Last Updated on February 25, 2023 by asifa
Long gone are the days when your “international” audio content needed to be in English only. Today, if you want to get ahead of your game, you need to localize all your content, including audio.
So, if you ever need to localize your English audio materials into other languages, here is what to have in mind.
Table of Contents
What is Audio Localization?
Audio localization is the process of taking pre-recorded sound content and adapting it to a specific market. Often, audio localization involves translating and localizing the script.
Audio Localization for people:
Certainly audio localization has become way more robust overtimes than one can think of! From translators to the media industry, audio is prevailing everywhere for the right reasons. And when it comes to the entertainment niche, there are many other sub-niches that are related to it. Many audio engineers and project managers also look up to tech and for being sassy even more it’s audio localization that makes things next-level.
What type of audio content requires localization?
Online courses. If you have your training materials in English, it may be worth translating them into other languages for non-English speakers. The next step is to look for an educator or presenter speaking the language of your target market, but about that a little later.
Advertisements. If you’re targeting different Spanish-speaking audiences, the Nielsen Hispanic Radio Today study is definitely worth exploring. However, until you besiege Google, we thought we might give you a clue about it. The study suggests that radio appeals to Hispanic consumers the most. Hence, any ad running or broadcast on the radio will be more likely to convert. So, radio ads, anyone?
IVR – Interactive Voice Response. Every company these days uses a telephone to communicate with its customers, and most likely a phone tree alongside the telephone line. Generally, the language of those prompts is English (most likely even yours). If you’re planning to go local, it would be best to think and speak “Local”. This would enable you to reach out to your local audience and engage them.
The nitty-gritty of audio localization
The audio localization process is as detailed and essential (only if “essential” had a degree of comparison- Lol) as any of your business processes. When working with an audio producer/editor, here is what you should be prepared for:
Sourcing the right voice
Before recording your audio content, first, you need to recruit a voice actor. The audio content producer you’re working with should send you a few voice samples to choose from. Depending on your target market, the voice and accent of the voice actor must be suitable for the project and meet your audience’s cultural and linguistic expectations.
Localize your script
Translate your script or ad into the language spoken by your target audience while considering any cultural differences. Any idioms or humour part of your brand identity should be adapted to the local language. A translation and localization services provider like Pangea Global can localize your marketing and ad copy into 75+ languages (chances are you will find your target language among ours).
Recording your audio material
Once you have selected the voice actor(s) and localized the script, it’s time to record your audio content. As long as you achieve studio sound quality, you can use any equipment to record it. Your voice recording studio will provide you with a soundproofed room to complete the task. Afterwards, you may need to communicate with the sound engineers to QA and fine-tune the material before delivery.
Now that you know how to localize your audio content, let’s get to it, shall we?
