It’s time for inclusive language strategies

Think about your favourite brand. What do you like about them – and the way they engage with you? Are they speaking to you like a friend, empowering you with the information you need to make a decision. Or is it because they give you an immersive experience – one that makes you want to continue the conversation? The most successful top global brands are doing just that, approaching their customer engagement vision like it’s a fine art. And it’s working. Digital insights firm Inclisiv estimates that 70% of retail sales now come through some form of digital channel. That’s incredible when you think about it. 

But the appetite for immersive experiences doesn’t rest solely in the consumer world. It’s the future of businesses and the way they operate. Take the HR team, and the way they conduct training. The future lies in virtual reality, according to a recent XR Association report. Over 90% of human resource professionals surveyed viewed immersive technologies, like VR, as a vital tool. 

This exciting, immersive future is already here – and it’s only going to get better. What companies need to understand is that in order to participate in this digital world, they’re going to need content – and lots of it, in different formats and languages. It’s going to get outdated as soon as it’s created, so a continual production line of information and content will need to be brought together. 

This was the subject of our recent Localization Transformation report, which explored three key language trends that companies will need to consider in 2022 and beyond. We’re only two months into the year and we’re already seeing signs of our predictions and trends coming to life. As part of our Generation Now trend, we suggested that companies will need to place greater focus on ensuring their content is inclusive. A great example of this is the hugely popular online game Wordle, which had just 90 players in November 2021 and now boasts millions of fans who take part in the daily challenge. Inclusivity has played a big part in its success. The quiz is available in 91 languages – even American Sign Language. Some of the world’s rarest languages, and even fictional languages like Klingon, are available for followers. Making the effort around inclusivity has no doubt catapulted the game’s success – leading it to being acquired by the New York Times. 

When you embed a localization first approach into your business, you stop playing catch-up with global engagement expectations and can start leading from the front. That means engaging with customers no matter which channel, platform or language they choose. Some long-tail languages (Bengali or Swahili, for example) have millions of native speakers. Why ignore this opportunity to broaden your audience? There’s no shortage of opportunity for ambitious brands to grow through better native language engagement worldwide. 

Over the next few weeks and months we’ll be exploring these trends in more detail. Stayed tuned to hear from our experts discuss topics like cosmolocalization, cognitive communication and building intuitive meta experiences.