English language social media posts are critical to Thai companies. In fact, Thai businesses make more money when they improve their English-language marketing & advertising content.
After all, English is the international business language, and it is becoming more and more important by the day for organizations in almost every industry as a way to spread the word and make more money.
Using it professionally online has many benefits, especially when it comes to attracting new customers. But there is an important question: Does every business or organization need English Language Social Media posts (and English in their other customer-facing messaging)?
The answer really depends on whether they offer products or services to both foreigners and locals; and if not, whether they have the potential and interest to do so.
Let’s look at some industries where businesses often don’t use well-translated Business English as effectively as they could in their social media posts (and other interactions with prospective customers).
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English Makes Restaurants More Money
Restaurants and bars very noticeably lack proper English language social media, especially in Thailand. (How many times have we seen things like “crap” instead of “crab”?!?)
This is quite surprising to see in such a large economy (and in other Asian economies where proper online English is so critical to success in the tourism industry). For example, many travelers arrive in cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, and Bangkok for the express purpose of exploring the local food & drink.
We are often dismayed when we see advertisements and menus only with the local language, or with confusing English.
There are far too many restaurants here in Thailand missing out on a massive market segment. And it’s simply because they don’t do any marketing in English – and therefore A LOT of would-be customers don’t know what’s on offer.
What usually happens is we look at your website or socials – or, in person, at your storefront, display cases, and menus – but move on without buying anything. And in most cases, we just move on to another restaurant → the one with the English words!
(Seriously, I should make a video of the wonderful foodie haven on Pradiphat Rd. in the Phaya Thai district, highlighting all the many places where farang stop, scan the scene for a few seconds, and then carry on without paying.)
Since most restaurants want as many customers as possible – both locals and foreigners – it would make sense to advertise their offerings in as many languages as possible. But certainly at least in properly-translated Business English that’s appropriate to the F&B industry.
I often wonder how much money any given restaurant or bar has lost over the years, simply because they weren’t helped by English speakers to translate their stuff into passable pasa Angrit. In my experience on the street and online, so often do I see information just in Thai.
(And don’t get me started on the restaurants on Grab and Line Man that don’t have English on their menus – it’s really unforgivable, assuming these restaurants are in business to make as much money as possible.)
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English Makes Hotels More Money
The hospitality industry, especially for small- and medium-sized properties, is another example where English language social media posts are lacking.
Many hotel websites and socials provide important updates, reviews, and deals aimed at travelers, but are too often only published in the local language.
This is strange because the main aim of these businesses is occupancy, and obviously if a large segment of your potential “room fillers” don’t read Thai – well, you’ll be losing out on sales because we don’t know what you’re offering.
It often results in travelers continuing to browse online for other accommodations – probably a direct competitor’s – which has all the key information translated into Business English for the hospitality industry.
The same also applies to hotels & resorts that regularly post important information for their guests online or use social media posts to advertise deals and important promotions to their card-carrying members.
Since many travelers to Thailand cannot understand the information unless you are providing it in English, you might end up losing lots of money, particularly if you’re situated in a popular tourist destination.
Many kinds of stores also fail to make English language social media posts for their potential customers. Most downtown areas or tourist zones in major cities hope to attract shoppers and their wallets to their establishments. But it won’t happen as much as it could if English speakers could be properly enticed online.
There is potential for many stores to increase the amount of customers in their stores simply by using well-crafted English copy on their websites and social media pages. And we all know that Google Translate’s direct translations from the Thai aren’t always accurate.
In other words, once stores provide clever, well-translated information in English, product awareness is created and then we buy.
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HR & Training Managers in top Bangkok hotels & resorts: Let’s empower your employees with “hotel English.”
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English Makes Tourist Attractions More Money
Lastly, some common tourist attractions in large cities would also greatly benefit from better English language social media posts by their marketing departments.
This is especially true for official websites of attractions like parks and museums. And for public transportation services, which if I can be candid, seem kinda keekiat about using English on a widespread basis.
As a result, expats and tourists who need basic information like hours of operation, rules and regulations, or service routes and schedules, often have to rely on third-party sites (e.g. online forums) to get the information they need.
The main issue with searching for information on unofficial websites is that it’s not always reliable.
There is a huge opportunity in Thailand for tourist hot-spots to take the lead and provide accurate, up-to-date information in well-translated professional Business English that’s appropriate to their services. This would be very helpful to tourists visiting The Land of Smiles and the tourism industry in general.
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English Makes Businesses in Thailand More Money
For all kinds of companies in all sorts of industries, it would be beneficial for marketing departments to up their game when it comes to social media posts in English.
If your customer focus is only on locals using the local language, that’s okay. Translating your messaging into English might not provide much value.
If, however, your organization could grow by informing us farang, then having your social media posts properly translated into English is something you should consider.
(As is training your people to improve their overall abilities to write clearly and confidently in English – which can be accomplished by partnering with ECSC Thailand.)
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Contact us today to schedule a call with Ajarn Don, to discuss ECSC’s Business English Workshops & Courses, Executive Coaching, and Onsite Consulting.
