Giovanna Chirri, the reporter who broke the news of the Pope’s resignation, got the scoop ahead of other journalists because she understood the Latin in which the Pope made his announcement. She tweeted the news as others waited for the official translations to come from the Vatican.
Of course, this was an exceptional set of circumstances. I doubt there will be a sudden rush on Latin text books. But it does illustrate a point: to be understood by an audience, you must speak the same language.
English is the world’s most spoken language, and the language that has become the default for global businesses. It’s usually the starting point for campaigns both online and offline.
But while English is the most spoken language online, it only accounts for a quarter of all social content.
According to Social Bakers research, the growth in English speakers on Facebook is slowing as Facebook gains traction in emerging social media markets such as Central and South America, and the Middle East.
Chinese (simplified Mandarin) is the second most common language online (but its use doesn’t impact Facebook and Twitter as they are still banned in China). Spanish trails behind in third place.
To think only in English when creating a social media campaign is to miss out on three-quarters of the online world. People expect to be spoken to on their own turf (Facebook, Twitter and so on) in their own language.
And if you’re going to encourage them to interact with you brand, you have to think about more than just the language you use:
