience, even when the range of products or services stays the same. Changing the language is a small step, but it shows respect for a reader's comfort and can make the brand feel closer to them.
A project from my own experience
I used translation alongside a social media strategy for the website of a yoga training centre in Pokhara, Nepal. The centre wanted to reach customers abroad, and I was hired to write Hindi taglines. Hindi is a language many readers connect with India and its culture, and I used that connection in the tagline design, including a distinctive Hindi font. I felt the translated taglines made the centre more visible, though I have no figures to measure the effect, so this is my own impression from 2018.
Key takeaways
- Content writing, marketing and translation support each other.
- Reaching readers in their own language makes a brand easier to understand and trust.
- Translated copy, such as taglines, needs careful word and design choices, not only a word-for-word rendering.
- Claims about results should be backed by data, not just impressions.
Related reading: Modlingua's intern profile for Megha Sawhney (English-Hindi) is at modlingua.com/interns/1004.
