For small businesses, the opportunity to expand into the global business market has never been better; however, there are some challenges that small businesses looking to engage an international audience will have to consider. One thing that will have to be considered is what it will take to make the necessary adjustments to the marketing strategies and plans in order to reach a broader international audience. One of the immediate challenges in this area will be the need for new content.

When a company is on a constrained budget, coming up with new content to launch an international marketing campaign can be quite challenging; however, there is a simple solution to the potentially perplexing issue. Repurposing content is one of the most cost efficient and resourceful methodologies for generating content for a broader audience. There are a number different ways that content can be repurposed.

Repurposing Video

Due to the fact that video has a universal appeal that transcends language and culture, the repurposing tips offered here will focus specifically on the use of video content. According to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research, one minute of video is the equivalent of 1.8 million words. Additionally, ComScore, recently release data that revealed that 45.4 percent of online users view video at least once per month. The Average user is exposed to an average of 32.2 videos over the course of a month.

1. Voiceover

One common mistake made by small business marketers is attempting to translate an existing script for a video into languages that they are not fluent in. It is also not a good idea to use less complex services, such as Google Translate, because these types of translation programs can produce unpredictable and inaccurate results. Take the time to find someone fluent in the language that the script is to be translated into. To get the best results, use a native of the country that is being targeted.

2. Use Subtitles to Introduce New Ideas and Concepts

Much in the same way as creating a voice over, subtitling will allow the marketing team to create a specific message without having to translate the complete script. It will be important to ensure that the content and the subtitles correspond in harmony.

3. Use Cultural References

It is important to be very sensitive to what the new audience is used to seeing and responding to. If not, it can possibly confuse them as to the true meaning of the message that you are attempting to deliver. For instance, different countries use different currencies and may not identify with the U.S. dollar. In this case, using currency references that are specific to the natural currency of the target audience can be an immensely powerful tool.

4. xpand Distribution Channels

Most major companies now have specific suffixes for their country, such as au for Australia, de for Germany, etc. By registering these country specific domains, it will allow for a marketing strategy with greater specificity as for as localization and cultural paradigms are concerned.

5. Time is Important

Understanding that changing the language will change the timing in which the message will appear during the video. It is important to understand that it will take a marginally different amount of time to say, “Get your office supplies here” in Italian or Japanese than it does in English. Repurposing video is not simply about translation; timing is immensely important. Because time is such an important element, it may be necessary to edit the video to ensure that the timing is on point.

The same video can be repurposed more than once with a little creativity. The idea is to determine exactly what message you are attempting to deliver to the target audience, then find the video that can best be repurposed to meet the goal. With more than 90 percent of online shoppers admitting that they find video very useful in helping to guide their shopping decisions, repurposing video is a solid way to initiate an international marketing campaign.

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