Reaching customers in their own language is the easiest and most effective way to facilitate connections and grow your business. Our cities are increasingly diverse. People come from different places, speak different languages, and come with an established set of preferences and purchasing styles.

In Canada, 13% of the foreign-born population speaks Chinese

[1]. In the US, the same proportion speaks Spanish[2].  In what language is your marketing strategy?

Canada and the United States have a wide and varied linguistic landscape which has changed with recent waves of immigration. Before the 1970s, the most common mother tongues were English, Italian, German, and Dutch. Today, common mother tongues have shifted to English, Chinese, Tagalog, and Spanish.

What Does This Mean for You?

Venturing beyond English and French in Canada will not only give you access to important markets, it will also help you cut through the noise and reach people in a meaningful way. Statistics Canada reports[3] that 72.8% of Canadians speak a language other than English or French. In the US, there are 45 million people who speak Spanish as a first or second language[4], which makes the Spanish people in the US the largest national Spanish-speaking community outside of Mexico. Shouldn’t you be engaging with them on Facebook? On Twitter? Shouldn’t your web and ecommerce sites be adapted to this important community?

What To Do?

You know your customers speak different languages and you want to engage them in their mother tongue. That’s a great first step, but you can take this strategy further by reaching them on the social networks where they are most active.

Facebook is a global phenomenon, but it is banned in China. to reach Chinese speakers locally, you need to create an account on Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform.  A multilingual social media approach that utilizes various platforms is the secret to reaching multilingual markets here in our Canadian and US cities.

Here are a few important points to keep in mind when developing a cultural marketing strategy:

 1. Your customers are diverse and speak different languages

  • In what language do they browse the Internet? (More than 70% of internet users do so in a language other than English[5])
  • What affects their purchasing decisions?
  • Which social sites are they most active on?

2. Engaging with communities who speak different languages pays off

  • Participate in social and cultural events and be willing to explore uncharted territories
  • Bring along an interpreter and join your local Spanish or Chinese Chamber of commerce

3. Be active on new social media channels, in other languages

  • For example, a strong marketing approach for Chinese immigrants could involve engaging them on Sina Weibo, which has over 500 million registered users. Or WeChat, which is increasingly popular to provide customer service and promote special events.

Conclusion:

The key to growing your business in the digital world is engagement. With communication continuously becoming faster and shorter, taking the time to build relationships with your customers will build brand loyalty. Our cities are diverse. You’ll be amazed at the results a well localized marketing approach can deliver. Stand out! Reach and engage with cultural and linguistic groups in your community.

 

 

[2] Instituto Cervantes (Enciclopedia del español en Estados Unidos)

[4] Instituto Cervantes (Enciclopedia del español en Estados Unidos)