OnlineMarketingAndCommunicationSkillsForTranslatorsAnneBesnier

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Online Marketing and

Communication Skills

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Why did I choose this subject?

• New comer to the profession

• Eager to learn more about the translation

industry

• Will help me to start my own translation

business and write my business plan

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Defining the subject

• Online marketing: the use of the internet to achieve marketing objectives

(Institute of Direct Marketing, 2011)

• Communication skills: the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, orally or in writing (Armstrong, 2006)

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• Social media: A collection of web pages and applications that are designed to allow users to interact with their friends (Brown, 2010)

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5 marketing tools examined

• ProZ.com

• TranslatorsCafé.com

• Professional website

• Blogging

• LinkedIn

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How did I proceed?

• I researched what was written and said about the subject

• I approached professional translators (ITI LIFT, French networks and ProZ.com): survey + interview

• I compared the findings with the theoretical part in order to draw conclusions

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Plan

• Literature review

• Methodology

• Findings

• Conclusion

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Literature review

Marketing plan:

• Major document that underpins the whole marketing strategy in a structured way

• Provides clear directions towards specific goals to achieve

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Minimal components of a marketing plan:

• Unique selling point (USP): what

differentiates your services from those of

your competitors

• SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats of your business

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→ leads to the identification of your professional brand

Online brand:Your online presence and information on the web (Brown, 2010)

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Online brand

• Values

• Offer

• Identity

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Implementing the marketing plan via the Internet and social media

Questions:

• What client groups are we targeting?

• How does this strategy fits in with your

overall marketing strategy?

• What objectives do you expect to meet?

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• Expansion of the number of Internet users: 30.1 million users in 2010 in UK(Office for National Statistics, 2010)

• Is social media a risky venture?

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Numerous advantages of social media

• Low cost marketing

• Remain connected with existing clients

• Find your ‘influencers’

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• Meaningful, interactive and public

discussions

• Identify followers’ expectations and

integrate these into the marketing plan

• Include a social media plan which is part

of the marketing plan

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Implications for the professional brand

• Outstanding communication skills

• A lot of maintenance and effort

• Everything is public

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Reviewing the marketing plan

• Wide range of metrics: e.g. Google

Analytics

• Updates

• Review and alter the marketing plan

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ProZ.com and TranslatorsCafé.com

• Ideal place for newcomers

• Minimal online presence

• Responding to jobs (mostly outsourced by translation agencies)

• Prices driven towards the bottom?

• Securing payment

• Other interesting features: Blue Board, terminology questions, etc.

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Professional website

• A ‘shop window’ which embodies the translator’s professional brand

• Simple design

• Differentiating content and copy

• Sections: About, Contact, Services, Background, Rates, Clients Testimonials

• Regular updates

• Links with social media platforms

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Blog

• Hosted or self-hosted

• Personal online journal

• Blogging: an excellent way of creating connections with other like-minded people

• Importance of links

• Niche markets for future blogs: specialisations and clients’ needs

• Time-consuming

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LinkedIn

• Huge directory of professionals across various industries

• Define goals

• Make contact with new people

• Have a genuine interest in others and expect to give a lot

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Conclusion of Literature Review

• Marketing plan: your ‘tailored’ route to

professional success

• Communication channels will require time,

commitment and consistency in order to

improve visibility, credibility and reputation

of the business.

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Methodology

• A descriptive and exploratory research

• A mixed strategy: quantitative and

qualitative data collected via a

questionnaire and an interview

• Samples of respondents: ITI LIFT and

French networks, ProZ.com

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Findings

No. of professional translators who took part in the research

Questionnaire Interview

Participation

requested

Definite

participation

Participation

requested

Definite

participation

297 26 7 7

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Membership of respondents

02468

101214

ProZ.com ITI French network ITI LIFT network

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No. of years spent as a freelance

translator

0

2

4

6

8

10

10 or more 5-9 2-4 less than 2

ITI LIFT

ProZ

ITI French

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Detailed profile of the interviewees

Resp. no. 6 12 14 16 19 21 23 No. years freelancing

5-9 5-9 10 or more < 2 2-4 5-9 5-9

Membership ITI LIFT ProZ ITI French ITI French ITI French

ITI French + ITI LIFT

ITI French

main specialities

law law IT, engineering

marketing, tourism

science (biology)

law science (chemistry)

interviewed for

website, blog and ProZ

ProZ LinkedIn website, blog and LinkedIn

ProZ website, ProZ

ProZ, LinkedIn

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Main results across all channels

02468

10121416182022

website ProZ TranslatorsCafé

LinkedIn

Yes

No

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Benefits of ProZ

02468

1012

A B C D E F

No

of

resp

on

den

ts

Legend A I haven’t found any benefits yet B I found my first paid assignments on ProZ C I’ve made contact with new agencies D I’ve made contact with direct clients E I’ve increased my workflow F Other

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• Nearly a third of the participants (6 out of

19) have found their first paid assignments

with ProZ

• 10 have worked with translation agencies

• 6 have worked with direct clients

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ProZ - criticism

• Not helpful to professional reputation

• Low rates

• False or misleading comments on Blue

Board

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Making the most of ProZ

• Clients find translators via their profile

• Kudoz points + positive entries left by clients + paid membership = profile ranks higher in search engines

• Type of clients: direct clients + translation agencies

• Respond to jobs at your current rate

• Socialising with other translators

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Benefits of LinkedIn

02468

101214

A B C D E F G

No

of

resp

on

den

ts

Legend A I haven’t found any benefits yet B I’ve made contact with new agencies C I’ve made contact with direct clients D It’s increased my workflow E I’m taking part in translation groups F I’m taking part in professional groups

which are related to my specialist areas G Other

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Making the most of LinkedIn

• Long-term strategy

• Networking with translators from all over the world

• Gaining an insight of the translation industry at a global level

• Membership to professional groups (translators’ specialities) improves visibility

• Taking part in groups discussions

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Are you satisfied with your website?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Yes No

No

of r

espo

nden

ts

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Making the most of a professional website

• Design

• Sections

• Content and copy

• Results achieved

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What about having a blog?

• Insight into the profession of translators

• Continuous professional development

• Type of audience

• Frequency of posts

• Downside: visitors cannot leave comments

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Marketing plan and online brand

• Marketing plan

• Visibility and niche market

• Business’ brand and any forms of communication that represents it

• Importance of writing and networking skills

• Marketing and its implications

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• Main source of work: peers and translation agencies

→ raises many questions regarding the effectiveness of an online marketing strategy

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• Importance of being seen and meeting other translators: conferences and training events

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Conclusion

• Displaying a profile on ProZ is an excellent way for ensuring a minimal online presence

• Further step with the development of a website

• Creating an account on LinkedIn

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• Socialising with translators at professional events is fundamental

• Marketing plan tailored to your needs

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Some references

• Armstrong, Michael, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 10th edn (London: Kogan Page, 2006)

• Brown, Eileen, Working the Crowd: Social Media Marketing for Business (Swindon: British Informatics Society, 2010)

• Institute of Direct Marketing, Cut through the Babble with our Jargon Buster (Teddington: IDM, 2011) <http://www.theidm.com/resources/jargon-buster/?glos=E> [accessed 05/02/2011]

• Office for National Statistics, Internet Access, (Newport: ONS, 2010) <http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=8> [accessed 25/02/2011]

• Zarrella, Dan, The Social Media Marketing Book (Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media, 2010)

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