Marketing to Young Hispanics

Hispanics now account for nearly 14% of the U.S. population, but only 3.2% of total advertising is spent on Hispanic media.
Wow! This leaves a lot of room for a few smart companies to swoop in and take advantage of this market!

The English language is gaining importance in marketing to Hispanics, but you should still consider using Spanish so that you don’t alienate a large percent of the Hispanic population. The key to your success may be in using both English and Spanish advertising depending on your local target demographic.

Younger Hispanic-Americans have assimilated into American society and are comfortable moving between English and Spanish life with regards to the content that they consume. An ad in English may effectively reach young Hispanics, while older and recent immigrant Hispanics often are staying with Spanish-language content.

I have consulted clients in high Hispanic population markets such as Miami and the Los Angeles area. I have learned that, overall, Hispanic consumers have certain predictable values. While not every Hispanic shares these values, they are common enough to note.

Hispanics tend to be:
Family-centric and their family member’s opinions count a lot!
Fashion driven
Brand consciousness
Loyal to retailers and brands
Open to referrals

So how can you tap into this market?

Develop a message that is relevant to the Hispanic audience that reflects their goals and values. Ignore the fact that you’re marketing to a different ethnicity and look at marketing principles that actually mean something. Cater to the language and lingo that is used in your target market.

Group shopping is common; this creates a unique shopping experience where you’re not just trying to market to 1 person, but rather an entire family or small group of friends. If you can offer something that gives the buyer an easy way to explain the pros/cons of your product, make that front-and-center!

Brand names are big! You’ll find that there are many loyal customers in the Hispanic market, often making their buying decisions solely on brand and their past experiences with that brand.

Trust is important; building long-term trust can make or break a sale. If you promise one thing today, make sure that your promise holds up when it’s time to close the sale.
Local Participation is often the “word of mouth” marketing that you need to make a sale. You don’t exactly have to fly into your target market territory, but participate on forums and blogs that your audience reads. Be Visible.

While many of these concepts sound simple, they are different for each culture that you market to. Remember that people have different needs and wants; you need to be able to figure out what those are and then provide an answer to those needs. Sometimes it takes a different approach that takes into consideration that culture’s buying habits and procedures.

Originally posted on Tuesday, March 27th, 2007
Search Marketing, International optimization, Marketing, International Marketing.