• by Lee Vann , Columnist, November 10, 2016

Despite the fact that the 2016 presidential election did not go the way most Latinos would have hoped, there are some important insights that marketers can glean from it.

The numbers are in, and Latinos clearly showed their strength and the critical role they play in today’s and tomorrow’s United States of America. Marketers looking to drive growth should take a close look at these five facts from the 2016 Latino vote:

1. Critical Mass Latinos are the nation’s largest minority and represent a critical mass of votes. According to the Pew Research Center, a record 27.3 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2016 election — that’s 12% of all eligible voters. Marketers looking to tap into a large pool of consumers should target the Latino market.

2. Young Politicians and marketers know that, to win, they must win with Millennials, and winning with Millennials means winning with Hispanics. The same Pew Research Center study found that a huge 44% of Latino eligible voters are Millennial, compared to only 27% of white eligible voters; need I say more?

3. Geographically Diverse Pew confirms that Latino voters represent large chunks of traditional Hispanic states such as California, 28%; Texas, 28%, and Florida, 18%, but their impact is starting to be felt coast to coast. In the 2016 election, Latinos represented around 10% of voters in Connecticut and Illinois and over 7% in Massachusetts, Idaho, Rhode Island and Hawaii. The Latino market is a national market today, and will continue to grow across the country, making the opportunity for digital marketers that much more appealing.

4. United, Motivated, and Mobilized This year’s elections clearly showed that Latinos can be united, motivated and mobilized by clear and relevant messages. Latino voter turnout surged across the country; Florida reported a 100% increase in Latino voters and over half a million more Latinos registered to vote in Texas vs. 2012. Marketers who can successfully craft messages that resonate with Latinos will tap into a group that can be united, motivated and mobilized.

5. Digital As I’ve discussed in this column, Latinos are avid mobile and social users, and turned to their smartphones and social media to educate themselves, organize, and debate around the 2016 election. Marketers looking to reach Latinos should think mobile and social first.

Wise marketers will not look past the impact of the Latino vote in 2016. Instead, they will see what we have known for some time, that the 2016 Latino vote provides even more clear and compelling reasons to invest in the Hispanic market.