Any self-respecting company in 2022 has profiles on social media. Perhaps not on all of them, but at least on two or three. The point is to reach the end customer and successfully get across the message the company wants to convey. Sometimes that is to sell, sometimes to inform. What matters is that it lands.
And what happens when that company has several end audiences with different mother tongues? A lot of people leave the translation to the social network itself, and that is exactly what we want to talk about. Do you really think the automatic translations generated by social platforms are good enough not to deserve at least five minutes’ thought? Let us tell you what happens: you are scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and you suddenly see a post that makes little sense, accompanied by photos. You do not understand the text, still less how it relates to the images. At that point you tap “Rate this translation, see original”.
A disastrous moment
These social networks have the bad habit of translating without looking at the context, the background. Obviously, because they are automatic translations with no translator involved. A machine, particularly in a register as informal as the one used on these platforms, cannot render the message faithfully. If that happens with our personal feed, what must be happening with our professional feed? How is the social network going to translate your posts? You are better off not knowing. A picture is worth a thousand words, so if people, and above all that potential customer abroad, see your posts full of nonsense, they will not regard you as a serious company.
Can you translate my social media?
Social media timelines can be edited, yes. But the post is then flagged as edited, and the platforms do not like people tinkering with them too much. So if you are reading these lines and a sudden wave of anxiety has come over you, do not worry. Get in touch with us and tell us what sort of posts you would like translated, how often you tend to publish and whether you want to share the same post in both languages or handle them separately.
Our team of translators will be delighted to help you. Because when you open your company’s window on the world, it is better that what people see is well done, attractive and, above all, comprehensible. And since we are talking about social media, follow us on ours and keep up with all our news. You will find us on facebook, instagram and Linkedin.