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Global Content: Adapting To International Audiences

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Guides

Global Content: Adapting To International Audiences

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The internet is a global place, which makes it easier than ever to share things with a wide audience. If you want your content to be seen by a global audience, you can put it out there for everyone to see.

However, you still often have to work at getting a more international audience to engage with your content. There are various things to consider, including language and cultural barriers that can affect how something is perceived.

To appeal to a global audience, you should consider adapting content in different ways or thinking about how to make one piece of content more attractive to people worldwide.

Think About Cultural Differences

Cultural norms and ideas and important to pay attention to when you're creating international content. You need to consider everything from the words that you choose to the cultural reference points that you might mention.

You should think about whether there is anything that might be misunderstood by someone from another culture. On the other hand, it's also a good idea to think about anything that might be particularly culturally relevant.

If you're creating content related to a specific country, for example, you might want to make sure you recognize a national holiday.

Translate Your Content

Translating content offers a way to make it available to people who speak different languages. You can translate text or text over images, as well as subtitling videos. When you use subtitling companies to create subtitled content, it allows you to offer one piece of content that is easily adapted for different people.

On video platforms like YouTube, you can upload subtitles in different languages and the viewer can choose the language that they want. You could also have a translation team to translate content such as blog posts and articles, which you could post in different languages or even on different websites.

Be More Visual

If you don't want to have to translate some things, focusing on more visual content can be helpful. Rather than relying on text, you can use images instead. For example, in many IKEA instruction leaflets for their furniture, the instructions for putting something together use only images instead of text.

There are many times when you can use an image that can be understood by most people, instead of using text that might only be understood by some. But it's important to be as clear as possible if trying to get a message or instruction across.

Watch Out for Numbers and Practicalities

Sometimes it's the small things that can trip you up. Even when writing content in a single language, targeting a more international audience can be tricky. Some countries use different measurements for distance, weight and other metrics.

Some have a different date format, different seasons and of course there are differences with currencies and the economy too. These are all things to watch out for when creating and translating content.

Making your content suitable for people around the world can get it more attention. However, you should be careful about how you adapt it for different audiences.

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Global Content: Adapting To International Audiences

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