This material first appeared as an article in the newsletter of the ATA Translation Company Division, here, and published with permission from the ATA-TCD newsletter editor and the author. Thank you to Nora Favorov and Liv Bliss for their valuable contributions as editors of the article.
By Dmitry Beschetny
Introduction
There are numerous ways to connect with potential translation clients through social media, especially through LinkedIn, Google Business, Facebook or even Instagram. The only problem may be the unavailability of these major platforms in a particular country. That’s exactly the case in my home country of Russia, where all these platforms are banned, as well as many VPN services.
And even if I use, say, LinkedIn accessed via proxy servers as a viable workaround, why should my potential domestic clients have to go through the extra effort involved? Besides, some of my potential clients wouldn’t use LinkedIn even if it was available to them. This got me thinking about how else to reach my potential clients via the internet, so I turned to growing messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and others that have become an essential part of the client journey and, in turn, an important channel in both B2C and B2B (business-to-customer and business-to-business) marketing for me as a freelance translator working in the legal field. However, trying to identify potential clients in an ocean of messaging platforms can still feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In this article, I will share some simple techniques on how translators, whether individuals or companies, can use mobile chat apps to connect with potential clients and promote their translation business. Let’s find out!
Do’s and Don’ts
While messenger services such as WhatsApp don’t offer as many features for promoting translation services as the platforms mentioned above, I don’t think an LSP or a freelance translator needs to use all the features of all available tools. Instead, using just a few tools and certain carefully selected features to the fullest can be rewarding in terms of successfully marketing your translation business.
Surprisingly, a messenger can even beat a major platform when it comes to specific features. For example: I don’t need to buy a premium subscription to see who has been viewing my status on WhatsApp, so why not update your WhatsApp status regularly with relevant translation content and then check your viewing stats? (Unlike LinkedIn, WhatsApp doesn’t even offer paid services, at least for now.) Your WhatsApp status update need never be boring, as you can pick a font and a background color, or even record your voice. Both regular WhatsApp and WA Business are good for this, although WA Business is more geared towards working on projects, as it allows you to sort leads and clients according to the status of a project.
In my WhatsApp status, I help potential translation clients by explaining the difference between a translator and an interpreter, a bilingual and a translator, a certified and a notarized translation, etc., and I make suggestions aimed at reducing stress and helping clients get the most out of their translation budget. And, of course, I post my translation credentials and links to my services, explaining their value.
Only people who have saved my number can see my WhatsApp status updates. Satisfied clients quite often do. In my experience, existing clients appreciate such explanations and suggestions, and often reply via direct message asking for more information. They also often return with more jobs or refer me to potential clients who are looking for a legal translator.
In Russia, my first choices among messengers would be WhatsApp and Telegram. Other country-specific messengers may work well too, such as Russia’s VKontakte (and possibly WeChat in China, but my Chinese colleagues may have something to say about that).
Both WhatsApp and Telegram allow users to create groups to communicate on particular topics, and the groups where participants may request a translation quote are not necessarily labeled “Legal Translation from English into Russian,” which would point to my ideal target audience. However, your target group is just a step away if you use the right keywords to find your clients.
In Telegram, for example, I use the Russian keywords “наши в” (our people in …) to quickly find Russian immigrant communities in English-speaking countries and specific states or territories. I also looked at Google search data on the most popular destinations for people wanting to move abroad and found that most people planning to leave Russia aspire to go to the U.S.
Participants in these groups are usually looking for a Russian-to-English translator like me to officially translate the vital records, bank statements, vaccination records, or case descriptions that will be used when consulting a lawyer. And to be found, the translator just has to type a keyword into the search box in the chat list.
My favorite keywords are “перевести” (to translate), “официальный перевод” (official translation), “сертифицированный перевод” (certified translation), “юридический перевод” (legal translation), “переводчик” (translator), “свидетельство о рождении” (birth certificate), and “диплом cо вкладышем” (diploma with transcript), which allows me to highlight the chats where a participant might have left their request for Russian-to-English translation services.
Just a few seconds later you’ve got your list of potential customers. Not exactly magic, but it works like clockwork. I go through this procedure twice a day: in the morning in the Moscow time zone, when my hometown wakes up, and in the evening, which is morning in the U.S. Next, I send the people who show up in my search my template messages to introduce myself and offer to look at their source files and provide a quote.
Speaking of don’ts, please follow the group rules and don’t be too “salesy.” Owners create groups for various purposes, offering people the opportunity to discuss and attend exciting events to meet other people, get tips and information about their destination, and do many other things that may have nothing to do with translation services. So be careful what you post and how you word it, otherwise you risk being blacklisted and losing access to potential clients. The right way to communicate is to send a direct message to a potential client, who will usually respond well to a personalized approach. You can also use such groups to promote your services on a (normally) paid basis. What this means is that the owners may use their group as a billboard, especially when they allow participants offering services to pin an advertisement so that everyone in the group can see it. So group owners expect service providers to pay them a reasonable fee when a translation service (or other service) is advertised.
This technique also works in what could be called the reverse direction for translation into Russian. I have recently joined local groups of English-speaking expats and some of the InterNations Moscow community groups, where I’ve found a number of good clients. They are professionals who have moved to Moscow and need to have the necessary documents translated in order to move their families there as well.
Translation Requests and Sales Funnel Automation
Although I usually check for new translation requests as often as twice a day, the reality is that I sometimes miss the opportunity to provide a quote. Wouldn’t it be great if I could automate this process and continue monitoring even when it’s night in my time zone? If I was able to use the iOS 16.4 settings to automate VPN on/off for LinkedIn and other platforms not available in my country using the local IP address, why wouldn’t I be able to use Python scripts to create a bot to automate checking for new translation requests on chat apps? I think it’s doable, but that would probably be a topic for another article on Messenger Marketing. Or maybe readers of this article could contact me with hints. I would appreciate it.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The practice of using mobile chat apps to facilitate business and connect with potential clients does pay off, and the technique is easy. First, identify messenger groups where your potential clients hang out. For example, if your target audience is refugees, it would be a good idea to have a clear understanding of their resettlement locations, then use location to search for the local community Be sure to follow the group rules when advertising your services, then start searching in groups using your selected keywords. Whatever your area of expertise is and whatever your keywords are, just avoid using vague or overly technical words or terms that your potential clients are unlikely to use in describing what you do.
Messenger marketing makes it easier to build a customer base. And messengers have higher open rates, as people are over three times more likely to read a message than to open an email.
Messenger marketing strategies can create meaningful relationships between a translation services provider and clients. However, it is not enough to simply join WhatsApp or Telegram groups and then handle incoming requests. Instead, a translator needs to use messengers intelligently, by identifying the right online communities and creating an effective promotional strategy.
And yes, I completely agree with Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo, the author of The Online Presence Roadmap – A Practical Guide to Confident Online Marketing for Translators and Interpreters, who said in a recent interview: “It’s better if it comes from more people than me. Something practical that can help. … It’s always a good idea to do marketing in different ways!”
About the Author
Dmitry Beschetny is a Moscow-based English-to-Russian translator and interpreter specializing in legal translation and interpreting. He holds master’s degrees in law and in humanities and social sciences, as well as a translation degree. He has experience participating in criminal investigations and prosecutions and has worked as an in-house counsel and legal advisor in law firms. Dmitry’s portfolio includes translation and interpreting work for academia, law firms, and private clients. He has served as a member of the ATA Professional Development Committee and of the ATA Law Division Leadership Council. He can be reached at db@legalxlator.com.
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