Facebook Pokes Users For Translation Project; Results Could Affect Digital Marketers

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By Mallory Dash

TechCrunch reported on Monday that Facebook is now tapping its users to translate the site into different languages. Facebook’s “crowd-sourcing” method of translating the site contrasts directly with MySpace, who launches independent sites for their international markets. As a result, digital marketers may have to approach marketing to the two networks’ non-English-speaking audiences in very different ways.

The differences in the companies’ approaches underscore the basic micro v. macro debate among social networks and Web 2.0 communities. By inviting users to translate the site, Facebook is essentially stating that its users – both from the US and abroad – will be kept on a single platform. MySpace takes the micro approach. They open local offices in each country where MySpace is launched (so far there more than a dozen MySpace offices around the world) and promote local bands and artists.

In the short-term, MySpace is likely the better choice for targeted international marketing. The site has a wider international reach than Facebook (even though half of Facebook’s users are from outside the US) and, because it has local offices, is able to provide on-ground support that Facebook can’t match.

There are advantages to Facebook’s take on the translation problem, though. Because everything is kept on a single platform, marketers are subject to the same site rules and have access to the same capabilities, regardless of who they’re marketing to. That means an effective Facebook app, widget or social ad could be easily translated to reach non-English-speaking users.

Here’s one thing that marketers will have to consider - in what ways (if any) will the translations affect the message of their marketing products. Marketing obviously depends on specificity and strong, deliberate word choice. Will Facebook’s translation platform be able to adequately capture those nuances?

Facebook’s translation project is still in beta right now, restricted to a core set of invited users. Check back with DigitalBlab for more thoughts on how to optimize marketing strategies for the international platform when it’s released.