Social media is more than just a window onto the world. It’s an incredible opportunity for brands of all shapes, sizes and sectors to extend their reach, spread their message and interact with ambassadors, followers, friends and fans.

The words “social media management” often elicit a groan from managers. Keeping up to date with posts, likes, feedback and connections can slip down the eternal to-do list for companies both large and small – especially if this involves multilingual content.

Talk to your followers in their own language

Managing multilingual social media sites in your customers’ languages shows that you understand and value them. While English may appear to be the online lingua franca, 42% of Facebook users do not select English as their main language, and only half of tweets are written in English.

Multilingual social media and social media translation are not the same thing. Some major companies maintain separate accounts and targeted content for each language.

Others, with fewer followers (or less time!) manage a single profile by adding translations or prioritising more visual content over text.

Here’s a rundown of how to manage a single, multilingual account on three major social networks.

Facebook: make the world your village

Facebook’s automatic translation feature is a great way to get the gist of a post, but it isn’t ideal for companies that want to hit the nail on the head in more than one language.

Its post in multiple languages feature allows businesses to post and translate exact phrases, rather than posting the same message in various languages in one long, impersonal block of text. If you’re posting a video to Facebook, you can give it a title, write descriptions and add captions to appear in your viewers’ preferred language.

Whether you’re advertising a product, publicising a promotion, posting a video, or simply letting your customers know you’re alive and kicking, it’s worth working with competent, experienced (human) translators to ensure that your message is relevant, accurate and meaningful.

Tweeting in more than one tongue

Managing a multilingual Twitter account can prove challenging, but there are a couple of ways to tailor and deliver your message effectively.

Global companies often choose to create separate accounts for tweets in each of their various target languages. Another option is to run a Twitter account in a primary language but sometimes post in another, adding a translation as a secondary tweet, if necessary.

Accuracy is key, and it’s crucial to rely on experienced linguists to ensure your tweets don’t contain errors. Although tweets can be removed, sudden disappearances can seem confusing – or even suspicious – to your audience.

Be in it to win it

LinkedIn is a prime B2B tool for companies and entrepreneurs wanting to be seen and attract new talent.

Almost 7 in 10 LinkedIn members are located outside of the US. The network’s multilingual users are often interested in connecting with people inside and outside of English-speaking countries.

While users cannot change their profile’s default language once set up, LinkedIn does enable them to create a secondary language profile by selecting it from the drop-down menu. Like Facebook’s multilingual post setting, LinkedIn does not translate content or messages, so users need to go through each section and update all necessary fields.

Be good enough to share

Social media is a prime platform from which to enrich the customer experience by offering valuable, well-translated content that’s great to read and good to share. Whichever social network you’re using, there are a few golden rules for successfully raising your profile:

1. Use geographic and language filtering to best reach your target audience.
2. To ensure that your posts appear on a consumer’s feed, add multilingual hashtags. A post written in a language other than English will benefit from English hashtags, which are more likely to trend on Twitter and trend for longer.
3. Social networking is a platform for interaction and not a one-way street. It’s essential to post feedback, to share content, and to comment on other profiles in the language of the user in question.
4. It’s not just about what you post, but also about when. Know your time zones and post content when your audience is awake and active.

Social media offers an unbeatable opportunity for companies to connect with consumers, contacts and potential employees. But it’s only as effective as the people behind it. Seek a reliable, committed multilingual service provider to help you make your virtual message and persona as memorable and precise as possible: Don’t forget, what takes seconds to post, can stay online forever!

Our e-book, “How to Improve Your Global Customer Experience”, will provide you with all you need to know about how to reach multilingual audiences for your business. Get in contact with us today to receive it for free!

Do you need to create an efficient, easy-to-use, audiovisual training programme from scratch? CPSL is partnering up with a renowned immersive and interactive technologies provider to offer comprehensive multilingual digital solutions. Contact us to explore the possibilities!

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