Show Interest: Reap Benefits

There comes a time in any marketing campaign when you have to make a single decision that will forever alter the campaign. In the U.S. Hispanic market, the decision to provide content in either Spanish or English may be that very dilemma. So which one should you chose? Let’s say for instance you are launching a website for a product that targets Hispanics in the United States. Do you put the entire website in Spanish in an attempt to relate to them or in English to assimilate them into the general U.S. population?

Twice the Fun

The answer to this question is quite simple -- BOTH. The U.S. Hispanic market is unique in the sense that they are diverse so different things will resonate with them. Spanish dominant content will only reach first and second generation U.S. Hispanics, but the younger generations may not even know Spanish fluently enough to be able to comprehend the marketing content efficiently. On the other hand, if you use English-only content, you are singling out older generations.

Providing content in English and Spanish will take more time, effort, and money, but is essential in a marketing campaign geared toward the U.S. Hispanic population.

According to DK Web Consulting and socialmediaspanish.com, 31 percent of U.S. Hispanics prefer reading Spanish dominant content while 44 percent prefer English. This means that 25 percent are influenced by bilingual content. Marketing in both English and Spanish is going to allow you to access the majority of U.S. Hispanics rather than just a fraction of the community.

A Social Media Suggestion

One tactic many companies use is to create separate content campaigns for each language preference. For example, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has two separate Facebook pages: one in Spanish for Spanish dominant and bilingual U.S. Hispanics, and the other in English. Clearly the CDC is not only targeting U.S. Hispanics, but creating content geared towards them shows the U.S. Hispanic community that the CDC is interested in their community enough to create an entire Facebook page for them.

From an employer’s standpoint, it is equally important to cater to employees of all lifestyles. Listen Up Español is a U.S. company based in Maine, but a majority of their employees are in Mexico. Their main Facebook page is in English for the business they conduct in the U.S., however they have created a separate page in Spanish for their employees. They are encouraged to post comments, concerns, and thoughts on this page that the owners look at and respond to. This lets the employees know that the company cares about what the employees think and encourages them to get involved.

Showing interest is a simple, yet a monumental action you can take in your marketing campaign that will reap endless benefits. CNN, Dairy Queen, and People Magazine are all businesses that have adopted the trend of using separate Facebook and seen tremendous benefits.

Partner Up

Once you have decided to create Spanish content, the most important thing to remember is to generate accurate Spanish content. Make sure your translator is fluent in both languages so it sounds grammatically correct. Nothing is worse than trying to make a literal translation using a Spanish-English dictionary and finding out you have created an entirely different meaning. Gaining a partner, like Listen Up Espanol, who thoroughly understands the U.S. Hispanic market and their culture will be an invaluable asset to your campaign.  Listen Up Espanol