But what happens when your business starts to grow beyond the ability to manage your outreach with the same hands-on, one-content-person-wears-all-the-hats approach?

To remain competitive and responsive in our global digital “multiverse,” you need to be ready to scale up your content efforts to reach new markets, in new countries, and to communicate using new levels of sophistication.

Content Marketing Institute’s latest webinar, Content Marketing Two-Step: Scaling Editorial Calendars and Multiple Content Channels, provides marketers with some fantastic tools to address these challenges — with the help of a few seasoned content pros.

Scaling editorial calendars for global use

As Integrated Marketing Manager for Intel, Pam Didner recognizes the importance of content planning that is built to scale as outreach objectives grow. Pam started globalizing her editorial calendars last year, and has shared some insight into how Intel manages the process.

Pam says the secret lies in tight collaboration between the company’s headquarters (HQ) and its regional offices (geos). “Geos are your BFFs,” she says, so in order to manage expectations — and the flow of communication — establish clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each participant from the outset. Once you know who is in charge of each task, the content process boils down to a few manageable steps:

1. Prioritize your geos/countries, and the topics that are most relevant to each one, based on budgets and goals. Here, HQ takes the lead in making the decisions, but geo involvement and feedback is vital. When you are providing content on a global scale, it’s likely that every region will have its own distinct ideas, communication styles, messaging goals, and business objectives. Help each geo understand the focal points that will best speak to your current brand priorities by giving them the reasoning behind each choice. While you can’t always make every region completely happy, open communication will help ease potential conflicts.

2. Finalize the editorial timeline for outreach, based on each geo’s specific business objectives and product launch schedules. HQ should take ownership of this step, which, if Step 1 above is done correctly, shouldn’t take much time.

3. Create geo-specific editorial calendars to set deadlines for content creation and execution. This step requires equal participation from both HQ and geos. HQ makes its recommendations on topics, and each geo will then take its budget and message priorities into account to select the topics it will create content around.

4. Create a topic marketing kit. This HQ-driven task includes: 

• Outlining the key story you want to tell in a given geo
• Determining your overall brand messaging and positioning
• Listing the key search terms you’ve identified for that geo
• Listing the specific content pieces that will work best (e.g., white papers, social media messages, case studies, videos, etc.), and templates the geo can use to customize any materials that HQ has created to share. 

5. Craft an engagement plan. Once geos have the topic marketing kit in hand, they can begin developing their own plans to create, launch, and manage their content. Here, individual geos can use their knowledge about the audience to ensure that messages will resonate with their audience, based on its distinct communication style and cultural priorities. A few general tips apply here:

• Make sure to allow yourself a long enough lead time to produce the kit
• Use simple, headline-driven creative content that can be easily customized
• Videos work well when creating content templates that cross cultural and geographic boundaries. But make sure your videos focus less on dialogue and more on images and demos so that key messages don’t get lost in translation.

This step is also where geos will determine the media strategies they will use to distribute their content (e.g., direct marketing, local events, search campaigns, etc.).

6. Share engagement results. After the campaign has been executed, it’s vital that HQ and geos take the time to debrief each other on the program’s performance. Metrics should be discussed and measured against expectations, and any unexpected events should be noted and explained. 

7. Refine the editorial plan and marketing kit. Taking into account all results and learning from Step 6, HQ can go back and tweak the process for future use.

Virtual communications: Delivering a global content plan

Once you have designed and developed a scalable content strategy, there’s still the question of how to execute those plans. Scalable distribution of content presents its own challenges, such as how to capture customer attention, how to deliver consistent and personalized messages, and how to make your content accessible anywhere, at any time, on any device. Fortunately, there is a wealth of virtual communication solutions available to help marketers address these issues. 

In his part of the webinar presentation, Mark Bornstein, Senior Marketing Content Manager at ON24, urges marketers to expand their perception of content execution and distribution beyond the trusty webinar. As virtual communication evolves, enhanced tools and capabilities are becoming available, such as:

• Engaging rich-media experiences, including video, demos, Q&A screens, and more
• Integrated branding opportunities that enhance, rather than interrupt, the audience experience
• Multimedia content options that add sight, sound, and context to presentations
• Enhanced interactivity, such as chat functionality, that allows the audience to participate, rather than just view what’s happening on the screen.
• Social media integration, so participants can share what they’ve learned with their colleagues and the business communities they’ve cultivated online. 

Virtual communication vehicles also work well when reaching out to consumers who aren’t able to attend your live events. For example, solutions such as briefing centers or user conferences and trade shows work well for distributing educational and informative content — particularly for busy professionals who don’t have the time or budget to attend many training sessions or press events. Another benefit of virtual communication events is that they can be archived and viewed at the consumer’s convenience. “These are not one-time environments. They live on after the original events,” says Bornstein.

Speaking of archived events, you still have a chance to experience all the fantastic insight shared by Pam Didner and Mark Bornstein in the Content Marketing Two-Step webinar. View the archive version here. 

Image credit: Fotolia.com

The other day, I was in a popular national chain pizza restaurant enjoying a meal with friends.

While we dined, I noticed a number of younger people (under 34) showing their mobiles to the server before getting their bill. One family even had a teenage mobile user hold up her phone on behalf of the family.

Now, this particular chain of pizza restaurants does a lot of online marketing, especially email. In fact, many of my friends that evening had printed off 2-for-1 vouchers from the chain’s website.

Being in the SMS (mobile phone text messages) business, I was curious how the pizza chain’s program worked. I used my smartphone to search for the chain’s “mobile voucher.” What I observed at the restaurant and found online only served to strengthen the research I’ve seen on how effectively mobile SMS campaigns reach the younger demographics.

Using SMS to get them to spend

In the example above, the voucher code was for 25 percent off the food bill when you purchased at least two “adult” pizzas. It’s a pretty good deal, especially for those on limited budgets (like most young people), and a sure way to bring customers (who might be otherwise reluctant) into the restaurant for a meal by spending a minimum amount.

But discount codes are only one kind of SMS marketing tactic — there are plenty of other uses, such as:

• Free product offers
• Buy-one-get-one-free coupons
• Priority customer codes
• Special announcements
• VIP access

Like all good offers, you need to consider your audience for your product or service. For example: the local restaurant could offer a free bottle of wine with your next visit; an electronics store could announce when a popular game is back in stock; or a local night club could offer special access to mobile customers on a traditionally slow evening with “Free VIP access this Tuesday night! Show this text code when you get to the door VIPTUES121211″.

SMS messages are actually read

The New York Times reported that email use is declining in younger target markets (those under 34 years old), noting they prefer to use SMS messages to communicate. In a U.S. study conducted by eMarketer, over half of the respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said that they would give their mobile number to a business in order to receive coupons or vouchers.

SMS is powerful for marketers as well: the average open rate for SMS messages is over 95% (Frost & Sullivan). you suddenly see how effective SMS marketing is when trying to reach younger segments of your audience.

Putting it all together

I signed up online for the promotion by entering my mobile number and immediately received a confirmation text message on my phone:

ABCPizza: Thanks for your interest in our 25% off voucher. To receive your code, reply “yes”. Standard network charges apply. See T&Cs on our website.

The pizza restaurant is using good practice here. The opt in to receive the code is a reassuring sign that I’m not enrolling in something suspicious. Also, the message clearly communicated what the charges would be (standard network rates).

I confirmed and received my code which explained how to redeem it and how long I had to use it.

ABCPizza: 25% off ur bill when you order 2 main meals. Show code to your server when you ask for the bill. 26e1A56 Exp 23.11.2011

Once we finished our meal, I showed my SMS message to my server, who took down the number to check against a live database, and then gave me the 25 percent discount.

What’s more, I told my friends to text to the opt-in short code to get the discount too. Which brings me back to a point I made earlier about considering your audience in your offers. A compelling offer will get shared and with most young people today carrying mobiles, this viral sharing of SMS marketing messages ensures your offers are read by this important demographic.

Now, go ahead and play this creation by Doremus for Logitech.

The Brand Content Challenge: Global to Local

I’ve been asked how to create global content with minimal localization and translation while taking into account local needs. This video is a great illustration of how to approach the task.  Unlike conventional B2B content that focuses on products, this video puts storytelling and emotional connection first, and then weaves the products into the story in an organic way. 

The 5-Step Brand Content Solution: Identity to Broadcast

1.  Discover the brand identity:  At a macro-level, marketers need to understand why the brand exists, and then communicate that to the audience.

Logitech is a well-known computer peripherals brand. Chad Thompson, Worldwide B2B Marketing Director at Logitech, and Joe McCormack, Creative VP at Doremus, tried to unearth the new spirit of the Logitech B2B brand in their campaign.

With ubiquitous connections and on-the-go mobile devices, work and personal boundaries no longer exist; any place can now serve as an office. Logitech identifies itself as offering products that are designed to help business users work in offices, wherever they may be; thus, the idea for “The New Office” was born.

2.  Start with crisp strategy: Three marketing strategies were in play here to bring the Logitech brand persona to life.

• Reclaim relevance:  Showcase Logitech products’ compatibility with new technologies to solve “office anywhere” challenges.
• Cross-promotion: Focus on the usage models. Here, Logitech redefined the categories not by devices but, rather, by the concept of “workspace”. Four workspace categories are relevant to the Logitech brand: larger/open workspaces, smaller office spaces/cubes, home offices, and to-go workspaces (e.g., a café; the airport). This strategy of focusing on the category, rather than on a specific product, also allows for cross-selling of multiple products.
• Engage customers: Redesign websites and customer-facing interfaces or collaterals with new creative to reflect the new brand promises.

3.  Create stories to scale:  Once they identified the “why” (brand essence) and the “what” (marketing strategies), Logitech and Doremus created the “Welcome to the New Office” campaign.

From the get-go, they set their minds to creating video content that could easily be distributed throughout different regions. Because of this, the creative content could not heavily tie into rituals, local customs, cultural differences, or too many dialogues. Yet, the story framework needed to be familiar and understood by all audiences, regardless of where they live. This video, featuring a dad making dinner for his kids and attending a meeting, is something that small business owners or working professionals, like me, can relate to.

4.  Find a great director: Once you have a good story and script, the next step is to find a director who can bring the story to life in a visually compelling way.

Given that the budget was tight, it was even more essential for the Logitech team to find a director who would be attracted to good storytelling. They were very lucky to find Eric Steinman, who loved the script and was willing to work astutely within the tight production budget.

5.  Make it happen.

The original script had more dialogue.To make it work more globally, the team worked hard to find visual ways to “show” the dialogue without words. They also made casting global. The shooting took only one day in Los Angeles, using non-union talent. The whole process from planning to production took three months.

A good product markets itself. A good story idea attracts collaborators who want to be part of it.  The secret is to find the humanity.

Really take the time to pinpoint scenarios that highlight your audience’s pain and present the solution in a very human, simple, and universal way.  

(Special thanks to Joe McCormack of Doremus, who shared his insights and thoughts for this article.)

For a long time I assumed that as long as the creative concept was headline-driven or provided simple background information without including details on specific figureheads, it would be easy to scale to other regions. I now realize that this is only partially true. There are a lot of factors influencing the development of a creative concept, but the Holy Grail (or the determining factor) of globalizing a creative concept starts with your company’s products. Let me illustrate with three different examples.

The centralized model

What it is: Same products worldwide; one global creative concept (with or very minimal regional localization).

Example: The best way to illustrate this model is to look at Apple. Apple’s Macintosh computers, iPods, iPhones, and iPads are sold worldwide without any differences in how the products appear.

How to execute: Apple’s creative concept is derived from how its technology makes life better; not from information on the technology itself. In addition, Apple tends to put its products front-and-center and focuses on illustrating how the products make users’ lives better and more fun. As long as  the company illustrates how those product benefits can be universally understood, the overall creative concept should easily scale globally.

The creative localization is minimal, more focuses on translation. As you will likely recall, with most of Apple’s TV and print ads (including the latest TV commercial for the iPhone 4S), you can easily visualize how the same concepts would work in Bangkok, Beijing, Munich, or Moscow (with the exception of the “I am a Mac/I am a PC” campaign, which uses U.S.-centric humor that would need to be customized to work in other regions).

How to structure your organization: This centralized model requires a strong headquarters to lead and own the development of creative concepts and assets for regions. For this, a global agency will most likely be required. Headcount is heavy in headquarters and light in geos as the regions tend to focus on marketing executions.

iPhone 4 ad

iPod ad

The hybrid model

What it is: Same products worldwide; one global creative concept or framework with regional localization.

Example: A lot of global companies’ creative developments fall into this category; I’ll use my company, Intel, as an example. The theme for our second-generation Intel Core processor is “Visibly Smart Performance for Your Visual Life,” meaning that as people define who they are through visual experiences a second-generation Intel Core processor is the perfect engine for expressing and sharing these visual lives.

How to execute: With that creative foundation in mind, we came up with a core set of creative concepts and then localized and translated them for each market region. We used a simple, generic background and headline-driven creative for every region to use (see below). We also understood there was a need to illustrate our definition of stunning visuals and intelligent performance.

How to structure your organization: As in the centralized model, Intel’s headquarters leads the initial creative development, then it works with different regions to localize it. Close collaboration is essential. To make this effective, the creative agency needs to define the concepts with “global” and “local” in mind. Since geo expertise and feedback is required to reflect cultural uniqueness in localizing the main creative concept, the headcount mix between the headquarters and geographies is about 50/50.

The local model

What it is: Localized products; a high-level creative framework with extensive localization.

Example: In China, KFC customers can purchase a bowl of congee; a rice porridge that can feature pork, pickles, mushrooms and egg; as well as buy a bucket of its famous Classic fried chicken. KFC China stays true to its “core” products — Classic and Crispy Chicken — yet completely customizes the menu to fit the local needs.

How to execute: Here is a great article from Bloomberg that describes KFC’s success in China.  What the headquarters can do is provide a high-level creative framework. As long as the regional office adheres to the framework, it has a wide range of freedom to develop the creative that will work for its own region. We see more consumer products such as detergents, drinks, and skin-care following this model.

How to structure your organization: Given that the products are localized, headquarters’ role is to enable the regional creative development without much intervention. With this model, regional owns the marketing creative development and execution. The headcount is regional heavy.

Order KFC meals on-line on www.kfc.com.cn

KFC Menu in China

 Overall, it’s possible to globalize your creative development, but how you accomplish this all depends on your products. If they are fairly standardized across all regions, a corporate-led effort is a viable route. But if your products or your product marketing strategies vary by region, a corporate-enabled effort will certainly be appreciated by your geos. You also need to take into account your company’s culture, organization structure, budget, resource allocation, and management preference.It’s time to plan for 2012. Which globalization model best fits your products or services? I’d love to see your ideas and feedback in the comments below.

This time around, I’d like to expand on that theme with five tips that will get you on the road to running content marketing campaigns internationally even when you’re monolingual yourself.

1) Researching your market

If you’re looking to start a content marketing or link-building campaign in a foreign language market, your first step should be to engage in some in-depth research of your target markets:

• What sites exist that might publish your content?
• What sort of content do they prefer?
• What is the preferred tone and style?
• Who makes up your target audience?
• Should you be looking at blog posts, articles, video, social media or all of the above?

Scouting around the local web using Google Translate can give you a very useful overview of the answers to these critical questions. But it never hurts to have your assumptions assessed by a local native-speaker, especially one with marketing experience.

Once you have your strategy in place, your next question is whether to adapt your existing content or create new original content.

2) Localizing duplicate content

Because Google and other search engines’ duplicate content rules don’t apply across multiple languages, you have the option of simply localizing your existing content.  Content localization means going one step further than basic translation. You must have the content translated into its target language, and you must also edit the content thoroughly to ensure that all cultural and linguistic differences are taken into consideration.

For instance, you need to ensure that the currencies and measurement systems are appropriate for the target audience, that the content does not contain references that are irrelevant or obscure for the intended audience,  and that the correct specific language variant is used (for example, there are 21 variants of Latin American Spanish).

So, for example, if you were localizing the  piece (see below) of content from  a UK audience to a US audience, it would change from:

“Localisation specialists Lingo24 reached a turnover of £5m GBP in 2010, placing a number 81 on the Sunday Times’ Fast Track list.”

Into this:

Localization specialists Lingo24 reached a turnover of $8m USD in 2010, placing a number 81 on UK newspaper on the Sunday Times’ Fast Track list.”

With enough research, this is a process you can undertake yourself before translation; however, you may find it feasible to create original content with in-country copywriters.

3) Hiring in-country copywriters and pitchers

By far, the best way to ensure that your content is culturally and linguistically appropriate and up to date with the news is to outsource your content creation to in-country specialists and copywriters.  Of  course, evaluating their output is difficult when you don’t speak the language, so it helps to have a feedback process in which in-country editors with experience with your brand can evaluate the content and help get your writers up to a standard where they can work independently.

The second benefit of having in-country specialists is for the dissemination and publication of your content.  Again, this is something that you can do yourself. But if you were a website editor who received a pitch that obviously had been translated by a machine translation program would you accept the content?

My experience with my translation agency Lingo24 has been that the most valuable links by far are those from high ranking editorial sites. The only way to secure those links is with the production of high quality content pitched by expert native-speaking PR specialists.

Outsourcing to in-country specialists to post and pitch your content in their native language means you can concentrate on the bigger picture such as overall content strategy and expansion into additional markets.

4) Researching and localizing your keywords

If part of your content marketing strategy involves building links, then ensuring your keywords are correct is absolutely essential; otherwise, you’ll be climbing the search rankings for terms no one is searching for.

You can undertake a large part of the process yourself by translating your English keywords directly, researching the keywords your competitors are using, and checking for traffic size and AdWords opportunities using tools like Google’s Keyword Tool and Google Global Market Finder.

Before deciding on your final keywords, though, it helps to have your list checked over by a native-speaking specialist, as language is ever-changing, and the most popular keywords could be colloquialisms, adaptations from English or something else you wouldn’t even be aware of as a non-local.  For instance, the most popular key word in Italy for the term “low cost flights” is an English hybrid – “voli low cost” – a term that entered the language when U.K. airlines cornered the cheap flight industry.

Measuring success with link-building campaigns is a relatively simple process.  Just log your website’s place on the search engines for key terms at the start of the process and chart your monthly progress up the search engine results pages (SERPS) for those key terms as you collect more links from highly ranked sites.

5) Harnessing foreign social media

As social media is fast becoming an indispensable part of any content marketing campaign, it’s important to know where your brand stands in terms of multilingual social media.

Setting up translated Twitter and Facebook accounts (and Google+ in the near future) is a no-brainer for most countries and so is  keeping them updated regularly with interactive content.  Check regularly to ensure you’re engaging with your followers in a timely manner.

To this end, it might help to bring on a part-time social media manager for each language (perhaps one of your existing copywriters is up for the task) to keep the content fresh and flowing and to maintain an interactive presence.  And be aware that in some countries, there are social networks other than Facebook and Twitter that are dominant, such as Renren in China and Orkut in Brazil.

As you can see, there are plenty of free tools around the web that can help you dip a toe into foreign language content marketing  although you may want to bring in specialists to help when you start seeing results and want to refine your campaigns.  But there are really no barriers to trying it out even if you’re monolingual!

Do you have other questions? Share in the comments, and we’ll point you to an answer or ask one of our contributors to write a future post on the topic.

Getting started

What is content marketing, and how is it different from traditional marketing?
Want to learn what content marketing is or explain this to your peers? This is the post for you.

How should I get started with content marketing?
Twelve CMI contributors give you essential getting started tips (check out the end of the post for a summary of ideas).

How can I change the culture in my organization to support content marketing?
One of the biggest challenges with content marketing is getting buy-in from management. Nate Riggs gives tips on how to do this.

I’m new to content marketing and don’t have a lot of time to spend. What would you suggest?
Mark Schaefer shares how any company – large or small – can use micro-content.

How to I monitor my brand online?
You know you should be monitoring your brand online, but how exactly do you do this? CB Whittemore walks you through the steps (and check out the comments for an additional video from Brody Dorland).

Developing a strategy

What is content strategy?
Here’s an essential post from Kathy Hanbury that explains content strategy in a very easy-to-understand way.

I want to create a content strategy. Where do I start?
A great post from Chris Moritz that breaks down the first steps in a content strategy, from creating a content inventory to developing personas.

How many tactics should I use? How do I decide which tactics are best for my audience?
In a follow up post, Chris Moritz shares how to develop strategic pillars for your content marketing.

How do I create an effective content mix?
Kathy Hanbury walks you through a series of exercises to help define the right content mix for your business.

What process and templates should I use to map by B2B content to the buying cycle?
If you are a B2B marketer who has a long or complex buying process, this is a must-read post from Barbra Gago complete with templates.

Understanding your buyers

How do I develop a buyer persona?
A lot of contributors have touched on buyer personas as they are at the heart of what we do. Barbra Gago touches on the highlights and provides a solid template for you to use.

What is a web persona, and how is it different from a buyer persona?
Brian Massey discusses a web persona, which is a useful tool to help you figure out how to present information on your website.

How can I learn more about my audience via analytics?
In this five-minute video, Andrew Davis shares two tools you can use to figure out what you audience is doing online.

How can I research my buyer?
Many marketers talk about knowing your buyer, but how exactly do you do this? Barbra Gago explains.

I want to create the type of content my audience wants. How do I know how they are consuming content?
Not only do you need to know what kind of info your audience wants, but you also need to know how to present it. Here, Barbra Gago poses 20 questions to help you get the answers you need.

Where can I find demographic data?
Manya Chylinski provides a really useful list of sources to get demographic data.

Managing the process

What process should I use for content marketing?
A definitive post from Joe Pulizzi on the basic steps for managing content marketing.

I often hear the mantra that content marketers should think like publishers. What does that mean?
Jeremy Victor provides easy-to-follow ideas on what marketers can take from publishers.

What is an editorial calendar, and how do I create one?
An editorial calendar is a must-have tool for content marketers. Here is a template I use to help you get you started.

I am creating content for multiple geographies. How do I manage this?
Does your content marketing span countries? Sarah Mitchell shares tested tips for making this ever-challenging process run more smoothly.

Getting help

I need help with content marketing. Is a consultant right for me?
If you are thinking about hiring a content marketing consultant, check out this post from Robert Rose where he shares some common objections – and responses.

I want to get help with my content marketing. How can I prepare?
Russell Sparkman outlines some ways that you can get more “bang for your buck” when working with a content marketing consultant.

Coordinating the right team

Who should be on my content marketing team?
A straightforward post from Angela Vanucci on the key players in any content marketing team.

Are there certain personalities that should be on my team?
Not only are the right skills needed, but you also need the right personality mix. Ahava Leibtag shares a fun list of five kinds of people every content marketing team needs.

How can I make my team better writers for content marketing?
Looking to use internal resources for content marketing? Elizabeth Sosnow’s step-by-step bootcamp will help!

My content marketing team sometimes gets “stuck.” What can we do?
Most content marketers struggle with coordination at some point. Ahava Leibtag provides some tips on how to get out of the rut.

Creating content

What are the basic things I need to keep in mind to create valuable content?
An essential checklist by Ahava Leibtag on how to create and distribute your content.

How do I repurpose content?
One of the best ways to gain efficiencies in content marketing is to repurpose content. Here Manya Chylinski provides an A – Z list of what you can repurpose.

How do I find the right keywords from my content?
This classic post from Elise Redlin-Cook shows you how to find the right keywords for your content.

How do I curate content?
Amanda Maksymiw shares her tips for curating content for an aggregated content site.

How do I ask the right questions to get the best content?
To get to the “so what” that your readers care about, you need to ask the right questions. Dianna Huffs shows you how.

My brand isn’t very exciting (Ok, it’s boring!). What can I do?
Let’s face it: some brands just aren’t that exciting. Patricia Redsicker shares some tips and examples that are sure to inspire.

How do I make my content more engaging?
In this five-part series, our CMI contributors share ideas on how to define, create and measure engaging content.

What are some examples of great content marketing?
Sometimes  the best way to get inspired is to see what others are doing. Check out these examples from our contributors.

Content marketing takes a lot of time! Any ideas on what I can do?
Here are seven things you can do to streamline your content marketing efforts.

How can I create an effective call to action?
Brian Massey tackles the call the action. Seems simple, but many marketers don’t get it right.

Localizing content

What are some best practices for translating content?
While it’s relatively easy to translate content with tools like Google Translate, this often isn’t the best approach. Christian Arno walks you through what you need to know if you have a multilingual audience.

If I am localizing my content, what should I do beyond translation?
Ann-Christin Lindstedt share the six things you need to “switch” when localizing your content.

What are the basics of localization?
Sarah Mitchell presents this handy checklist of things you need to consider when localizing your content.

Distributing content

Once I publish some new content, how can I distribute it?
In our most popular post to date, Brody Dorland shares a useful checklist on how to distribute your blog posts, but this can be used for most content. This is one to hang at your desk!

What are QR codes and how do I use them?
QR codes are an increasingly popular way to promote content. Katie McCaskey shows you how to get started.

I have so much content. How do I organize it?
Doug Kessler shares the basics of Library Marketing, which is the art of science of presenting your content so users can find it.

Using social media for content marketing

How can I use LinkedIn for content marketing?
If you haven’t searched for your company name on LinkedIn, do it. Now.  As Constance Semler explains, you may be surprised at what you find!

How can I use Facebook for content marketing?
There are definitely better ways to use Facebook for content marketing. Katie McCaskey walks you through the basics.

How do I plan what my social media conversations?
Do you want to participate in social media but aren’t sure what to say. Here’s a handy template.

Measuring success

I’m new to measurement? What are the most important things to track?
Heidi Cohen presents a handy checklist of metrics to track for content marketing.

How do I measure the impact of my social media marketing?
Tom Pisello walks you through how to calculate the ROI of your social media program.

How do I know if my audience is engaging on Facebook?
Nate Riggs walks you through a series of exercises to help you understand how you are really engaging with your Facebook fans.

What kind of tests can I use to see how my website is performing?
Yeah, you know you should be testing, but where do you start? Scott Frangos outlines useful tests for all content marketers.

How can I use my web analytics to track my content marketing progress?
Are you like a lot of marketers who know you should use your analytics but get easily overwhelmed by all of the data? Scott Frangos walks you through a process to help you pull out the key things to measure.

What other questions do you have? Let us know in the comments below!

What can you do?

As the old saying goes, the devil is in the detail. With that in mind, here is the checklist I use when localizing content. Make sure each of these points is checked off your list before you launch content in a different country or geography.

Paper

American standard paper is 8 ½ x 11 inches. The rest of the world operates on an A4 paper size, 21 x 29.7 cm or, roughly, 8 ¼ x 11 ¾ inches. It’s a small difference with a huge impact. American-sized documents do not easily fit into envelopes or binders in other countries. Your documents must be resized – and possibly redesigned – to ensure they print properly in your foreign market.

Hole punches

America uses a standard 3-hole punch. Most other countries use a 2-hole punch and are not aligned with the American standard. If you’re providing content to be inserted into a binder, make sure you’re punching the holes in the right place.

Spelling

Many words are spelled differently in the United States than in other English speaking countries. While American audiences tend to find these differences charming, foreign audiences bristle at the “arrogance” of not taking spelling into consideration. You must go through your content with an editorial eagle-eye to find these differences. Set your spell checker to the language and country where you plan on publishing and make the changes required.

Spelling traps include:

• Words ending in ‘or’, e.g.  color versus colour
• words ending in ‘ize’, e.g. optimize versus optimise
• Medical terms, e.g. pediatrician versus paediatrician
• Botany/gardening terms, e.g.  cilantro versus coriander
• Food terms, e.g. zucchini versus courgette

Slang/colloquialism

Running afoul of local slang and colloquialisms can be embarrassing. I discovered this firsthand when I announced to a group of my British male colleagues that I was feeling particularly ‘spunky.’ I meant full of energy; they interpreted it as having a heightened libido.  I was horrified when a mature gentleman asked to borrow a rubber; he wanted an eraser. In South Africa, I couldn’t find a ‘robot’ and got lost on my first day of work. I had no idea I was looking for a traffic light. You get the picture.

Abbreviations and titles

If you’ve ever read a foreign newspaper, you know how frustrating it can be to encounter abbreviations or titles you don’t understand. Government,  law enforcement, medicine and the legal profession use different titles for the same job in different countries. For example, attorney, lawyer, barrister, judge and solicitor all refer to professionals employed in a court of law. Do your readers in every country know what people hold jobs with MP, DC, GP or DO abbreviations in their title?

Units of measure

While most of the world comfortably operates on the metric system, the USA is still using the old Imperial system for weight, measurement and temperature. Your documents will be meaningless to people who don’t how long a yard is, what 80 degrees Fahrenheit feels like, or how much 45 pounds weigh.  Use an online metric conversion program to make life easier for your readers.

Cooking

If you’re publishing recipes, cookbooks or anything to do with food preparation, you’re going to want to spend some time localizing your content. America – and to a lesser extent Britain – still uses Imperial measurements while nearly everyone else is on the metric system. A good online cooking converter will help you convert ingredients, temperatures, weights and volumes. Keep in mind the way food products are packaged can trip you up, too. Asking for a ‘stick of butter’ is sure to confuse anyone outside the USA. A fluid pint varies in volume from country to country. A punnet is common in Australia but unknown in the USA (it’s a small basket often used when selling fruits).

Number formats

A dead give-away your content hasn’t been localized is if your telephone numbers reflect the American standard of (123) 456-7890. In Australia, we have 2-digit area codes and 8-digit phone numbers and note them like this (01) 2345 6789. Our postal codes are 4-digits long. Make sure your documents are changed to reflect these differences. It’s  important to make sure your online forms can handle different formats for critical numbers. I’ve given up ordering online more than once because an American website insists on a 5-digit zip code and won’t let me complete an order.

Currency

While business is pretty good at getting their pricing translated into foreign currency, they often fall down when expressing the value of things. Dollars and cents have no meaning in many parts of the world. Even more confusing, many people have no point of reference for a quarter, dime or nickel. I wish I had a quarter for every time someone asked me how much a dime or a nickel was worth!

Fiscal Years

The financial calendar varies widely from country to country as do tax years. If your content deals with finances, make sure you’re not confusing things by referring to the wrong business calendar. This is especially important if you’re running year-end sales or promotions.  Don’t expect your local market to share your fiscal year or tax year.

Accents

Americans love accents but the world does not reciprocate the feeling. If you’re producing videos or podcasts for foreign markets, hire a voice-over specialist with a native accent even if it’s the same language you speak. Your audience will appreciate the consideration. More importantly, they’ll be able to easily understand the point you’re trying to get across. You want them focused on your content, not the way the narrator is speaking.

A couple of notes on translation

If you’re distributing your content into a foreign-language market, get a native-speaking translator. Don’t rely on free Internet translation services: they give literal translations but don’t consider the way people actually speak. I once heard the late founder of the Body Shop, Anita Roddick, speak about a debacle with a major rollout of a ‘mother and baby’ line of products. The South American translation, performed in the U.K., offended everyone when the product names took on a profane slur against motherhood.

If your plan is to publish only in countries using the same speaking language, you still need to employ local services to ‘translate’ your content. Spanish speaking countries vary greatly in their usage of the language. China has several different dialects. People from Brazil have a tough time understanding people from Portugal even though they all speak Portuguese. The worst language offences occur in English-speaking countries where spelling differences, slang and colloquialisms can render your content useless. At the very least, it shows a lack of consideration for your potential clients.

For an example of my latest localization project, read the Australian edition of Chief Content Officer.

Do you have a good story about localization or any points to add to this checklist?

The Australian and European versions of CCO are now available! Read them online and subscribe to future issues!

I’ve lived and breathed localization issues for more than 20 years, working on six continents and living on five. Having been on both ends of the equation – resident in the country originating content for international audiences and recipient of content not yet suitable to be distributed in a foreign market – I’ve learned a few things along the way.

Properly preparing your content for another market provides unlimited potential for success. Get it wrong, though, and even the best products and services will wither and fail. Get it really wrong, and you could unintentionally damage your brand.

Here’s my best advice for your localization project based on years of experience and a few hard knocks.

Who’s driving?

The first rule of localization is to establish ownership of the content. When you’re working across markets, and very likely across time zones, it’s imperative the head office takes ownership of the whole project. Without a strong management focus from the originating source, you cannot be sure your message is being delivered at all.

I’ve worked in offices where boxes of case studies and product brochures were stored, unopened, in the mailroom because no one was expecting them.  I’ve also seen reams of brochures destroyed because they weren’t localized.

A content rollout needs to be managed as a separate project and include a clear outline of job responsibilities on both ends. It might sound complicated but it’s not. Four tools that make this job easier are:

1. Spreadsheets – Develop a project plan and assign tasks
2. Skype – Terrific for free international phone conferences
3. Dropbox -  An easy utility to share files “real time” with multiple people and locations
4. World Clock Meeting Planner –  Ensure everyone is on the call at the same time regardless of time zones especially since no two locations implement Daylight Savings Time the same way

A common trap for localization projects is to let the local market handle it on their own. When relying on assurances of ‘We know our market better than you do’; corporations relieve themselves of responsibility at their own peril. I’ve seen strategic products sold as gimmicks, taglines rewritten into meaningless jumble, and smart designs reduced to amateur efforts all at the hands of an office working independently of headquarters. When you lose control of your message, you lose business.

Who’s navigating?

I’ve never worked in a country without someone – or everyone – pulling me aside to tell me they conduct business differently than everyone else. You know what? It’s not true. Every single market I’ve ever worked in makes purchasing decisions based on business benefit.  What is different is how they expect to get their information.

Cultural differences abound from country to country. That’s why you can’t conduct a localization project without the input of the local market. What works in the USA, may not work in Italy or Tokyo. Make sure the marketing manager in each location is part of your team and listen to what they tell you. They’ll also have a really good idea about distribution channels, key influencers, industry associations, and how to build a buzz for your particular product. It’s probably different than in your own market. Depending on the type of content you’re producing, you’ll need local PR services to maximize the promotion of your product.

How will you get all of this done?

I’m a firm believer in allocating budget for localization in any content-producing project up front. A well-planned effort delivers many benefits including buy-in from your foreign distributers and enhanced brand image in the international market. Often these tasks are only considered at the end of a project when everyone is ready to move on and the money is used up.

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? You’re right; it is a lot of work.  However, your workload is greatly alleviated if your content is developed with localization issues in mind.

And, don’t expect recognition for your efforts, either, as the sign of a successful implementation is that no one realizes the content didn’t originate in their own locality. But the rewards will be reflected in your bottom line.

Not only do you need to have a process nailed down when localizing content, but there are a number of things you need to consider with your content. Stay tuned next week for my checklist!

From 2000 to 2008, Web use among the Chinese grew by a whopping 755 percent, while Web use skyrocketed by 2,064 percent by Arabic-speaking individuals. As a comparison, web use increased by 204 percent among English-speaking people.

In the near future, Chinese will supplant English as the top language of the Web.  As a result of this trend, businesses realize their success on the Web will depend on creating foreign-language Internet marketing strategies.

However, localizing your web presence for foreign markets and optimizing them with your ideal keywords is only half the battle. Your next challenge is to build your brand buzz and back-links through your content marketing strategy. Here are three easy-to-implement tips that will help you use content marketing across a range of foreign languages.

Keep it simple

A main advantage of using content across different languages is that Google doesn’t pick up on duplicate content in different languages. This means you can write one piece of excellent content in English, and then translate it into Chinese, German, French, Russian, etc.

The trick is to write ‘source content’ that does not require too much localization. Obviously, if you communicate to readers in their own languages and use local references, your content will be more relevant to them.

However, writing 15 different articles for 15 different websites is not always practical or affordable. So the trick to writing easily localized and translated content is to keep it simple and general by avoiding  specific local references (such as local news events or television personalities) or turns of phrase that may not translate.

Here are two examples of content describing my translation company Lingo24.  This one is general and can be easily translated and used for marketing purposes in any language.

“Managing translation can be complex.  At Lingo24 we make it simple, fun and inexpensive.

We work 24 hours a day, so there’s always a friendly Lingo-ist on hand to answer your questions and keep your project on track.”

The second is more specific but requires further localization before it is appropriate for use in different language markets.

“Managing translation can be complex. At Lingo24 we make it simple, fun and inexpensive for American companies to do business in foreign languages.

We work 24/7 so there’s always a friendly Lingo-ist on hand to answer your questions and keep a steady guiding hand on your project.”

Identify target sites

Your first priority when creating marketing content for a range of languages is to generate content for your own site and ensure your various localized sites are kept fresh with a regular stream of new content.

Your second priority will be to build back-links and buzz by publishing content in article directories and pitching it to relevant industry websites in the local Internet. The trick here is to identify the best foreign language directories and websites to post your quality content.

This is where Alexa or the Google Toolbar’s PageRank will come in handy. Alexa and PageRank rank websites based on variables such as the site’s age, the number of in-bound links, and the site’s traffic. Alexa offers a useful tool for evaluating websites and directories by ranking each site overall on the Web, and ranking each site within its local Web market.

Pitch in multiple languages

Placing your site’s contact details and links in online directories and uploading multilingual content to article directories such as About.com is the simple first step. To get higher quality links, you’ll have to contact editors and content managers of  foreign language sites. This is where language-gap difficulties can come into play.

You have two options for multilingual pitching. You can either do it yourself or hire in a professional.

If you decide to do it yourself, write your pitches in English and then use a translation program such as Google Translate.  You can also use Google Translate for replies that you may receive.

The problem with using a translation program is that it doesn’t address cultural differences in pitching etiquette. For instance, when pitching to UK editors, an informal style may help you connect more easily. For German editors, nothing less than absolute formality is appropriate.

Naturally, using professionals will improve your success rate in connecting with editors in other nations. Moreover, multilingual PR and Internet marketing professionals can assist you with identifying target sites, pitching content, securing publication of articles and writing or translating the content.

Either way, content marketing in foreign languages is far less complex than you may have imagined. With forethought and effort, you can connect  to foreign language markets and increase your online audience.

Hmmm. Tough choice, right?

In that case, don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to your content marketing—especially as you start targeting foreign markets.

In my last post for CMI, I listed some ideas for leveraging locals to create new content for foreign markets.  But of course, you also have existing content you want to use. Before you click the translate button and call it done (*cringe*—please don’t use automated translation software), ask yourself if there’s anything else you can do to localize your content, to make it more relevant and engaging for the local audience.

Switching out key pieces of information can make your existing content much more effective for international audiences. It can mean the difference between an irrelevant form letter and a personal note. So don’t simply translate: target.

Freelance magazine writers do something similar to get the most out of their research.  They “re-slant” articles and topics by changing the focus, writing style, interview subjects, etc. to fit the particular profiles and audiences of various magazines.

You can do the same with your existing content for various regions — both domestically and internationally – by making some important switches.

Switch quotes

For example, if you quote an expert medical professional about a particular health issue or statistic, find a local medical professional to give the same information.  Want to highlight a company employee? If you have staff there, interview someone working in the target region. Quoting the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin? Perhaps there’s a comparable quotation from a well-known historical person from the target region.

Switch stats

Which is more compelling: seeing how something affects people living thousands of miles away or seeing how it affects people living right next door? If statistics are available for the target region, use them. If not, consider being the first to research and compile those data. (That could yield a lot of new content ideas for you, too.)

Switch voice

Tone of voice can carry big implications for your content marketing success.  In some regions, humor isn’t appropriate for certain business situations. In others, people appreciate straightforward language rather than flowery language, or vice versa.  In some countries, humility matters. In others, confidence. Be aware of what emotions or prejudices your tone of voice may evoke in a particular region and tailor your content to convey your meaning in the most effective way.

Switch idioms

Or better yet, drop idioms, clichés and colloquialisms from your international content altogether. Nothing translates worse (or more hilariously).  Imagine the imagery conjured with direct translations of: “raining cats and dogs,” “kick the bucket,” “hog-tied,” “there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” and “I’d like to pick your brains.” Make sure there’s a comparable saying in the local language; otherwise, say it in a different way.

Switch visuals

Graphs, charts, photos, illustrations. Check them all to make sure they communicate the right things to regional audiences. Obviously, a picture of a family gathered around a barbecue grill on the Fourth of July with an American flag waving in the background won’t work in Europe. But little things can make a difference, too. For example, does your chart or illustration use a color that has negative connotations in your target region?

Switch units

This may seem basic, but it’s easy enough to forget so a reminder wouldn’t hurt. Make sure you use the correct conversions for weights, measurements, currency, temperature, etc.

Now, all this may seem like too much extra work.  After all, you’ve already spent a lot of time researching, writing, formatting, designing, and otherwise creating the most effective content marketing you can. But that’s exactly the point — you want your content to be the most effective it can be. So don’t stop now. Remember the form letter example?

Exactly.

Make the smartest decision, not the quickest and easiest. Get help where you need it from local experts such as copywriters and localization consultants. And make sure to vet everything through a native speaker who understands your brand identity and content marketing goals.

Are you faced with adapting existing content to foreign markets?  What tools and methods do you find most helpful?