Daniel Foster gave a presentation at LavaCon on drawing the line on content localization. He discussed that companies should first define a global market strategy and set localization priorities using data before deciding how much content to localize. Foster also covered developing content tiers based on categories and needs, matching localization quality to those tiers, and measuring success through key performance indicators. The presentation provided resources on localization best practices and strategies.

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Drawing the Line on
Content Localization
How Much is Too Much?
Daniel Foster, strategy lead

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Sources
90 - 400,000 employees
3 to 38 languages supported

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Observations

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• Strategy before tactics.
• There are many depths of localization.
• Experiment and measure to learn what’s right
for your audience.
Key takeaways

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Getting Started
First, define a global
market strategy.

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• textFirst, define a global
market strategy.
Tiers | Investment | Entitlements

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• textThe team on the hook for
global growth prioritizes
content localization.

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• textUse data to set
localization priorities.

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• textIf you don’t set the
strategy, know the
strategy.

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Audit what you have.

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Expanding to a New
Market
What’s your minimum
viable product?

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Expanding to a New
Market
What’s your minimum
viable product?
bit.ly/drawingline-lean
bit.ly/drawingline-mvl

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Define a core set of
content.

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• Who served?
• Distinct profiles
Adapt
personas
• Where enter?
• Critical paths
Map
journey
• Align to journey
• By type or piece
Fit content

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• Who served?
• Distinct profiles
Adapt
personas
• Where enter?
• Critical paths
Map
journey
• Align to journey
• By type or piece
Fit content
Develop content tiers.

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Match localization quality
to needs.

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Develop cultural IQ to
avoid missteps AND
diminishing returns.

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bit.ly/drawingline-specs
To Translate or Not to Translate? Determining Specifications
Yulia Sadovnik, Localization Project Manager, Allcorrect

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Develop tiers by content
category.

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Develop tiers by content
category.
Customer Journey | Volume

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Adapted from:
Mapping Your Enterprise Globalization Content Strategy
Alessandra Gobbi, NetApp
bit.ly/drawingline-mapping (GALA - $)
Low volume High volume
Brand
(landing page, banner,
press release, video)
Human
50-100%
Educational
(data sheet, white
paper, tutorial video)
Human +
Machine +
Post Edit
0-50%
Documentation
(manual, quick start
guide, online help)
Machine +
Post Edit
Spot check
Support
(knowledge base
article, live chat)
Machine
Post edit if
needed
Localization
model
QA
model

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Measuring Success
Talk to field staff or
partners to find out
what’s working and what
isn’t.

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Agree on a set of KPIs that
matter to the business.
Review them quarterly.

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Black box vs Transparent
(process) (outcomes)
% Right first time quality
% Translation error rate
% Translation project milestones missed
$ Translation cost per word
# Volume translated content by month
# Volume per project manager
% Transitioned to automated workflow
$ New revenue from global markets
# New customers from global markets
Names of new global accounts landed
Sales team feedback
% Visitor conversion
# Traffic (by country and language)
# Downloads (product or demand gen kit)
% Market share vs competitors
% Translation ROICounting What Counts: KPIs for Translation and Localization
Kåre Lindahl, Venga Global
Truly Global, Anna Schlegel, NetApp

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bit.ly/drawingline-roi (GALA - $)
bit.ly/drawingline-roi2 (slideshare)

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• Strategy before tactics.
• There are many depths of localization.
• Experiment and measure to learn what’s right
for your audience.
Key takeaways

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1. GALA: 1 free on-demand webinar ($75 value to non-
members)
Promo code good through 31 December, 2017:
LavaCon2017-audience
2. TechSmith: Free laptop sticker
Free demonstration of new callout translation workflow in
Snagit 2018 (or see: bit.ly/drawingline-snagitloc)
Special Offers J

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Truly Global: The Theory and Practice of Bringing Your Company to International Markets
(Anna Schlegel)
http://bit.ly/drawingline-trulyglobal (Amazon - $)
The Lean Startup | Methodology
http://bit.ly/drawingline-lean
MV ... what? the Minimum viable concept applied to Localization! (Miguel Sepulveda)
http://bit.ly/drawingline-mvl
To Translate or Not to Translate? Determining Specifications (Yulia Sadovnik)
http://bit.ly/drawingline-specs
Mapping Your Enterprise Globalization Content Strategy - NetApp (Alessandra Gobbi)
http://bit.ly/drawingline-mapping (GALA - $)
Counting What Counts: KPIs for Translation and Localization (Kåre Lindahl)
http://bit.ly/drawingline-kpis
Measuring Translation ROI for the Corporate Sector - Starwood (Ora Solomon)
http://bit.ly/drawingline-roi (GALA - $) | http://bit.ly/drawingline-roi2 (slideshare)
References

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Daniel Foster
Strategy lead, Snagit
d.foster@techsmith.com
linkedin.com/in/danielfoster/
Get in Touch!