When my friend Manny Ruiz asked me to speak about Hispanics and social media at the first annual
Hispanic PR and Social Media Conference in Dallas
coming up on May 11, I thought I would address a question that is on the minds of many marketers today: Are Hispanics
really more social?
Getting to the bottom of this question is
critical because there seems to be a disconnect among Hispanic marketers when it comes to social media. On one hand, there are countless studies indicating that Hispanics are extremely engaged with
social media. On the other hand, few marketers are proactively leveraging social media to reach online Hispanics.
Hispanics Are More Social, Really
In the
past year, many studies have clearly demonstrated that Hispanics are actively using social media in large numbers. Here are three points to consider:
1. A critical mass of
U.S. Hispanics uses social media websites
advertisement
advertisement
In January, the most popular websites among Hispanics, in order, were Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Facebook. ComScore Media Metrics indicates that 10.55 million Hispanics, or 45% of online Hispanics, now use Facebook.
2. U.S. Hispanics
are tech-savvy and love the Internet
The 2010 AOL Hispanic Cyberstudy paints a clear picture of online
Hispanics today. They are young, affluent, have large households and are "more enthusiastic about the benefits of the Internet than [is] the general market." What's more, the study shows that
Hispanics are more sophisticated technology users.
3. Hispanics are extremely engaged social media users
A recent report from Tamara Barber at Forrester Research indicates that Hispanics over-index
the general market across all social technographic segments, especially when it comes to "high-order" social media activities.
Using social media to reach Hispanics is a
no-brainer, or is it?
Given the data, it is surprising that 78% of companies in a recent Orcí survey reported they
are not using social media to engage Hispanics. What's more, 74% of those surveyed do not know if social media is a viable way to engage Hispanics.
I understand. Social media marketing is a
new marketing discipline with many challenges. It falls in an awkward space between digital marketing and public relations that few marketing agencies can fill. Social media marketing requires
creative thinking and writing, human resources who understand the Hispanic culture and social Internet, budgets, and, yes, approval from legal.
Add that to the fact that Hispanic budgets and
resources are scarce, it's no surprise that Hispanic social media marketing lacks the priority it deserves. That said, social media is here to stay, and marketers who fail to accept this reality will
be left behind.
To me, using social media to reach Hispanics is a no-brainer for two simple reasons:
1. A critical mass of Hispanics is actively using social
media
2. Today, your competitors are not using social media to reach them
So are Hispanics more social? ¡Claro que sí!
They're just waiting for you to
talk to them.
Are you using social media to engage with Hispanics? If so, it would be great to hear what your experience has been. If not, why not?