Some suggested ways to grow a Hispanic audience. The following tips have to do with organically growing an online audience for your products or services via content on social media, in a blog, on your website, or via other creative ways. The tips are based on past personal experience but also on studies published in the past by credible research entities. Incidentally, growing a Hispanic audience is not that much different than doing it for the mainstream population, except for a few tweaks here and there. Here are the tips:
Based on the latest U.S. Census figures, there are over 70 million Hispanics living in the U.S. One half of that population is Spanish-dominant, according to a Pew Research Center study.
You must have a game plan and unfailingly follow it. Any strategy chosen to help you grow a Hispanic audience must be set forth in writing and must be put in place and practiced on an ongoing basis. Those championing the effort must be qualified to carry out the tasks required by such strategy. Most often, and the least expensive way to get it done, the work can be accomplished by an employee as part of his or her duties. The messages included in the content, in each post, in each blurb, must always align with the original intent set forth in the strategy.
It’s always about them, about your target audience, not about you. The content in social media posts must be centered on the doings of others, of those in your target audience. So those others can help grow your list of followers as they share that content in their own social media pages. It could be a blurb about a current Hispanic customer’s personal achievement or that of someone who is not yet a customer. Just like it is with mainstream audiences, Hispanics tend to engage with posts in social media if the content is about someone they know or if they can identify with or relate to the content.
Communication in two languages is better than in just one. It’s very important to have English and Spanish language versions of your social media posts. Why? Here’s why:
According to the Pew Research Center, close to fifty percent of the U.S. Hispanic population is “Spanish-dominant” and more than seventy percent of Hispanics speak Spanish at home. Based on the latest U.S. Census figures, there are over 70 million Hispanics living in the U.S., which tells us the following: 35 million Hispanics are “Spanish-dominant.” It’s important to point out, though, that 45 million U.S. Hispanics are fluent in English, which means that they can be reached in that language. However, what about the other twenty-five million Hispanics that have to communicate in Spanish? That is why it makes a lot of sense to have English and Spanish language versions of the social media posts.
Shall the website have a Spanish-language option? Yes, in most cases, though it often doesn’t have to include all the content published in the English-language version. Depending on specific need and on the products or services being offered, the information provided could be extensive or limited. However, more is better. It is especially important to include contact information, email and phone number, where site visitors can obtain additional information or be helped if needed.
NOTE: We at HispanoSapient can help with proper Spanish-language translations, creating site content and with other business needs related to your website and to growing your Hispanic audience.