Before COVID-19, webinars were predominantly seen as an option for companies who needed to connect with widespread audiences. Today, webinars are an integral part of the socially distanced business. Translating content into several languages is the key to international webinar success and online interpretation services can help companies to take the competitive edge.
Why do we need multilingual webinars?
Webinars are important communication tools that provide the opportunity to reach viewers from around the world. However, streaming a webinar in only one language means that international audience members lose out.
At best, foreign-language viewers may miss sections of information. At worst, they may be completely lost and even exit the webinar. Online interpretation and translation services can assist with delivering content in several languages at once, creating a multilingual environment.
How do online interpretation and translation work?
It is possible to engage the services of an interpreter who can interpret into the target language in real-time, this is called conference interpreting. Alternatively, you can send pre-recorded audio to an online interpretation company ahead of the webinar so that they can provide professional voice-overs. Finally, written content should always be translated in advance so that your webinar truly resonates with your target audiences.
Below, we list four key factors to take into account when creating a multilingual webinar.
- Choosing the right software
Choosing the right webinar software is important to the success of your project. You’ll need to think about how the software functions in order to understand its limitations for your project.
Webinar interactivity
Some of the most successful webinars are both informative and interactive. Interactivity can come from polls, chat boxes, written exercises, and more. On certain platforms, it’s even possible to divide viewers into breakout rooms so that they can discuss content in small groups.
Supported languages
If you’re choosing to create slides directly onto a webinar platform, you’ll need to consider if foreign-language characters are supported. Likewise, it is important to find out if you will need to pay extra for uploading various versions of audio (such as from online interpretation services) and visual content in different languages.
- Define the scope of your project
Planning is the key to success in webinars, especially multilingual ones. It’s important to determine the budget and timescale of webinars as the first step of your project plan. This means that you will know what the end project looks like, right from the start. Consider the following in your plan:
– Is your webinar free? If so, what are the benefits for your company?
– Which languages will your content be available in?
– Which sections need to be translated (audio, video, slides, etc.?)
– How many speakers will you need?
– Can any content be repurposed for cost efficiency?
– How much will marketing cost?
– Will the webinar be mobile friendly?
Some companies, such as Zoom and Adobe, provide detailed information on setting up a Webinar. Following guides from your chosen platform will help you to understand the scope of what is possible.
- Planning content with translation in mind
Audio and written content
Once you have defined the scope of your project, it’s a good idea to begin planning content, always keeping webinar translation in mind. Spoken audio should be clear so that online interpretation companies can provide voice-overs in the languages you need. Likewise, thinking about webinar translation while creating written content will help you to structure and keep texts concise.
Translating marketing materials can also help with webinar promotion. Speaking to your audience in their own language right from the start will create an engaging experience. Professional language services companies can help with marketing translations services.
Images, colors, symbols
Finally, for all content aimed at international audiences, it is important to remember that images and symbols don’t have the same meaning in different countries. Because of this, many language services companies also offer localization services options. Localization is the process of adapting content so that it is appropriate for specific cultures and languages.
- Hire translators and interpreters for webinars
Your content reflects your business and its values. To make sure that you send the right message, it’s always advisable to use professional translators and interpreters. They are adept at navigating technical language, common translation issues and formatting errors to provide the best quality work.
Future trans – your online interpretation and translation partner
At Future Trans, we pride ourselves on delivering language services with high attention to detail and accuracy. We’ve been working to help businesses reach Africa and the Middle East for over 24 years. As an ISO 17100 company, you can be sure that our work meets the highest standards.
If you would like to find out more about our webinar translation services, send us a message today.
