The ever-growing Hispanic consumer base has tremendous buying power, so it’s no wonder so many companies are attempting to reach this audience through digital marketing. If you’re not actively exploring Hispanic marketing, you are seriously hindering your brand’s potential growth.
With Hispanic marketing, you must consider factors other than your usual online campaigns. The standard engagement goals remain, but it cannot be emphasized enough how carefully you must speak directly to the Hispanic culture while respecting its sensitivities.
Read on below to find digital marketing strategies for reaching the Hispanic market.
Create Content in Both Spanish and English
Hispanic refers to individuals from Spanish-speaking nations, but it is a stereotypical and problematic assumption to believe that Hispanic audiences do not also speak English. According to the Pew Research Center, about 62 percent of Hispanic people in the United States speak English or are bilingual. Instead of assuming, include online marketing materials in both languages.
Approach your digital marketing strategies from this standpoint. Keyword research, for instance, is a significant part of any search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. You can specifically research and implement bilingual keywords.
Translating your content into Spanish goes beyond copying and pasting from online translators. You must ensure that your brand message and narrative come across in English and Spanish. The words should be authentic.
A literal translation may not cut it. Often, this type of translation reads awkwardly. That’s not what you want from any form of copy, and it can be painfully obvious when brands do this. The lack of effort in translation does not convey that you care about this demographic. Hire a skilled translator.
Video Marketing Is Your Friend
Videos should be an essential component of any digital marketing campaign. They are especially effective for maximizing your online presence in Hispanic marketing, as it is a very visual culture. Getting your brand message across through visuals is also effective when trying to reach an audience where there may be a language barrier.
To make your videos even more effective, consider working with a knowledgeable full-service production team to create video content tailored to the Hispanic market.
Cultural Sensitivity Is Key
Before taking steps to maximize your online presence in Hispanic marketing, make sure your company is adequately educated on the culture. Certain words, images, colors, and so on have different meanings in different cultures. A neutral word in English may be offensive when translated without considering linguistic nuances or cultural differences. There are many different aspects of language you must consider.
Reaching a Hispanic audience is much more than simply translating some ads into Spanish. To start, understand the difference between Hispanic and Latino. Confusing the terms is considered offensive and could instantly turn away the exact audience you are trying to reach.
Hispanic refers to individuals who speak the Spanish language. Hispanic consumers can come from many different countries and cultures. By contrast, Latino/Latina/Latinx refers to individuals with Latin American heritage.
Because of all the different countries and cultures considered Hispanic, it makes sense to focus more on what they have in common: the Spanish language.
There is a major difference between authentically representing a culture and presenting an offensive stereotype. The former will result in better engagement and positive feedback and help foster brand loyalty.
Targeting Your Audience
A thoughtful and creative digital campaign is excellent, but you must also make sure your Hispanic market target audience sees it.
Targeting your audience is one digital marketing tactic where you could benefit from partnering with an experienced bilingual agency. Marketing groups have contacts with specific media channels they know will reach this target audience. An agency also consistently researches the social media platforms a Hispanic audience uses and the times they are most likely to be online.
There are some general guidelines to follow. For instance, your website should already be optimized for mobile use. But make sure you know the figures, such as the percentage of your Hispanic target audience viewing content on cellphones versus computers.
There are also specific methods of media targeting. To reach Hispanic audiences, look into language targeting and advertise on platforms already using Spanish. You can also consider partnering with Hispanic content creators, podcasts, influencers, and more.
Representing Values and Supporting Social Causes
Because the Hispanic audience is from many different cultures and countries, emphasizing global causes in your marketing materials is a smart move. Think beyond borders. Consumers are more likely to trust brands that appear to share their values, including spotlighting and giving back to certain causes. You can research the social causes that a Hispanic target audience is most passionate and outspoken about and use that information to craft a campaign carefully.
Again, this is another area that needs the utmost cultural sensitivity to navigate. Do not make assumptions without research. And do not assume that Hispanic values are the same or interchangeable with Latino values.
As with any goal in digital marketing, it’s wise to turn to the experts, especially when it comes to honoring cultural sensitivities and reaching new markets. Because of how large, ever-growing, and influential the Hispanic audience is, you don’t want to risk alienating a market of that magnitude and sway. Work with a digital marketing group like InnoVision Español, with experience and expertise in reaching the Hispanic market.
A professional marketing agency has already done research on tactics like targeting and stays on top of the latest trends so you won’t fall behind the competition. Together, you can create the ideal Hispanic marketing presence for your brand that fosters growth for years to come.
