How Multilingual Marketing Drives Higher Engagement in Indian Markets
There are 22 official languages in India spoken by 1.4 billion people. That means there are countless opportunities to reach customers and make them feel valued by speaking their language.
English-only marketing strategies have been leaving engagement on the table. Not everyone reads English well enough to understand what an ad says. By only writing ads in English, you could be missing out on that audience.
A multilingual marketing campaign, in contrast, helps you reach multiple audiences. You’ll gain the attention of the right customers at the right time.
What Multilingual Marketing Really Means
India is more than just a home to nearly two-dozen official languages. Multiple cultures have blossomed and thrived here. When you run a multicultural marketing campaign, getting the languages right is only one part of the picture.
Success comes from language personalization. Language personalization is the intersection of three factors:
- The right message
- The right language
- The right region
What makes sense in Punjab will not necessarily work in Tamil Nadu. There are linguistic, regional, and cultural differences that affect how marketing resonates. Successful local language marketing takes these factors into account, so your audience feels understood and not alienated.
Where Language Choice Matters Most Across Regional Channels
There are certain instances in which language choice will make more of an impact than others.
News apps are good examples. They can surface regional headlines. When those apps offer translations into the language(s) of that region, users are more likely to open the app and read the story. Just the fact that the story is in their language will make them more likely to read it, because they’ll feel it’s relevant to them.
Another instance is a shopping app that delivers deals in local languages. Everyone loves a good deal. And it’s much easier to find that good deal when it’s written in a language you know. Local language marketing makes offers more accessible to your audience.
These are two examples of high-impact touchpoints of language-first strategies, but there are certainly more. Any channel in which people access on a daily basis, any channel which is indispensable to their lives, is a great place to start with language personalization.
Why Regional Language Content Drives Deeper Engagement
Audiences respond more deeply to regional language content in their preferred language. First, it’s easier to understand. They won’t struggle with English or a concept that’s meant for another audience because it doesn’t quite resonate in their culture.
Second, local language marketing makes audiences feel recognized. They appreciate the time and effort you’ve taken to understand their unique needs. Moreover, localizing marketing shows that you value your customers. You want them to know about your latest offer so they can get the latest and greatest products or save money.
How Local Language Marketing Improves Engagement Metrics
Translating marketing materials into regional languages can improve your engagement in the following ways:
- Higher video watch time
- Higher email open rates
- Increased app usage
Higher Video Watch Time
You’re much more likely to watch a video when it’s in your language. If it was in a language you didn’t speak, you’d scroll right past it.
When brands translate videos into regional languages, audiences have more of an incentive to watch them because they’ll be easy to understand.
Higher Email Open Rates
Much like with videos, you’ll ignore or delete emails that aren’t written in your language. You might even get so annoyed, the only reason you’d open an email is to unsubscribe.
Emails in regional languages demonstrate that you value your audience, and you want them to use your products or services. You’re showing their needs and wants matter to you, which builds loyalty and customer retention.
Increased App Usage
App localization also pays dividends.
By translating your application’s user interface copy into regional languages, you make your app more accessible to people in that region. They’ll feel included, that they matter to your brand. As a result, more people will use the app, which could potentially boost your revenue.
You’ll also see stronger performance from push notifications in local languages. When a notification comes up in a language they understand, your users will be much more likely to click on it.
Applying Multilingual Marketing at Scale in India
With 22 official languages, where do brands start?
The first step is prioritizing languages and regions based on audience data. Some regions may have a higher percentage of customers than others, and it will be more worthwhile to focus translation efforts there.
Once you’ve figured out which languages to prioritize, the second step is starting with high-impact channels. These are the channels people rely upon for shopping, news, networking, etc. These channels are integrated into people’s lives, and marketing messages through these channels will be more readily received.
The third step isn’t a stopping point; it’s about testing and learning what’s working and what’s not. From there, you can expand language strategies to other regions with high concentrations of customers.
Turning Language Insight into Engagement
Language is a growth lever in Indian markets. It enables you to reach a wider audience. Moreover, multilanguage marketing supports sustained growth. You’ll be able to reach new members of your audience as they discover your brand in their language.
Putting multilingual marketing into action takes more than translation. See how TransPerfect helps organizations scale regional language content across Indian markets.