4 Things you Need to Know about Today’s Hispanic Consumers

1.Identity is Important, but Not All Hispanics Identify the Same Way 

2.Inclusive Media is no Longer Optional - it’s the New Standard



Despite the rapidly growing multicultural population in the U.S., a gap in inclusive media and marketing strategies persists. Although Black and Hispanic audiences are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, these groups are often an afterthought for many brands and businesses outside of culture-specific events such as Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month. Aside from reaching consumers of all backgrounds to support diversity and inclusion, both general market and multicultural consumers alike have shown that they prefer inclusive media and brands who convey inclusive messaging in their advertisements year-round. Recent research shows that 64% of consumers report to have taken action after seeing an ad that they considered to be diverse or inclusive - and the rate is even higher among the Latino market at 85%.



Luckily, there are plenty of ways to incorporate more inclusive strategies in your marketing plans. Did you know that half of the Hispanic population in the U.S. lives within ten media markets? Local media channels are a great way to reach them, whether it’s through digital marketing, local radio, or TV depending on the age group and background of the consumers you’re aiming to reach. It’s important to keep in mind that multicultural audiences, especially Hispanics, over index on digital platforms and are the backbone of major online platforms such as YouTube and social media. Since mainstream media still has a ways to go in terms of including diverse characters and storylines, members of the Hispanic market have flocked to YouTube and social media for content from creators and influencers they can relate to. Connected TV and online streaming is also a popular medium for reaching Latinos thanks to the wider and more diverse range of program offerings available. 



Adding Spanish-language content to your campaigns is another great way to ensure that your brand effectively reaches Spanish-speaking members of the Hispanic market, but this isn’t the only way to capture their attention. Whether it’s through conveying messages with mindful and conversational copy, or by including images of customers from all backgrounds in your ads, a Hispanic digital marketing agency composed of experts who are also a part of the Hispanic community can help you get started to ensure that your business reaches Latinos in a relevant and engaging way. By delivering strategic and thoughtful ads across top platforms, your business can experience not only a lift in awareness, but it can also benefit from consumers who are more engaged and interested in giving your products or services a try. 





3.U.S. Hispanics are Avid Digital Users, and Current Events have Accelerated this Trend

Covid-19 and the current political climate has undoubtedly heightened awareness around the importance of multicultural media and marketing - and Latinos are using social media, mobile apps, and other digital platforms at higher rates than the general U.S. population as a result of social distancing guidelines. According to a new Nielsen report, Hispanics are 57% more likely to use social media platforms as a primary source of information about the coronavirus compared with non-Hispanics, and although they have have over-indexed in smartphone use for many years, they are currently spending almost two more additional hours per week streaming and using social media on their phones compared to the total U.S. population. 

Latinos have continued to embrace social media more than most for both information and entertainment amid lockdown restrictions - with U.S. Spanish-language news seeing a massive 71% increase in social media activity around their programs compared to the previous year. This is a vast difference compared to English-language news at the same time, which only increased by 17%. U.S. Hispanics also mobilized around the power of social media to support the Black Lives Matter movement - with 57% spending over one hour and 27% spending three or more hours per day on social networks, compared to the total population’s 48% and 20% rates, respectively. 

Targeted media has been shown to leave a significant mark on multicultural consumers as well, with a new study from Horowitz Research showing that three-quarters of Hispanic consumers are at least occasional consumers of Hispanic targeted media, and over 40% are frequent consumers. In addition to this, about six in ten Hispanic consumers feel it is important for brands and advertisers to support multicultural media by advertising in it - and more than four in ten say that they are more likely to consider brands that advertise on targeted multicultural media when deciding which businesses to support. If your business doesn’t already have a targeted Hispanic marketing plan in place, there has never been a better time to get started. 

4.The Hispanic Market and Data are Always Evolving 

Historically, brands and businesses have been hesitant to invest in Hispanic digital marketing efforts due to an unfamiliarity with the market and expectations, which has led to an underdeveloped pool of data to reference. Data around the Hispanic market is being analyzed further alongside a growing recognition that estimates often don't account for the full picture given current accessibility and reporting among the underserved Hispanic population. For instance, in terms of online search trends and search engine optimization (SEO), Spanish-language alternatives are often overlooked in the U.S. compared to English-language search. The CPC (cost per click) for Spanish search terms vs. English search terms show a vast difference in where the money is going towards - however, businesses who start investing in Spanish-language search can have a leg up on the competition by implementing these search terms for a mere fraction of what the English-language equivalent terms currently go for. 


With the rise of digital payment alternatives and new mobile apps, transactional data from the likes of Android, Apple, Samsung Pay, and more are providing valuable data for marketers to use when it comes to tracking the consumer purchase journey to gain additional insights. At first glance, this would be great news for Hispanic marketing since Hispanics over-index in smartphone and digital usage. However, because the Latino population also  tends to pay in cash more frequently compared to other groups, there’s a gap in transactional data that isn't being recorded via mobile payment and credit cards. This means that much of what Hispanic consumers are spending is not reported - and they have more spending power than you may think! 


Multicultural marketers are continuing to stay on top of these trends to minimize gaps in data. Despite these hurdles, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Major tech companies such as Google's multicultural department have started to roll out initiatives to improve data and information to better reflect multicultural community insights, and in many ways, the current Covid-19 crisis and political climate has propelled a heightened awareness of diversity and inclusion into the mainstream. Accelerated transformation of digital and social media when it comes to marketing to multicultural segments is expected, and multicultural media is projected to grow alongside the rapidly growing U.S. multicultural population. 





How to Get Started with Hispanic Digital Marketing Today 

There are many assumptions that are frequently made about Latinos and multicultural audiences, which is why reaching them effectively means being able to understand their preferences to engage meaningfully - which may seem overwhelming considering the many nuances that are involved in the process. 

If you’re looking to get started with or take your Hispanic digital marketing strategy to the next level, don’t hesitate to contact one of our expert digital marketing consultants or find a location near you today. No matter your business and your objective, we’ve got you covered with an array of digital solutions. 

Feel free to check out our success stories to get a better idea of what we do. We look forward to hearing from you!