Opinion
Five common multicultural marketing mistakes – and how to avoid them
Appealing to audiences in their native language is one of the most important aspects of a successful marketing campaign.
In Australia alone, nearly 20% of the population speaks a language other than English at home – in other words, if your campaign isn’t appealing to communities in their language preference, you’re losing out.
Mark Saba, CEO of LEXIGO, a leading translation service and multicultural communication provider for businesses, explains how there’s more to successfully speaking to multicultural markets than a simple translation.
Appealing to audiences in their native language is one of the most important aspects of a successful marketing campaign. In Australia alone, nearly 20% of the population speaks a language other than English at home – in other words, if your campaign isn’t appealing to communities in their language preference, you’re losing out.
When it comes to multicultural markets, however, there’s more to a successful campaign than simply translating an English message into another language. Many marketers make the same mistakes when targeting audiences in their language, but with just a little extra effort and investment, you’ll be well on your way to successfully communicating with Australia’s rich multicultural communities.
Here are five guiding principles when it comes to developing content and campaigns that cut through to your audience.
Mistake #1: Relying on machine translation
Google Translate can be handy when you need a quick and basic language translation, but it has no place in a marketing campaign. When you’re communicating with audiences in their language, automated translation tools cannot account for cultural and linguistic nuance.
Instead of jumping onto Google Translate and simply copying whatever it comes up with, marketers should instead employ human translators who are not just bilingual but bicultural. This approach can help bridge the language and cultural gap, ensuring your message naturally and accurately resonates with the target audience.
Mistake #2: Ignoring cultural sensitivities
Marketing campaigns that inadvertently disregard cultural sensitivities can lead to catastrophic outcomes. What works in one culture may not work in another, and what’s considered witty in one language could be offensive in another. Failing to consider cultural norms can alienate audiences and tarnish your brand’s reputation.
Investing time and resources into cultural research is crucial to ensuring that your messaging is suitable for the demographics you’re targeting. This investment will help you understand the values, taboos, and traditions of the communities you are trying to reach and tailor your content accordingly. Authentically inclusive campaigns take the time to respect cultural differences rather than simply displaying them at a surface level.
Mistake #3: Stereotyping and generalising
One of the most common blunders in multicultural marketing is the use of stereotypes. Painting a diverse group with broad strokes or relying on clichés can not only be offensive but can also point to inauthenticity and ignorance.
This is also the case when it comes to developing content for multiple multicultural audiences – it’s important to do your research about what resonates with specific groups and then tailor your content and distribution accordingly, rather than just use the same content or campaign across multiple multicultural groups.
When you approach your marketing with the genuine goal of connecting with multicultural communities, you will be better positioned to create a truly inclusive and representative campaign.
Having a multicultural campaign team will provide a greater opportunity for collaboration and offer insight from those who know what it’s like to be culturally and linguistically diverse. The end goal should always be to authentically and respectfully reflect the rich diversity of the community you’re addressing, and seeking diverse experiences to guide that messaging is crucial.
Mistake #4: Failing to recognise influential community members
Every campaign manager understands the value that influencers can bring to a campaign. However, ‘influencer’ doesn’t have to mean someone with significant social media reach. A community influencer could be anyone from faith-based leaders to members of local government, heads of organisations, and even youth leaders.
Research has shown that identifying and collaborating with influential community members is an essential aspect of bridging communication and cultural gaps. Still, many marketers underestimate how important it is to work with these influential people when targeting multicultural audiences. Failing to leverage this resource can result in your message going unnoticed or being perceived as untrustworthy or even inauthentic.
Mistake #5: Using English as a default language
In the rush to reach a broader audience, many marketers prioritise English over local languages. This is due to the misguided belief that most people – even those with a multicultural background – are English-speaking, making English the best language for campaign messaging.
While many people across cultures can speak English, this approach ignores the importance of connecting with people in their preferred or native language. By broadly assuming that English is the best way to connect with all audiences, you risk alienating non-English-speaking communities and limiting your campaign’s effectiveness.
Instead, marketers should be more eager to embrace multilingualism in their marketing strategy. Use the local language alongside English, and if necessary, give it equal weight to ensure your multicultural audience feels included and represented. This not only ensures your message reaches a wider audience but promotes cross-cultural conversations which lead to a more inclusive and diverse society.
Creating inclusive campaigns that engage and connect with multicultural audiences is essential in our increasingly diverse world. Investing the time and resources into aligning with diverse consumers not only makes for a more ethical brand identity, but will inevitably lead to a broader and more loyal customer base.
