A Beginner’s Guide to Content Localization for OTT Platforms

Blog: MattsenKumar Blog

The pandemic COVID-19 is an undeniable factor that has had negative consequences on everyday life, but it will also cause numerous major changes that will become the ‘New Normal.’ After the pandemic has shut down the box office, the films industry has discovered a means to thrive on the OTT platforms. Online search and analysis of data demonstrate the huge increase in the number of movies and series seen on OTT platforms since last year.

Today, multimedia is an efficient technique to reach the target public. Multimedia encompasses music, video, flash files, entertainment, information on e-learning, media, interactive materials. OTT medium service is possible through a wide range of apps, digital media players, video game consoles, and other smart technologies, from personal computers to laptops, to smartphones, and even to television sites. Media localization refers to the practice of changing media to conform to different cultural tastes and geographical necessities worldwide. The utilization of multimedia platforms like web series, films, assists the audience to consume the information and get entertained. Multimedia platforms have to be located to personalize and work within the local community’s culture because of globalization. This gives the content the excellent chance to reach the worldwide market. So, in this blog, we’ll see why content localization is important nowadays for OTT platforms, and how to get through it pretty easily.

Introduction to Content Localization

The localization of content is the tailoring of the content to the local public. It’s the process of customizing your material to take the specific peculiarities and expectations of the target audience into account. Instead of feeling like a translation initially designed for various readers, the resulting contents read as though it had been originally developed for the public. Content location is a company that demands careful consideration, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the culture and audience that the content fits within. This material might be anything from blog entries to social media posts on your site. The translation is frequently included in content localization, but that is not always the case. If you’ve created content for UK readers and want to localize it for US readers, you won’t need to translate it; all you’ll need is a thorough conversion from British to US English. Not only does language play a role in localization, but so do many other elements. That’s why, before you start adapting your content to new audiences, you should have a comprehensive localization strategy. This allows you to be crystal clear about your objectives and how you plan to attain them.

Benefits of Content Localization

The translation of words into local terminology is only one aspect of content localization. Meanings, language, intonation, and concepts must all be localized. This allows you to incorporate your local clientele’s language and opinions into your material. But its benefits are far broader than just making the content localized. So, here are the main benefits of content localization:

It helps in establishing a better connection with customers

The most significant benefit of a localized content strategy is that it allows you to capture your clients’ attention. It establishes a common ground that allows you to properly communicate with them. Culture, language, local terminology, current events, area, and market-specific material are all examples of localized content. It aids in placing the customer in context.

It increases your business credibility

Your small business immediately fits in with the local market you’re targeting when you go local with your content and marketing efforts. For your customers, your company name becomes a familiar entity. This establishes credibility and helps you appear to be a reliable company.

It leads to increased sales

Before making a purchase, your consumers can be impacted by a variety of things. Customers might be influenced by a variety of cultural, socioeconomic, political, and environmental issues. This is where the localization of content can help. When you effectively localize your content, you can create a powerful marketing message that resonates with your customers. This, in turn, leads to a boost in sales.

It gives a competitive edge to your business in the market

Localized content can put you 10 steps ahead of your competitors if done right and creatively. Clients in your area are more inclined to identify with your company rather than one of your competitors. This will assist your company in gaining a significant portion of the local market.

It enhances your brand visibility

If you want to attract local customers, you’ll need to up your SEO game. Be visible on the top page of Google Search results if you want to attract more clients to your small business. This is when localized content comes in handy. With content localization, you may cater to your client’s preferences and interests.

Types of content localization for OTT Platforms

For OTT platforms, mainly working on web series, films, podcasts, etc. there are a few main types of localization that helps them cater to the needs of their local audience of every region. Below are the 4 main types of content localization methods for OTT Platforms:

Dubbing – Language Translation

Dubbing is the technique of adding additional dialogue or other sounds to a motion picture’s soundtrack after it has already been shot. Audiences are most familiar with dubbing as a method of converting foreign-language films into the audience’s native tongue. When a film is dubbed in a foreign language, the translation of the original phrase is meticulously matched to the lip movements of the actors. Hence, it makes it quite comfortable for the audience to consume foreign content on the platforms.

Audio Description

The spoken representation of significant visual aspects in media and live shows is referred to as audio description. The purpose of AD is to provide information about visual content that is regarded as important for the program’s comprehension. In many situations, failing to provide AD might prevent blind and visually impaired people from fully comprehending the program. This, in turn, helps the audience of any group to consume the content successfully as well as understand it.

Subtitling

Subtitling is the technique of adding text to any audio-visual medium to explain the content being delivered. Subtitles are written versions of the spoken sounds. They enable individuals to read and comprehend what is being said even if they do not understand the speakers’ language. Without subtitles, it would be impossible to appreciate the nuance of verbal communication. Subtitles help local people in entertaining the content that may not be available in their local audio but has a continuously written explanation of what is happening.

Along with these Localization methods, OTT platforms need to focus on some things related to the current trends that the industry is facing. So they need to focus on:

Viewer Preferences

Changing viewer preferences is very crucial for platforms to understand. As different users demand and need different ways to consume content. So they need to make sure that the variety of users that they have are all catered to.

Growing Demand

With the growing demand for OTT platforms, the demand for content localization has also increased. So, OTT platforms need to ensure that every bit of their already released, as well as upcoming content, should be localized accordingly.

Making Localization for past content

The pandemic had caused new content production to stop, in that case, people watched old content, but unlocalized content caused them to face a struggle. So, OTT platforms need to reconsider their libraries.

Conclusion

While the media sector will take longer to recover from the COVID-19 epidemic, OTT platforms will find it more difficult to develop new material at the same rate as in the pre-covid era. For OTT services to get more users and stay current and competitive, localization of existing content can be quite beneficial. Content Localization is here to stay, and it will only grow in popularity in the future.

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