The Welsh Language Commissioner's Hybu team works with businesses and charities of all kinds, from banks and supermarkets to national and international charities.
Using Welsh is a great way to strengthen your brand, connect with customers, and show commitment to our culture.
Why?
One of our main functions in the Hybu Team is to support businesses and charities to develop their Welsh-language provision. We share good practices and offer support through our Cynnig Cymraeg, an action plan that sets targets to expand the use of Welsh under five key themes.
Brand Design
- If it’s not possible to have a Welsh or bilingual name for your business, why not consider “Cymru” instead of “Wales”?
- Add a Welsh or bilingual slogan to strengthen identity.
- Can you include visual elements that reflect Wales?
Read our Bilingual Design Guide.
Social Media: A Key to Expanding Your Brand
A social media presence is essential for businesses today. It’s an effective way to reach new audiences.
A good example:
- A sustainable clothing brand celebrating the beauty of Wales is Pen Wiwar. The business has made Welsh a central part of its identity, which is clear on their social media.
Tips for bilingual content:
- Reels (Short videos): Reels get the highest engagement across platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Remember to add bilingual captions and reel covers. If you have a long title, start with a Welsh word, e.g., “Sut – How to support our appeal?”
- Use of numbers: For dates, use numbers instead of days of the week to reduce text.
- Welsh GIFs: Many are available by searching on Instagram, including some by the company Mwydro. You can also create your own GIFs to make your content lively.
- Welsh Days: Make the most of events like St David’s Day, Shwmae Sumae Day, Use Your Welsh Campaign, Welsh Music Day, St Dwynwen’s Day, and the Eisteddfodau.
- Reshare Welsh content: Share content from similar Welsh accounts to increase the visibility of Welsh on your channels.
Check out @pen_wiwar and @mwydro for examples.
Plan Ahead
Social media is updated daily, so try to prepare content in advance. If you need text translated, consider creating a bank of ready-to-use text.
Remember – captions don’t need to be translated word for word; you can be creative and use Welsh idioms or references.
Recruiting Staff and Volunteers
Recruiting staff and volunteers can greatly help your workforce provide public services.
Consider:
- Advertising the job bilingually.
- Listing Welsh as a desirable or essential skill.
The platforms below are Welsh-language platforms where you can promote jobs:
- Golwg360
- Safle Swyddi
- Lleol
- Swyddle
- Penodi
Strengthen Your Workforce’s Welsh Skills
The Hybu Team works in partnership with the National Centre for Learning Welsh to support organisations through the Work Welsh scheme.
As part of the process of receiving approval for the Welsh Offer, we will work with your organisation to offer options for staff or volunteers to learn, develop, or build confidence in using Welsh.
Visit the Learn Welsh website for more information.
Resources to Help You
Helo Blod: Translation service by Welsh Government.
Term Cymru: Official terminology database.
Cysill: Spelling and grammar checking tool.
Microsoft Resources: Available in Welsh.