Should You Make Your Podcast Multilingual? Tips for Multilingual Podcasting

Let's take a look at why you'd want to translate a podcast into a different language.

For starters, consumers feel more at ease with content that is written in their native language. 72.4% of customers would be more likely to purchase a product that included information in their native language.

That makes sense because most people prefer convenience, especially when it comes to things like listening to podcasts in their spare time.

22% of Americans listen to podcasts while driving a vehicle, while 49% listen at home. Learn some practical tips if you wish to make your podcast multilingual successfully. 

Tips for developing a successful multilingual podcast:

1. The Right Idea

Choosing the correct podcast topic is the key step in developing a successful multilingual show. That includes choosing episode themes that are universally relevant for shows.

One example is Smile India, a factual podcast about stories from worldwide, produced by Mumbai-based IVM Podcasts.

Another example is Dr. Death, a medical true-crime podcast that has been translated into German, Spanish, Castilian Spanish, French, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Korean.

Additionally, you can use a native producer or production team with local roots or well-versed with the target local customs to ensure cultural authenticity.

This will help creators avoid the possibility of over-explaining topics to the local audience and prevent the show from unintentionally reflecting the producer's culture.

2. Adapting the Show

Of course, not all programs are multilingual from the start. SOWT Podcasts altered the screenplay while keeping the target population in mind to translate Mal Amal, a podcast about labor rights.

If you are an international podcaster, avoid drawing inspiration from the US to create universally appealing shows or podcasts that will appeal to audiences throughout the cross-cultural US.

A show format that appeals to native audiences may not always have a global appeal.

3. Reinvent the Podcast Style

Adapting shows has the benefit of preventing creators from falling into the typical trap of replicating the original podcast's style.

Podcasting has an aspect of intimacy and honesty that is unlike any other medium. It's also why podcasting is more difficult to translate than other forms of popular media.

Three important requirements for a successful multilingual podcast are relatability, adaptation, and audience-specific quality.

4. Transcription

It is critical to get what is said in the podcast transcribed, preferably by professional podcast transcription services who pay attention to every detail. Including a transcript of your podcast not only helps with translation but also helps with search engine optimization (SEO) and increases your search results ranks.

For example, you can try our Spanish transcription services and see what kind of result you get from your multilingual podcast.

5. Translation

It's simple to convert the audio recording into one or more languages after getting an accurate or intelligent transcript.

However, due to the abundance of metaphorical idioms and colloquial terms in verbal dialogues, translating a podcast usually necessitates more abilities than translating a document.

Your transcripted material should ideally be translated into a new language by native linguists.

A team of editors and reviewers can also review the translated text to correct any flaws and prepare it for the final production stages.

See Also: Best Practices for Multilingual Websites to Attract Your Target Audience

6. Keep the Local Culture in Mind

You're one step closer to creating a foreign-language version of your podcast now that you have a translated transcript of the audio.

Production firms sometimes need to reinvent their shows according to the sensibilities of the local culture, language, and complexity to connect to growing markets.

Once this is done, your show will be a full-fledged creative project with a direct return on investment in the form of new audiences.

Should You Work With a Professional Podcast Transcription and Translation Service?

Professional podcast translation and transcription, especially human translation and transcription services, have certain distinct advantages. These include:

• Can analyze issues like the tone of the content and ensure contextual and grammatical errors or abnormal phases are not included in the final content.
• Can retain the meaning and spirit of idioms, phrases, and popular cultural references in the target language without sounding like a weird word-by-word deciphering.
• Save the podcaster’s time because transcription and translation of audio can be complicated and time-consuming.

The process of making a multilingual podcast goes considerably beyond these steps, and it entails more than simply linguists, excellent interpreters, and talented voice actors.

It starts with conducting market research to identify potential listeners and determine the languages your podcast will be translated.

See Also: Podcast Translation: Are Podcasts Getting More Multilingual?

Furthermore, when translating an episodic podcast show, you should ensure that the opening credits are similar to the original but appeal to the new target audience. You might also need an altered cover design to appeal to the target audience.

The result of this lengthy procedure is a translated podcast that is appropriate for the new market and resonates with your target audience.

GMR Transcription Services, Inc. provides accurate and quick podcast transcription and translation services at reasonable prices in several languages, including Mandarin, English, Spanish, etc. If you have any further queries, contact us or visit our official website today.