Today, over 4.72 billion people use the internet every day. And in 2020, 96% of internet surfers had increased their online video consumption. But do you know which is their preferred language?
You would be surprised to know that only 25.9% of internet users are English speakers. Chinese comes next with 19.4%, followed by Spanish (7.9%), Arabic (5.2%), Indonesian and Malaysian (4.3%). Hence, the rest of the internet users prefer watching their content in their own language. This calls for SVOD Localization. In this blog, we will discuss everything your need to know about SVOD Localization and finish it up with some pro tips that will help you achieve the best localization results.
As explained earlier, internet users across the globe prefer to view video content in their own language. So, if you want to spread your SVOD service globally, SVOD localization is something that you must consider. Localizing your SVOD service gives you multiple benefits.
You can localize your SVOD services in multiple ways, as per your audience’s convenience and your budget alignments. But, we will discuss the most commonly used localization modes here.
Subtitles are texts that appear at the bottom of the screen of every video. First, the language experts translate the dialogues of the original video into the target language. Then, this translated text is fitted into the video in such a way that it stays readable but convenient and relevant at the same time.
This type of localization technique is most appropriate when the audience is somewhat familiar with the original language of the video. For example, for a Spanish living in the USA, English is not at all a foreign language. But still, having a Spanish alternative would be a plus. In such scenarios, subtitles work perfectly.
MUVI lets you add subtitles very easily to all your SVOD videos. You can read the process of adding subtitles in detail by clicking here.
We talked about subtitles that work for a bilingual audience. However, if your audience is not at all aware of the original language of the video, then subtitles seldom work. In that case, language dubbing is the best option.
In the language dubbing process, a language expert first translates the video script into the target language. Editors then convert the translated text into a script. Finally, linguistics and narrators record the narration of the script. This recorded audio replaces the original audio of the video.
Hence, in language dubbing, the local audience gets the complete feel of the content. But, there are a few points that you must keep in mind. Firstly, whenever recording the audio, remember that the actor’s performance and expressions must sync with the translated audio. It is also called lip sync in dubbing. Also, try to have only native narrators, who know the language well, and have a proper accent.
Voice over is the process of passing on a voice to the video, which doesn’t coincide with any actor’s dialogue. You can take it as a form of background audio. Such types of audio are extremely effective when you need to localize a video that does not have any dialogue from the actors. Similarly, it can be used to localize the videos which use motion graphics to convey useful information.
But in voice-over, make sure that your script writer is a domain expert or someone who has understood the motives and objectives of the video properly. Otherwise, the narrative of the video might get changed.
Now the question comes, how to extract maximum benefits out of your SVOD localization efforts? If you want to make a mark amongst your local audiences, only localizing the videos won’t really work. You will have to put on extra effort to make your audience feel that they truly belong to your platform. Some of the pro tips that might be helpful in this process are discussed below.
Localizing SVOD services actually doesn’t start from the video, rather it starts from the website itself! Yes, a fully localized SVOD website and platform is the new helpful trend in the OTT Market.
At MUVI, you can easily localize each and every part of your website and app. You can do both manual and automated translation of your website, and enable multiple languages for your users. You can read the step-by-step process of localizing your OTT Platform by clicking on this link.
If you don’t know the language choice of your users, it is always better to show them the full list of languages that you offer your services in. Then, they can choose their favorite language from that list.
This is important because there can be many cases where you might be guessing the wrong set of language for your user. And in spite of serving in other languages, you might be unintentionally forcing your users to use a particular language. This will definitely not go well with your users.
Nowadays, most OTT platforms collect the language preferences of their users in the registration form itself. This process has many advantages. Firstly, when you know the preferred languages from the very beginning, you can deliver a fully localized experience to the users, without the need to choose languages multiple times.
Secondly, you can show them the shows that fall within their preferred language. Hence, they will get better search results and better shows to watch and enjoy!
But, if you have not collected the language preferences of your users during registration, then it is never too late! You can run surveys to know the preferred languages of your users. This survey can either be an in-app survey or an email-based survey as well.
Nowadays, due to convenience, most people use Google Translate to localize their websites and apps. While this can make your work really simple and faster, there are a few disadvantages of this process too! After all, a machine translation can never match up to the level of human translation! We will tell you why.
Machine translators basically find the best alternative of the words in the target language, and fit the found words into a meaningful sentence, that can explain the meaning of the original sentence. But, it directly means that it will fail to translate the phrases and idioms, making the language of communication very formal and monotonic. This type of language might not be suitable for an OTT Platform or SVOD service provider.
That is why it is always advised to take help from an expert translator to maintain that human touch in your content.
While translating from source language to target language, you should always keep the emotions intact. For example, you can use local idioms and phrases. It helps to build an emotional connection with the audience and make them remember your services for longer.
While translating a website, numbers can be tricky to play with. It is because, there are many people who prefer to enjoy SVOD videos in their local language, but are not that familiar with their local numbers. On the other hand, there are some people who prefer to have everything in their local language, including numbers.
So, as an SVOD service provider, you need to find a middle way out. While collecting the user data about language, it would be better if you can collect the data related to their number preference as well. Then, you can opt for partial translation. It means, that all the sentences in your SVOD platform will be localized, while all the numbers will remain in English.
In MUVI, you can do this by manually adding the translated texts. Then, you can add translated text only for those portions of the website which you actually want to translate.
Some symbols have different meanings in multiple languages. While translating, you should translate those symbols too, in order to avoid any confusion.
SVOD localizing gives you a chance to establish your SVOD service and platform as a global leader. With localized content, you can serve customers from across the globe, and maximize your benefits.
If you are looking for a good OTT and SVOD Platform service provider, try MUVI. We are one of the leading OTT Platforms through which you can launch your own OTT platform and SVOD service without writing a single line of code!
Interested to experience it yourself? Start our 14-Days Free Trial today!
Written by: Debarpita Banerjee
Debarpita is a Content Writer with Muvi. With around 2 years of experience in content creation, she has worked across industries like SaaS, EdTech, eLearning, AR-VR, and Metaverse. She believes in delivering content that can be of some value to the readers. In her free time, she likes to try her hand at website and app development.
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