If you’re thinking about adding or improving multilingual support for your OTT services, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll share some smart tips to help you get started.
Before we dive in, it’s essential to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for multilingual OTT services.
Every broadcaster is different, and each has its unique audience, requirements, and challenges.
That said, there are some general best practices that all broadcasters should keep in mind when adding or improving multilingual support for their services.
Here are three of them:
How to Improve Your Multilingual OTT Services
Make sure your metadata is translated correctly
Your metadata is one of the most important factors in determining whether or not potential viewers will find your content. That’s why it’s important to ensure that all of your metadata—including your titles, descriptions, and keywords—is translated correctly when you add multilingual support to your services.
Use Subtitles and Dubbing Judiciously
Subtitles and dubbing are two of the most commonly used methods for adding multilingual support to video content. While both have advantages, they also have some drawbacks you should be aware of before deciding which one to use.
Don’t forget about the Audio Description
An audio description is a critical tool for making your content accessible to a wider range of viewers, including those who are visually impaired. When done well, audio descriptions can enhance the viewer experience for everyone.
However, it’s important to note that audio description is not a substitute for subtitles or dubbing—it should be used in addition to these other methods.
Provide Closed Captioning and Subtitles in Multiple Languages
If you want your OTT services to be truly accessible to a global audience, you need to offer closed captioning and subtitles in multiple languages. Not everyone speaks English, so by providing content in other languages, you’ll be able to reach a broader range of viewers. Closed captioning and subtitles make your content more accessible for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. It’s a win-win!
Stream in HD
Another way to ensure your OTT services are up to par for a global market is to stream in HD. In today’s world, HD is the standard, so if you’re not streaming in HD, you’re behind the curve. Not only that, but HD streaming also requires less bandwidth, which is essential for users in areas with spotty internet service. No one wants their favorite show to buffer every five seconds!
Offer Multiple Payment Options
If you want people from all over the world to be able to subscribe to your OTT services, you need to offer multiple payment options. Credit cards are not universally accepted, so providing other options—such as PayPal or bank transfer—will make it easier for people from all corners of the globe to sign up.
Use CDNs
One final tip for optimizing your OTT services for a global audience is to use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). CDNs help deliver content faster by replicating it across multiple servers worldwide. This way, no matter where someone is trying to access your content, they’ll be able to do so quickly and easily. We all know that no one likes waiting for their favorite show to load!
Choose the Right Languages
The first step is researching which languages will be most beneficial for your platform. Consider which countries you want to target and what language(s) are most commonly spoken there.
It would help to consider the popularity of specific languages in the global market. For example, while mandarin is the most spoken language in the world, English is the most popular language for online content. So if you want to explore your reach to a global audience, English is a good place to start.
Hire Professional Translators
When you’ve decided which languages you want to offer, it’s time to start translating your content. And just like with any other important task, it’s always best to leave it to the professionals. Hiring a team of professional translators ensures that your content will be accurately translated and culturally appropriate for your target audience.
Invest in Translation Technology
In addition to hiring human translators, investing in translation technology is also a smart move. Translation technology can help speed up the translation process and ensure consistency across your translated content. Some popular translation technology tools include Google Translate.
Don’t forget about subtitles and captions!
If you’re planning on offering your content in multiple languages, don’t forget about subtitles and captions! Both the subtitles and captions are essential to ensure that your multilingual content is accessible to everyone. They also help improve engagement by allowing viewers to follow along even if unfamiliar with the language on-screen.
Ensure that your website is ready for international traffic!
Last but not least, once you’ve started offering your content in multiple languages, it’s essential to ensure that your website can handle international traffic. This means providing that your site can be translated into different languages, as well as making sure that it can handle different currencies and payment options.
Make sure you’re using professional translators. It looks like a no-brainer, but it’s important to use translators who are native speakers of the language(s) you’re translating into.
Non-native speakers may not be able to accurately convey the nuances of the language, which could lead to mistranslations. Additionally, professional translators will have a keen understanding of localization best practices, which can help ensure that your translations are culturally relevant.
Use machine translation as a starting point, but don’t rely on it exclusively. Machine translation has come a long way in recent years and can be helpful when translating OTT content.
However, it’s important to remember that machine translation is not perfect. Be sure to have your translations reviewed by a human editor before publishing to catch any errors that the machine translation process may have introduced.
Don’t forget about the audio/visual aspects of your content. If you’re providing dubbed or subtitled versions of your content, you must consider your presentation’s audio and visual aspects. For example, if you’re dubbing dialogue into another language, ensure the lip-syncing is consistent with the new audio track.
Otherwise, viewers will be distracted from the content and may not continue watching.
Make sure your metadata is translated accurately. Metadata is often overlooked when translating OTT content, but it’s just as important as the content itself. After all, metadata helps viewers find your content in the first place! Ensure all keywords and descriptions are accurately translated so viewers can easily find and enjoy your content regardless of language barriers.
Keep an eye on emerging markets. While most OTT providers focus on major markets like North America and Europe, there’s a lot of untapped potential in emerging markets like Asia and Latin America. As broadband access and internet speeds continue to improve in these regions, more and more people will be streaming OTT content—so don’t forget about them when planning your multilingual offerings!
Focus on the user experience
Your OTT content may be top-notch, but viewers will look elsewhere if the user experience isn’t up to par. Make sure your multilingual OTT services are easy to navigate and understand, no matter what language your viewers use. Pay attention to small details like font size and layout; these can significantly affect the overall user experience.
Don’t skimp on Quality
Your content is in multiple languages doesn’t mean you can skimp on quality. To attract and retain viewers, your OTT content needs to be high-quality, no matter what language it’s in. This means investing in professional translators and editors who can ensure accuracy and consistency across all of your multilingual content.
Promote your OTT services
If you want people to watch your multilingual OTT content, you must let them know it exists! Make sure to promote your services on your social media channels and website, and don’t forget traditional marketing tactics named print ads and word-of-mouth recommendations. The more people know about your OTT services, the more likely they will use them.
Make sure your content is high-quality and relevant to your audience
It may looks like a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s so important. The content that you add must be engaging and relevant to your audience if you want them to keep coming back for more. That means creating catchy headlines, using strong visuals, and writing copy that is interesting and easy to understand.
It also means creating content tailored to your target audience’s specific interests. So take some time to get to know your viewers and what they want to see from you.
Use social media to promote your content
Social media is an effective tool that can help you reach a wider audience and promote your content effectively. Please make sure you’re active on the platforms where your target audience hangs out and that you’re sharing content that is relevant and interesting to them.
Also, don’t forget to add hashtags! Hashtags are trending tactics to reach new viewers and connect with users who are already interested in your content.
Invest in quality tech and talent
As we mentioned before, delivering a great OTT experience requires a mix of technology, talent, and processes. You need all three working together to succeed. That’s why investing in quality tech and talent is so important.
Ensure you have the right tools and platform to deliver an excellent experience for your viewers. And just as importantly, ensure you have the right team to make it happen. The right mix of tech, talent, and processes will help you deliver a fantastic OTT experience for your viewers.
Choose the right languages. When selecting which languages to offer your content, it’s essential to consider both the demographics of your target audience and the SEO implications. For example, if you’re targeting Spanish speakers in the United States, you’ll want to offer your content in Spanish and English. Not only will this allow you to reach a larger audience, but it will also help you get a higher ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Translate your content accurately. It’s essential to use accurate translations of your content so that viewers can understand what they’re watching. This means working with professional translators familiar with the nuances of the language(s) you’re translating into. Accurate translations are essential for complex concepts or technical terms.
Optimize your metadata. Metadata is the information that appears alongside your content, such as title, description, and keywords. Make sure to include metadata in all languages you’re offering your range. This will help improve your content’s discoverability and ensure that viewers can find what they’re looking for.
Use subtitles and Closed Captioning (CC). If possible, offer subtitles or CC in the languages you’re translating. This will be easy for viewers to follow along and understand what’s happening, even if they don’t speak the language fluently. Subtitles and CC are also great for SEO, as they provide additional opportunities to include keywords and other relevant information about your content.
Promote your multilingual content. Once you’ve created multilingual versions of your content, promote them accordingly. This means creating separate landing pages or campaigns for each language you target. It will help you run ads in different languages to reach a wider audience.
Conclusion
These are essential things to remember as you add or improve multilingual support for your OTT services.
With these tips and strategies, you can ensure that your content will be accessible to a broader range of viewers and that your metadata will be translated appropriately so potential viewers can find your content more easily.
The era of global content is here. Thanks to the internet, you can target audiences worldwide with your OTT services.
But how do you ensure your multilingual OTT services are up to par?
You can improve your chances of providing an excellent experience for international audiences – and driving more sales as a result.
From choosing the right platform to investing in quality translations, there’s a lot to consider when expanding your reach.
But it’s worth it to tap into new markets and grow your business.
Are you ready to take your OTT Services global? Contact us today for OTT Platform Consulting, and we’ll help get you started.
