As broad as digital marketing is, and as challenging as it might be to tackle it all in if the goal is to reach higher grounds and be competent in the industry, it is imperatively important for a business to get a grip of it.
Marketing tactics and outlets differ from region to region; therefore, the work might be considerably more difficult for companies in the language industry. Aspects such as culture, psychographics, and habits play a major role in influencing languages.
That is why it is critical to have the correct digital marketing strategy in the language industry.
About us
AR Language Services is a language services provider, established in South Africa in 2021. Our language services include translation, professional editing and proofreading, interpretation, content and copywriting, language training, and transcription.
At AR Language Services, all services are provided in English and Portuguese. Professional, efficient, and resourceful language services is a guarantee with us. We are dedicated to making your words work in both languages, generating one meaning.
Why social media marketing
Social media marketing is the perfect way to reach the mass population in a very fast and affordable way, and that aligns with the company goals & objectives.
With a vision of being a leading organization in the language services industry, we have realised there’s a need to broaden our horizons by servicing both corporate and private clients.
We live in an era where every individual is in possession of a smartphone and at least 8 out 10 people have social media presences across multiple platforms, therefore, our main aim goal for having an active presence on social media will be to expose our business and create more brand awareness to potential future clients.
Social media marketing goals
Social media marketing goals should align with your overall marketing objectives. This makes it easier to show the value of your work.
| Business objectives | Social media marketing goals |
| Create a strong Digital Footprint. | Open social media accounts on platforms that are fit to the business model. We have identified Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp Business as the main ones. |
| Grow exponentially in the language industry and become a cornerstone in the industry is primarily the African continent and secondarily, all over the world. | Create educational and informative content and share it with followers on our social media platforms. An individual may not be a client that can still benefit from the content shared on our pages. |
| Not lose the personal touch offered with our services over the years. | Run engaging social media platforms that offer quick responses to questions or enquiries brought to us, interact with followers on our comment sections, and treat everyone with respect and dignity. |
Key Performance Indicators (KPIS)
Social media platforms allow interested parties to track or measure their level of achievement or success through analytics.
However, in order for it to be effective, it is important that specific social media marketing goals are elaborated. Goals can vary depending on the platform, time and other factors, or it can be decided that all platforms will aim to achieve the same goals.
- We will make use of Click-throughs to measure visitors’ drives to our website.
- Network with experts in our industry through instant messaging.
- Generate 10-50 meaningful connections every week.
- in order to raise brand awareness, we will keep track of how many times our Instagram stories has been viewed.
- Promote an informational post, with a link to our website once a month.
- Raise our following base by 10-50 new followers every week.
- We will make use of cost-per-click (CPC), this technique has proven to be a frequent success statistic when advertising on Facebook.
- Engage with followers on a regular basis (create polls, in the comment section, re-share and thank followers that share our posts, etc)
Who is our target audience
- Who are they? – Our target market or audience are all individuals and organizations who require language services such as translation, interpretation, copywriting, editing, language teaching, transcription, and many others in the English and Portuguese languages and vice-versa. Additionally, we provide training to individuals who are interested in growing in the language industry.
- What are they interested in that you can provide? Language services are highly influenced by localization. For example, the English spoken in the United States of America is not 100% identical to the English spoken in South Africa, and that is due to localization. Therefore, we provide localised language services for the African continent, for the English and Portuguese languages.
- Where do they usually hang out online? Facebook is in the top of the chart. It is the biggest social media platform and that is where our focus has to be. Additionally, LinkedIn is extremely important for networking in the industry, whereas Instagram helps us grow, with the use of attractive and interactive content. WhatsApp Business is crucial for instant communication.
- When do they look for the type of content you can provide? Our content is most desirable from Monday to Friday, during working hours.
- Why do they consume the content? To get their message across and to start a career in the language industry.
- How do they consume the content? Our content is visual, as it is shared in the forms of posters, blogs, polls and others.
Social media platforms we will share/post on
Our content will be shared on the following platforms:
- WhatsApp Business
As stated earlier, 8 out of 10 people own a smartphone and have a social media presence. As we do not target a specific age group or a country, we will focus on the social media platforms with the highest number of users, which are Facebook and Instagram to post our content, LinkedIn for healthy networking in the industry and WhatsApp Business for Customer Service and instant communication.
Our brand’s X factor is the personal touch offered with our services. In today’s era, companies have switched to automation and most times, services such as translations are done by machines, also known as CAT tools in the language industry. Although we will make use of such CAT tools, we will ensure that the editing and revision is done by a human, to ensure that the work is localised, correct and functional.
Suitable time to share/post
Considering our industry and line of work, we have decided to post on the following times:
- Mondays – 9:00am
- Wednesdays – 9:00am
- Fridays- 9:00am
- Sundays – 8:00pm
Competitor Analysis
The language industry is highly competitive and not highly regulated, therefore, there are almost no entry barriers. An individual that believes has the right skill set can simply enter. However, the creditability is very important in this industry.
For example, many believe that to be a translator, all it requires is to be bilingual, when in reality that is simply 10% of what it takes to be a competent translator. In that light, such individuals are not seen as competition.
The main competitors we have identified are:
- Transperfect
- Lionbridge
- Language Line Solutions
- SDL
- RWS
- Appen
- Keywords studio
- Welocalize
- SDI Media
- IYUNO Media Group
The above-mentioned organizations offer the very same services we at AR Language Services do, but at a larger scale as they have been operational for a longer period of time.
Accounts set up and profile improvements
- Create 4 weekly posts.
- During the week, the posts will be informational and interactive, leading followers to ask questions in the comment section, click on our website link and share the post.
- On Sunday, the post will be inspirational. A motivational video or picture, motivating our followers to have a productive week ahead.
- In our stories, we will add educational content. Meaning of words, industry insight, re-shared content and much more.
- Instagram will have the same content like Facebook, as both platforms provide the option to share the same content simultaneously.
WhatsApp Business
- Provide a catalogue containing all services offered by AR Language Services.
- Reply to messages as fast as possible.
- Provide our website link as well as other business details such as operating hours, location, etc.
Social media calendar
| Platform | Day & Time |
| Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 9:00 am and on Sundays at 8:00pm. | |
| Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 9:00 am and on Sundays at 8:00pm. | |
| Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 9:00 am and on Sundays at 8:00pm. | |
| Whatsapp Business | Every day at 9:00am |
Content Mix
- 50% – redirect to our website.
- 20% – educational – links to blogs written by us and other industry experts, quizzes, polls, posters explaining the meaning of words etc…
- 20% – our achievements in the industry.
- 10% – motivational content.
Authors
Andre Raúl
Naomi Kiabanguka