Plug-in to Social Media Outlets

Understanding Social Media Trends in the Hispanic Community

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A Hungry Mind

Facebook is atwitter with social media loving fiends hoping to be the first and be the news. Whether you are interested in showing off your timely knowledge or interested in getting information from social media content, the World Wide Web is a playpen of blogs, social media sites, newspapers, product reviews, content reviews, and anything relevant or irrelevant needed to quench a curious mind.  

Be Relevant

Even though “top of the morning” television shows range from children’s educational shows to infomercials, news still dominates the airwaves.  People want to stay relevant, whether that means tuning in to your local channel or reading your Facebook news feed.  Hispanic Online Marketing found that mainstream social media sites like Facebook and Youtube are now among the top five more popular websites among Hispanics and are growing at meteoritic rates. They continue to state that Twitter and LinkedIn have nearly three million monthly Hispanic visitors. As the importance of social media sites rises, marketers should concurrently increase the usage of these sites to reach their target population. An article from Paul M. Rand in the 2010-2011 U.S. Hispanic Social Media Guide found that 77% of Hispanic-Americans [engage] in some kind of online socializing [and] social media is quickly becoming the battleground in which brand allegiances are won or lost. 

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The In on Media Outlets

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Harnessing the power of social media outlets to reach members of the Hispanic community offers a great return on investment.  For example, when a corporation creates a “page” on Facebook, there is an option for consumers to “like” what your page is about—whether it’s about your company, what you are offering, a giveaway you are doing etc. When a member likes your page, you now have access to their information. Are they male or female? Are they Hispanic? What are their interests? Other perks of taking advantage of social media include being able to track your influence through reviews, comments, likes, and photos and links.  This way, you are able to gauge brand loyalty, sentiment, and engagement. Knowing this, it’s no wonder that the 2011 TeleNoticias-LatinoWire Hispanic Social Media Survey found that social media budgets are expected to increase 60% in the next fiscal year for Hispanic markets. 

Who’s the Social King of Media?

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An article about U.S. Hispanic practice states that research has found significant differences in Social Media use across different segments of the U.S. Hispanic population.  What this article states is that social media interaction is seen differently and used for different purposes.  Differences such as distinct levels of trust and interaction with online communities may influence whether an individual decides to use that social media outlet. Other reasons why U.S. Hispanic individuals may decide to engage in social media outlets is access to the different online news outlets that influence them.

Now that you have your chosen and specific community of interest, how are you going to reach them? U.S. Hispanic practices states that Hispanics value communication technology that can easily access online content like the iPhone, Blackberry and other devices with wireless capabilities.

Why Does this Matter?

By understanding social media trends in the Hispanic market, it becomes easier to engage with your target audience.  Be sure to cross channel between social media networks to see if there are any trends that you and/or your company should pick up on.  Being on top of social media networks helps your company be timely with all your efforts.

It works backwards too.  Utilizing social media can help your target audience reach you! Creating things like Facebook “like” pages for example might help drive traffic to your cause and/or company. 

So get out there, and get social!

How to Win A Philan-Trophy

How to Reach out to the U.S. Hispanic Population for Nonprofit, Philanthropic Efforts

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The Exchange

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  This little rhyme learned by most school age children is the beginning of a nation changing Columbian Exchange that brought animals, culture, diseases, ideas and even religions among many more large scale contacts.  What does this have to do with the Hispanic population being one of the largest U.S. minority group and source of charitable giving? 

Close Knit Ties

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As a repercussion from the Spanish Inquisition, the Hispanic community has not always been so giving and has more so been doubtful of large philanthropic efforts.  From that point on, donations within and from the Hispanic population remain close knit to their family’s beliefs.  Henry Ramos, author of Latino Philanthropy: Abriendo Caminos, found that the Hispanic community has had a long-standing tradition of giving, which is generally done through organizations or causes that are close to the hearts of individuals.  Informal giving has been a strong value of the Latin American community for more than 500 years; however, Latinos are less accustomed to organized giving through nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. 

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How can an individual or an organization reach out to the Hispanic community? It is best to note this finding by Brooks Carter, and Marx from Hispanic Charitable Giving: An Opportunity for Nonprofit Development: Logistic regression analyses indicated that Hispanics were eight times more likely to donate to human service organizations when using payroll deduction. In addition, Hispanics who were solicited for a donation by telephone were twice as likely to make a donation to educational organizations as Hispanic donors not solicited by phone.  This fact in itself shows the power that call centers have in helping organizations.  It is just a matter of reaching out to your desired population and having someone available to interact with them.

Us and Them

Acculturation to society—regardless of an individual’s background—requires a complete knowledge and a step by step learning process of how the land, and their people came to form a culture.  Understanding this primary foundation allows an individual to understand charitable giving.  In that same manner, Kari Pardoe, author of Hispanic Philanthropy, found that it is fundamental to understand the way the Hispanic community views history, education, art and culture as juxtaposed against the mainstream view of American culture and societal warms. Only after understanding their heritage and what is important to them will foundations be able to successfully begin to develop relationships. Also important to note is that Latino donors typically respond most favorably—although not exclusively—to appeals that promotes Latino community institutions and advancement. 

Education, an open mind, and a desire to understand and undertake is the key to a successful campaign.  

No Need to Shun Vacations

Understanding Traveling Trends in the Hispanic Community

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Making Tracks in the Travel Industry

According to the U.S. Travel Association, in 2007, there were an estimated 16.2 million Hispanic adult leisure travelers who took a combined 50.4 million domestic and outbound trips and spent $58.7 billion on their travels.       

Casas, Frye, and Arce researched Latino Immigration and Its Impact on Future Travel Behavior and found how the growing Hispanic population directly impacts the travel industry.  It was found that the recent and future growth of the [Hispanic] population has drawn the attention of companies across the U.S. - companies are building marketing strategies specifically targeted at [Hispanics] to increase its share of this multi-billion dollar market. In addition to its impact on the product consumer market, the healthcare system, and schools, the future growth of this population will no doubt have an impact on the U.S. transportation infrastructure as well.  

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Airlines, hotels and other sectors of the travel industry are taking advantage of this growing population and are aiming to understand outreach logistics.  In September 2011, American Airlines took the first step and launched Aprendi.com, a first of its kind social media site that caters to Spanish-speaking travelers.  Not only does this site help Spanish-speaking individuals learn about popular vacation destinations around the world, it allows Hispanic travelers to share photos of their destinations and connect with each other.  Through sites like these that utilize Facebook and Twitter, vacationing is encouraged regardless of the economic state. 



Other networks like the American Society of Travel Agents and the National Tour Association are joining together to learn how travel agents and travel packagers can address this growth market. In fact, on January 25, 2012, ASTA and NTA hosted a webinar on “Understanding the U.S. Hispanic Traveler” to examine the behaviors of Hispanic travelers and explain how travel professionals can serve the market.

Owning to Sell

It is clear that the travel industry is starting to recognize the power of the growing Hispanic population and is aiming to learn more about how to reach this important sector. An article by TranslateMedia stated that recent research into the Hispanic consumer has revealed a distinct set of purchasing values.  For instance, Hispanics are generally very close to their families, and are liable to purchase a product that will benefit the entire family as opposed to the individual.  This mindset extends to vacationing.  When Hispanic consumers plan vacations, their planning is geared toward traveling with the whole family as opposed to traveling as a couple or by oneself.    

The following is best to know when addressing the Hispanic travel market:

      1.   Learn Spanish

Knowing the language or at least conversationally understanding the basics of Spanish will serve as an immense step in the right direction.  Appealing to your audience means literally speaking to and understanding your audience.

      2.  Present Spanish Options

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 Whether you are a travel agency or a vitamin store, it is best to visually appeal to your customers. If you have a website, present an option to read the site in Spanish or be able to speak to a Spanish speaker who can more effectively help a Spanish-only customer.  This extends beyond the virtual network.  Be physically bilingual by showcasing information on posters, brochures, or otherwise in both Spanish and English so you know you are reaching more than one target demographic.

 3.    Be Experiential

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Business travel and leisure travel may be viewed interchangeably in the Hispanic community—Hispanic business travelers are often accompanied by family members.   Rochelle Newman-Carrasco from AdAge wrote about the “Hispanic Experience”. Even for Hispanics themselves, it was mentioned that your personal Hispanic experience does not define the entire U.S. Hispanic experience, so make sure you educate yourself by exposing yourself to the similarities and differences of Latinos across the country, living in urban and rural segments, affluent and not, in Spanish and bilingually. Travel outside of the U.S., too. See how that compares and contrasts to what the U.S. Hispanic experience is all about.

      4.    Utilize Social Media

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“Hispanics spend an inordinate amount of time on social media and really trust what people say in this media. A travel agency can use social media to foster brand and customer loyalty with personable and relevant messages.  And this is not costly.” Kelly McDonald, How to Market to People Not Like You 

Own what you or your business is selling and you’ll attract a more diverse base of clients. Understanding the travel industry is just the start of your journey to expanding your clientele and becoming culturally sensitive.

Automotive Industry Revs up for Sales

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The founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, revolutionized the American automobile industry with his innovation and techniques that promoted business efficiency. From making cars in only black to developing the assembly line, Ford marketed his products and unparalleled services and benefits to his employees that coined him his own economic and social system: Fordism. It is clear that Ford sold one product, in one style to a homogeneously middle-class population in the very early American 20^th century.

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Since then, the melting pot known as the diverse United States population has grown into a myriad of races, people from different places and highly contrasting socio-economic backgrounds. It is no longer feasible to market one product that is as big an investment as a car to a group of people so diverse.

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Exponential Growth 

An exponential increase in the Hispanic population as shown by the 2010 Census has shown that 50.5 million or 16 percent of the 308.7 million people in the United States were of Hispanic or Latino origin. The Hispanic population increased from 35.3 million in 2000 when this group made up 13 percent of the total population, also according to the census. This means an increase of 15.2 million people of Hispanic or Latino origin between 2000 and 2010. 

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With jarring numbers like these, it is obvious that the automotive industry should market the Hispanic population and they have, with promising results. This year, according to data from Polk, Hispanics are projected to spend $18 billion on new vehicles. Even though that figure represents only 9% of total new vehicle sales in the United States, Hispanic auto buyers will account for 24% of the growth in new vehicle sales. 

Start Your Engines

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The kind of ads and car features the Hispanic community wants to see is based on language preferences. Sara Hasson, Vice President of Brand Solutions, Automotive at Univision Communications Inc. found that 78 percent of today’s Latinos choose to speak Spanish at home. It is imperative for OEMs and dealers to understand that language is a powerful tool – it connects this valuable consumer to culture, community and country of origin. Hispanics, including those who are bilingual, choose to consume Spanish-language media to fulfill their cultural appetite. "Something that is really important for a Hispanic consumer is that a car makes a statement," says Alvaro Cabal, multicultural communications manager for Ford. "Something that says, 'This is my car.'"

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In accordance with how to market cars in a booming Hispanic automotive industry, what to market should take equal precedence.  Broos Campbell from HispanicBusiness.com found that according to Strategic Visions, a San Diego company that studies how consumers make buying decisions, says in its 2011 New Vehicle Experience Survey that the top three things Hispanic consumers look for in a vehicle are image, manufacturer reputation, and exterior styling. Cost, monthly payments, interest rates and credit terms all rate low on the list. Keeping in mind how to market and what specifically to market in terms of how the Hispanic community prioritizes their vehicle necessities is an important step to starting an effective marketing campaign.

Ready, Set, Engage!

To set your research in motion and engage your community of interest, it is imperative to understand the clear cultural differences in the auto-purchasing process between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. As stated above, the Hispanic community, as with any other community, values buying investments such as cars as an experience. Whether it’s a grand addition to their family life or a pain in the neck having to haggle for prices, the automotive industry thrives on specific communities to keep their engines running.