The Inbound Marketing Challenges for Bilinguals

Globalization, world citizenship, 24/7 and borderless media. These have all led to a world that is more connected and dynamic than ever before. However, this also makes it harder to develop a strong message that is unique when there is so much noise around us . 

It is hard enough to keep track of the changing lingo, slang, and vernacular of the country you live in - but staying up to date with 2 nations’ cultures - with 2 different languages and their nuances - is downright nightmarish.

Doing Things the Penguin Strategies Way

Bilinguals have a unique advantage - but also encounter certain challenges. This is true even more so for bilingual marketers, who work in multiple languages - and for marketing professionals  with clients who primarily speak a different mother tongue. 

Here at Penguin Strategies, we hear a mix of languages in the office on a daily basis - from English, to Hebrew and even Portuguese! We can only imagine that other offices with similarly diverse staff enjoy the exposure to different languages and cultures as much as we do.

What Does This Translate To?

Below are the the top 4 tips for marketers who are either bilingual or deal with markets that work in several languages.  
Vámonos! 

1. Be Original - It’s very important to find a unique point - this is true for business in general and for marketing in particular. When you’re involved in bilingual marketing, the stakes are even higher, given that you have two cultures and markets.
2. Spelling & Grammar - Similar to sports, successful marketing and content creation is all about the basics. You need to have strong fundamentals to build upon or everything will be shaky. You definitely don't want to make silly grammar and spelling mistakes since this can can seriously harm your engagement and success. 
3. Be Aware of Cultural Changes - But Don’t Sell Yourself Out - Similar to tip #1, while it’s important to be aware of how other cultures speak and behave, you want to maintain  your own voice and identity. Being yourself is very important if you want to make an impression and distinguish your messaging. Don’t try and change who you are or how you speak to conform to a cultural uniformity.
4. Draw from Other Cultures to Better Express Yourself - A lot of research about bilinguals points to the fact that bilingual people are smarter than their monolingual counterparts - at least when it comes to multitasking. Bilinguals also have a broader vocabulary to think in and develop ideas from, with which can lead to more original and fresh thinking.

Embrace the Marketing Challenges

We see from the above that bilingual marketers have a lot of unique abilities and tools to draw upon in their trade. Although every industry is different, this broader mindset enables  such marketers to more easily create buyer personas since they can imagine diverse kinds of people.

Another great skill inherent to bilingual marketers is their ability to think in different ways and notice details in a language others would miss. This can help bilinguals create great content that really speaks to people.

Knowing how to really target someone and speak their language (metaphorically or literally) is key to inbound marketing - since it helps you create engaging content, and results in increase revenues.

Bringing It All Together

As we’ve discussed, marketers who speak 2 or more languages face some interesting marketing challenges. However, these marketers can also use their skills to create engaging content and come up with fresh and exciting ideas.

To learn more about Penguin Strategies and how we do things in the marketing world, check out our blog section for the best ideas and strategies shared by our world-class marketers. I can’t guarantee that you’ll learn a whole new language, but you will definitely come out with something new and useful.