In-Culture Hispanic Online Marketing
To most effectively market to Hispanics online, it is critical to connect with them through an emotional thread that all Hispanics, regardless of country of origin, can identify with. This thread is culture, and it probably one of the most difficult concepts in U.S. Hispanic online marketing, as this group is very diverse from a cultural perspective. U.S. Hispanics come from different countries and have adopted the U.S. culture to varying degrees. They do, however, share several central cultural values and are unique that can be tapped into to connect with them. For example, Hispanics celebrate not only the heritage of their countries of origin but also their similar experience in adopting the host culture of the United States.
What is culture?
According to Isabel Valdes, coauthor of “Hispanic Market Handbook,” culture can be defined as the system of social institutions, traditions, values, and beliefs that characterize a particular social group or country and that are systematically transmitted to succeeding generations. While cultural relevance is perhaps one of the most significant success factors for organizations interested in reaching online Hispanics, it is also one of the most elusive. Achieving a true in-culture experience requires that you understand how culture influences a target audience’s attitudes, usage, and behaviors before you tailor an online Hispanic experience to resonate with these cultural needs. If an online experience does not connect culturally, you may well miss out on a key opportunity to develop an emotional connection that can be the key to driving business results.
Conduct user research to develop culturally relevant Hispanic online marketing strategies
Although there are several cultural threads that are common among U.S. Hispanics such as family values and a strong connection to a given country of origin, other cultural nuances and how they impact your brand can be more elusive. As such, it is critical to conduct primary user research in order to understand what role culture will play in shaping your Hispanic online marketing program in the minds of Hispanics. Conducing Hispanic focus groups, usability testing, ethnographies, online survey’s and other primary studies can help guide and inform a Hispanic online marketing strategy that addresses cultural insights and builds an emotional connection with online Hispanics.
Language communicates…. but culture connects
To achieve cultural relevance, you must define how culture affects attitudes, usage, and behaviors of your Hispanic online target audience and develop a Hispanic online user experience that addresses these cultural needs. Consider conducting user research to understand your Hispanic online target audience’s user needs and to be able to develop a culturally relevant online experience. In addition, testing the effectiveness of your Hispanic online strategy through usability testing or other validation testing can help inform and optimize the effectiveness of the intended solution. Consider cultural relevance as one of the critical success factors for providing a valuable Hispanic online experience.