Commentary
Good Content Is Critical For Reaching Hispanics Online
- by Lee Vann , Columnist, February 11, 2010
Social media have completely changed the nature of how content for online consumption is produced. Companies must now speak to consumers through content that's less formal, more timely, shorter and ultimately more engaging.
The social Internet has opened the door for anybody to produce and distribute content, particularly in the Hispanic online space, where there is a relative lack of quality online content.
This represents a powerful opportunity for advertisers, and marketing agencies alike.
New roles for marketing agencies
This explosion in content production is changing the way some agencies operate and how advertisers reach consumers online.
"It's huge," said Joe Kutchera of dotGlobal, a digital Hispanic/Latin American marketing consultancy agency. He is writing a book about launching websites that cater to Hispanics. "It's taking [marketing agencies] from banner production to content production," he said.
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We have always produced content for online Hispanics, but more recently we've reinvented our content development process to better engage with online Hispanics while providing value for our clients.
We have gone from a long content development process designed to produce relatively static content for websites to a much more agile process that almost resembles a newsroom.
Today, we are producing and publishing timely and relevant content on a daily basis. This includes writing Facebook and Twitter updates that are similar to news headlines, responding to consumer questions and feedback, and also producing and syndicating articles to many Hispanic online publishers.
Original content has benefits, pitfalls
Kutchera says there are good reasons to embrace the concept of producing your own content. Companies have better control over their message and benefit from increased engagement and SEO. But he also offers a word of caution for those who try to sell first and engage later.
"No matter what language you use, consumers can figure out in a second whether the content is real or not, and if it sounds cheesy, they will drop it," he said.
The ability to produce and distribute quality content is really the key to online marketing today. After all, content is and always will be king.
Here are 10 tips for using content to effectively reach online Hispanics:
1. Don't be afraid of the social Internet; embrace it
2. Develop clear goals and objectives upfront
3. Establish a voice and develop guidelines to ensure it is always consistent
4. Ensure that all content provides value to your target audience
5. Don't be afraid to test out different things
6. Make sure content is engaging, stimulating a conversation
7. Create an agile process, including legal approvals
8. Make sure your content is social media-optimized to maximize sharing
9. Avoid using regional Spanish when engaging to national Hispanic audiences
10. Be consistent when using the formal "usted" and informal "tu" forms in Spanish
Hi Lee,
I agree. Gen Y Hispanics are even more tech-centric than their general market brethren. According to Scarborough Research more than 60% U.S. Hispanics aged 18-34 are online and growing at a rate outpacing the general population. Online Hispanics are heavy consumers and early adopters revealing a cultural affinity for technology usage. Coinciding with their close ties to social and family circles, Hispanics also lead the way in social media.
-Lucia
Thank you {as always}, Lee, and thank you Joe Kutchera. Very well-written and salient. I feel there is a tremendous gap at the current moment between content created for Latinos/US Hispanics and multi-platform availability. Latinos/US Hispanics are ready and eager for content on multiple platforms, and with very few exceptions, have extremely limited options. Perhaps 2010 is the year we see a dramatic increase of User Generated Content {UGC} created by and for Latinos/US Hispanics?
Lucia brings up great points about Latinos'/US Hispanics', aged 18-34, digital usage and as early adopters in technology; yet, I don't believe we see Latino/US Hispanic content widely available through multiple platforms to reach and satisfy this sub-segment.
In the first 45 days of 2010 Apple has revealed the new iPad, which will go to markets in early Q2; Google this week just launched Google Buzz, a social network within one's Gmail; I believe in Q2/Q3 Apple will be revealing the next-generation iPhones; and the first sporting event to be transmitted in full 3-D will be 2010 World Cup Opening Game on June 11th.
Technology is evolving so rapidly....content must as well. I firmly believe we will see much more independent Latino/US Hispanic content become available and successful due to the increased ease it will be to broadcast/stream/share/sell content, just within one year's time.
Hi Lee,
I enjoyed your article as well as Joe's. We have been producing and working with content for some time and know that when it is entertaining and engaging, it leads to strong relationships with viewers. This can take place on one or many screens. Additionally, content provides opportunity for product and/or service integration. I firmly believe that the future of advertising and media have a common denominator: engaging content and technology.
Ivan
Bilingual web content is important for a large number of Latinos. According to a study by AOL/Roper : "In General, Hispanics noted that they would spend more time online, and pay more attention to ads, if the content were in Spanish."