How to WIN! the Hispanic Market

Last week, Hispanic marketing pioneer M. Isabel Valdés published her 5th book, WIN! The Hispanic Market; Strategies for Business Growth. Isabel Valdés took a unique approach by aggregating the voices of 19 Hispanic marketing industry experts to illuminate the importance of the Hispanic market and to provide actionable insights and strategies for driving real and sustainable business growth. I am proud to be one of those volunteer voices and will herein summarize my contribution to the book, “The Hispanic Digital Marketing Opportunity.”

The Hispanic Digital Market Opportunity

The first part of the chapter sizes the Hispanic digital market by quantifying both Internet and mobile usage by Hispanics. It also looks at usage by language preference and provides an analysis that shows that, although usage of both the Internet and mobile technologies are highly correlated with English language preference, the Spanish preferring segment is growing, active and relatively easier to target. Some key points …

• 33.3 million Hispanics were online in September 2011
• Hispanics represent 15% of the US online market
• The Hispanic online market grew by 5 million individuals between September 2010 – 2011
• 76% of Hispanic adults were using cell phones in 2010
• Spanish-preferring Hispanics are most likely to have an unlimited mobile data plan

Developing and Executing a Hispanic Digital Strategy

Next, the chapter describes how social media and mobile usage have fundamentally changed the way marketers must reach Hispanics online. I set up framework for moving from simply translating websites into Spanish to building Hispanic Digital Communications Platforms that reach the right audience, with the right message in a consistent and measureable way. The framework provides detailed descriptions for the specialized resources required to market to Hispanics online and also provides insights and tactics for Hispanic website development, social media, email, mobile and digital advertising. I bring this framework to life by providing mini-case studies four our clients GobiernoUSA.gov and Unilever’s Vivemejor.com.

Most importantly I highlight the fact that marketing to Hispanics online is not easy or inexpensive, it requires long-term executive sponsorship, a sound strategy, adequate budgets and integration with the overall marketing strategy. Some of the takeaways include:

• Hispanic digital marketing requires a dedicated and specialized team
• Hispanics digital programs require the same effort as general market digital programs
• 88% of online Hispanics use a search engine each month
• 80% of online Hispanics visit Facebook.com each month

WIN! The Hispanic Market is a great read. It’s easy to understand and it has plenty of advice on how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic and growing markets in the country. Although it brings together 19 experts who specialize in different areas of Hispanic marketing, the book has one key message: the Hispanic market represents a critical opportunity for your business today.