How to Evaluate the Efficiency of Localized Content: The 6 Dimensions of the Content Efficiency Model

Life is about overcoming obstacles, isn't it? My mother, who was a very religious person, used to say, "God puts obstacles that He knows we can overcome." As someone with a less religious profile, I adapted that comment to my world .. the world of video games , where I would always encounter a challenging boss at the end of each level, making my life impossible.

Sometimes, life as a localization professional reminds me of playing a video game, where after passing one level, a more difficult one follows. It feels like an obstacle course, for sure.

For instance, we may be playing the "video game localization level" where we must convince stakeholders about the importance of localization activities for International growth.

We succeed and then comes the level of setting up a team.

We accomplish that and then comes the level of establishing workflows.

We manage that too, only to face the next level of creating a quality management framework program.

There always seems to be a new level, new objectives to overcome...

Today, I want to discuss another level to overcome: as a Localization professional, how do I know if the content we are localizing is efficient?

In this era of AI-generated content, it surprises me that no one talks about whether this content holds any value. Everyone talks about the danger of AI creating and adapting content and how it might eventually replace certain Localization professionals.

But should not the conversation focus on reflecting the value of the content?

Rather than talking about who creates the content, whether a machine or a human, I think a more interesting conversation would be whether that content, regardless of who created it, whether it serves a purpose or not.

And the way I see it, when it comes to measuring content efficiency, the traditional metrics of quality, speed, and cost that have been used for years fall short.

While these metrics are helpful for internal feedback on the effectiveness of our localization strategies, they do not consider the impact the content has on the customer.

Quality, speed, and cost metrics are valid to know if my "localization house is in order," but they are not telling us anything about content effectiveness.

We must shift our approach to understanding how the customer responds to the localized content we create because that is what truly matters.

There are many shades of gray, just as there are many types of content.

When delving into content localization, we often simplify things when targeting a new market.

We tend to think in binary terms: either localize all the content or localize nothing at all.

However, the reality is rarely black and white; there is a wide range of possibilities in between. There are many shades of gray, just as there are many types of content...

Considering the types of content and its visibility within a software localization strategy can be a real headache. I believe this is why we often choose to simplify and overlook content visibility and the efficiency of its contents.

Therefore, before explaining how to determine if the content we are localizing is efficient, let me provide a brief overview of the different types of content we encounter when venturing into the world of content localization.

To simplify and make this post more digestible, I consider that there are four fundamental groups of content that we can find when it comes to localizing content

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Marketing Content

1. Marketing and promotional materials

2. Social media content

3. App store descriptions and keywords

4. In-app advertisements

5. Social sharing features

6. Ratings and reviews

Product Content

1. User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design

2. Language and text

3. Audio and video content

4. Onboarding and tutorials

5. Documentation and user manuals

6. Gamification elements

7. Offline content

8. Accessibility features

9. Location-based services

10. Product descriptions

11. Localized search functionality

Legal Content

1. Legal and regulatory content

2. Terms of service and legal agreements

3. Privacy and data protection

4. Licensing and intellectual property

Support Content

1. Customer support

2. Help and support articles

3. In-app surveys and feedback forms

4. Error messages and notifications

5. Push notifications

6. Notifications and updates

7. Error logs and crash reports

8. Subscription and billing management

How to Measure Content Effectiveness

After reviewing the various types of content, we encounter, I would like to delve into the concept of what truly makes content effective.

How can we measure it?

What variables should we consider to determine if we have achieved our intended objective with localized content?

When it comes to content evaluation, Content Science Review, a popular website dedicated to all things related to content, encourages us to utilize a model that considers six dimensions to assess the effectiveness of our content.

These six dimensions are

1. Discovery: How do users discover content? Do users find the content they need?

2. Accuracy: Do they perceive the content as accurate?

3. Polish: Do users perceive the formatting and design of the content to be a high level of quality?

4. Relevance: Do they perceive the content as serving their needs or interests?

5. Usefulness: Does the content anticipate the users' needs and enable them to complete the goals?

6. Influence: Do users take action or make a decision after viewing the content?

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So when it comes to measuring the efficiency of our content, one of the first things we must do is map the types of content with the variables of effectiveness. This allows us to align expectations and create metrics to help us evaluate the aspects we want to assess.

Example

Let's see this with an example once we have analyzed the variables that affect content efficiency. An example adapted for content marketing where I suggest metrics/strategies to consider when evaluating whether the content we have localized is useful.

To evaluate the efficiency of Marketing Content, we can consider the following variables and metrics:

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Consistency in tracking is the key to measuring content efficiency.

When evaluating the efficiency of localized content, it is crucial to establish a repetitive process and consistently track the same data. This approach allows for the evaluation of patterns over time.

The steps involved in such a repetitive process can be summarized into four key aspects:

1. Collecting feedback regularly: Define the frequency of data collection and adhere to it consistently.

2. Tracking data over time: Monitor changes in trends by tracking data points consistently over a period.

3. Analyzing feedback: Gain insights from the collected data during the analysis phase.

4. Prompting action: Take appropriate actions based on the insights obtained through tracking and analysis.

Conclusion

How can we determine if localized content is truly effective?

Regardless of how the content is generated, whether by AI or human localization professionals, having a framework that assesses content effectiveness is crucial.

The six-variable model of content efficiency, along with metrics aligned with different types of content, provides valuable guidance in measuring the efficiency of localized content.

By following a consistent tracking approach and utilizing the content efficiency framework, we can provide a robust answer to the question of measuring the efficiency of our localized content.