What is Creative Translation?
Creative translation is the process of changing the words from one language to another while keeping the original message of the text.
Often jokes, slang, idioms, and references cannot be translated directly without losing the meaning. Creative translation factors this in and adjusts the texts so that the newly translated document keeps all of the emotions, tone, and feeling of the original.
Creative translators are also copywriters and content writers at the same time. They create captivating texts that resonate with your target audience.
Creative translators need to be experts in the cultural nuances of a region so that your marketing materials connect with your audience as if someone from their home country wrote the copy they are reading.
One can use creative translation in content such as:
- Facebook ads
- Google ads
- Instagram captions
- Tweets
- Facebook posts
- Blogs
- Landing pages
- Sales letters
- Emails
- Other marketing materials
What is the Difference Between Literal Translation and Creative Translation?
The literal translation is the process of taking words from one language and changing them to words in another language.
Such translations need to be 100% accurate—it is used primarily with legal texts that cannot have any errors in them.
The literal translation is focused more on word-to-word translation, whereas creative translation focuses on the goals of the text.
The goal of a text could be to capture audiences’ attention or to spark an emotion in them such as fears, desires, hopes, or dreams.
A creative translator is essential when it comes to the translation of ads and social media posts. Creative translations can be completely rewritten if that’s what it takes to keep the original source’s text’s meaning.
The creative translation should almost always be used in business settings. Making the mistake of using literal translation on your marketing materials can lead to texts that are robotic, awkward, or even offensive to readers.
What are the Benefits of Using Creative Translation?
Social norms vary depending on each country, city, or town your target audience belongs to. Even though most of Latin America speaks Spanish, the people are different from each region.
For example, slang used in Argentina wouldn’t make sense to a person who is from Mexico.
Even within a country, the language can vary. In fact, there are eleven different dialects within Colombia. The people living in the city’s capital, Bogota have a completely different culture than people who live in the Caribbean city of Cartagena.
By working with a creative translator who understands these regional differences, you will be able to have content that is localized that resonates with your target audience.
When content is properly localized, readers will feel as if someone they grew up with writing what they are reading.
People are far more likely to buy from a friend, and if your brand can feel familiar to people—they will be far more likely to buy from you.
Why Copywriting is a Key Part of Marketing Translation
The copy in your marketing materials needs to be persuasive. A great copywriter needs to write directly to your ideal customer.
They need to know this customer’s desires, fears, wants, and needs. A great copywriter needs to know how old this customer is, their level of education, their interests, how they speak—not accounting for these factors will lead to copy that doesn’t convert.
Your marketing copy needs to grab the reader’s attention from the start. The headline needs to be intriguing; the first sentence of the body paragraph needs to be enticing—leading the reader into the rest of the text, flowing like a river from beginning to end.
Marketing translators who understand copywriting have the ability to keep your brand’s tone of voice and enhance the translated copy with your brand’s values.
Do Google Ads Auto-Translate?
Google Ads do not auto-translate. If you create an English ad but choose Spanish as your target language—your ad will remain in English.
You will not get many results unless those Spanish speakers happen to also speak English.
If you want to increase your click-through rates (CTR), you should have your ads written in your target market’s local language.
If you plan on translating your ads, it’s important that you work with a trustworthy professional and a native speaker of your target audience.
Translation is often not enough—your content should be localized as well. Make sure you do not forget about the landing page your ad is leading to—this needs to be translated as well, or else visitors will leave your marketing funnel. You should also translate keywords to optimize your SEO efforts.
Are Facebook Ads Translated?
Facebook gives you the choice of automatically translating your ads if the option is available in the language you need to translate. In order to create an ad in multiple languages on Facebook you need to:
- Go to Ads Manager, select Campaigns, then select +Create.
- Next, select your ad objective.
- After that define your audience
- Next, choose images of videos
- Next, choose your text
- After that choose Languages, then ad languages
- Next, enter your headline and primary text
- Finally, select Save and then Confirm
Facebook allows you to localize your ads specific to each county and region you are targeting.
Where Can I Find a Creative Translator?
Many translators work as freelancers today, or they work directly with a translation company.
It’s possible to find freelance translators on sites such as Upwork or Fiverr, but it comes with a risk.
Often, people on these sites exaggerate their language ability and may not be completely fluent in the languages they are translating to and from.
This can lead to errors throughout your copy that are expensive to fix. It could even permanently damage your brand’s reputation if the translated text is offensive to native speakers.
The better option is to work with a translation company that vets each of its translators before hiring them.
If you have any questions about creative translation, please leave us a comment below. We will respond to all comments and questions within 24 hours.
