Localize to Market Your Events on a Global Scale

Industry specific conferences and events are becoming more and more global as industries and companies expand into new markets. In this blog I will explain how localization helps event companies or event departments generate exposure and become globally recognized.

Brand Name Localization

A localization strategy is customized to understand local consumers, their specific requirements and the correct communication to use. Brand names, for example, need proper localization to avoid compromising the brand identity or sending out the wrong message.

Companies who use transliteration strategies when they localize English brand names to a different alphabet, such as Arabic or Chinese, may suffer from confusing marketing.  One example is Coca Cola, the translation of ko-kä-kö-la into Chinese means “bite a wax tadpole.”

Event Localization

Global event companies who are interested in speakers from around the world and have a global audience need to consider the cultures and dialects they are targeting or it may lead to miscommunication. For events to be successful in the global market, localization is important in many areas including:

• SEO: multilingual SEO practices help your information be found in target market searches.
• Websites: translating your website allows your target audiences to read content in their language.
• Social Media: social media platforms play a large part in the world today, translating and localizing social media content for the platforms your audiences are on (Twitter, Facebook, WeChat, Instagram, etc.) is very important to catch people’s attention before, during and after an event.
• Mobile Apps: We are living in a tech world and mobile technology should be utilized to reach a wider audience and stand out from other companies in the event landscape. Having a localized mobile friendly application is another way to stand out from the competition.

In a global world, online events such as webinars and virtual live streaming events are becoming common, and companies need to adapt to this market and realize that people accessing these events are from many parts of the world. These web events cost less and reach a wide global audience. Localization helps bring in more online attendance and presence.

Summary

The event industry typically has many international clients and hosts events around the world. There are corporate customers, trade associations and local governments organizing or attending events for networking, marketing, engaging and connecting with their market and stakeholders.  These professional, international tradeshows, conferences and corporate event organizers have to stand out with how they reach their clients, vendors, exhibitors, media, as well as their attendees by engaging with their global markets through localized websites and content.