How to Translate a Video to Chinese to Boost Brand Awareness

Ready to take your brand into the world’s largest market – China? There’s no better way than with powerful videos targeting and engaging a Chinese audience. But to maximize your video potential, you need excellent translations that accurately convey your message and don’t miss any cultural nuances.

To ensure your videos resonate with Chinese viewers, we’ll show you how to craft high-quality translations that get results. With our help, you’ll easily be on track for 10X returns in the dynamic Chinese market.

1. Choose a Professional Translation Service

Professional translators ensure efficient and accurate document translations. They consider cultural nuances crucial for targeting specific audiences, mainly when translating videos. Investing in professional translation services boosts ROI.

Research shows that 75% of consumers are more likely to buy products in their language. Surprisingly, only 25% of companies measure ROI for localization. Measurable stats for translation ROI include error rate, conversion rates, and translation cost per word versus revenue.

When choosing a translation service, there are several factors to consider:

• Quality and accuracy: The translation service should provide accurate translations, as an incorrect idiom or poorly translated sentence can have drastic consequences.
• Experience and industry knowledge: The translation service should have a track record of successful projects and translators with specialized knowledge in fields such as legal, medical, and technical translation.
• Localization services: The translation service should offer localization services, adapting your content to a specific market and demographic.
• Confidentiality and ethics: The translation service should maintain a high level of integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality.

2. Adapt Script and Content for Chinese Audience

A successful video translation involves more than just changing words from one language to another. It requires understanding the target audience and adapting the script and content accordingly.

Chinese culture, aesthetics, and preferences may differ from your original audience’s. Collaborate with the translation team to ensure that the translated script captures the essence of your message while being culturally appropriate and resonating with the Chinese viewers.

Connect with your audience by using humor and emotive content like love and nostalgia to evoke human emotions.

3. Subtitles or Voice-Over? Find the Right Approach

You have two main options when translating videos to Chinese: subtitles or voice-over. Subtitles provide a cost-effective solution and allow viewers to watch the video in its original language while reading the Chinese translation.

On the other hand, voice-over can enhance the user experience by providing a seamless viewing experience in Chinese. Consider your budget, target audience, and the nature of your video content to determine which approach works best for you.

Both approaches have their own advantages and considerations, and the choice between them depends on various factors such as your budget, target audience, and the nature of your video content.

Subtitles

Subtitles translate the spoken content in a video and display it as text at the bottom of the screen. They are generally intended for people who do not understand the language of the video.

Here are some reasons why subtitles can be beneficial:

1. Cost-effective: Subtitles are generally cheaper and easier to produce than voice-overs.
2. Accessibility: Subtitles make your video accessible to a larger audience, including those with hearing impairments.
3. Learning preference: Some people prefer to read along with the video, as it helps them understand the content better

However, subtitles can also have some drawbacks. They can distract attention away from your footage, and they may struggle with conversations involving multiple speakers6.

Voice-overs in Chinese

Voice-over involves creating an audio track of the video’s spoken content in the target language, which is then synced with the video content.

Here are some reasons why voice-overs can be beneficial:

1. Enhanced user experience: Voice-overs allow viewers to concentrate on your video content without needing to read any text.
2. Personal touch: For marketing or promotional videos, a human voice-over is usually preferable because it is more personal..
3. Reach: Voice-over translation expands your video campaign reach into foreign-language audiences.

Voice-overs can be pricier than subtitles or text-to-speech. Lip-syncing or dubbing can also add expenses if there are on-screen speakers.

4. Optimize for Chinese Search Engines

To maximize the reach of your translated videos, optimizing them for Chinese search engines is essential. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant and popular search terms used by the Chinese audience.

Incorporate these keywords strategically in your video titles, descriptions, and tags. Additionally, consider using platforms like Youku, Bilibili, and Tencent Video, popular among Chinese viewers, to host and promote your translated videos.

5. Leverage Social Media Platforms

Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin (TikTok) offer immense potential for reaching a broad audience. Create accounts on these platforms and share your translated videos to engage with Chinese users.

Use captivating captions, eye-catching thumbnails, and culturally relevant hashtags to increase visibility and encourage viral sharing. Interact with your audience by responding to comments and messages to foster a sense of connection and build a loyal following.

Final thoughts

After going through each step outlined in this blog post, it’s time to take action and choose the right professional translation services that will refine your content. To be successful when entering China’s market, establish a comprehensive localization plan early on and take the time to make sure that cultural aspects are tailored appropriately.

Keep in mind each of these five key points which serve as guidelines to finding the right direction and resources for getting the most out of your international expansion. Chinese audiences admire originality, creating truly authentic content is essential to break through in this vibrant market.

If you’re looking for a reliable professional translation service in China, we recommend looking into LIMPID – with our experienced team of translators, you can rest assured that your message will be conveyed accurately while maintaining its precious meaning.

The LIMPID team is experienced in creating high quality Chinese voice overs and digital marketing campaigns that consider how people’s brains work. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need assistance with your next project!

Are you interested in multilingual translation services? Click here for more information.