The Hispanic/Latinx market has an increasingly growing purchasing power that will continue to grow, especially as the population continues to rise in the next coming years. According to Adweek, in the next two years, the Hispanic/Latinx annual buying power will exceed $2.5 trillion in the next two years. This means that the U.S. Hispanic GDP is expanding faster than a few European countries, like Germany, U.K., and France. Therefore, it is truly important that your organization focuses on creating marketing campaigns that deeply connect with the Hispanic/Latinx community in an authentic way.
According to Marisol Solarte-Erlacher, a trauma expert and speaker, Hispanic/Latinx consumers are loyalists and stay with a product that is loyal to them. The community understands when a brand is simply placating and patronizing Hispanic/Latinx consumers just to get their sales.
That is why it is important for your brand to create marketing campaigns that take into account the community’s multinationalism and multiracial identities. One cultural trope does not fit all, and the Hispanic/Latinx community is not a monolith, so it shouldn’t be marketed as such.
Tip#1 Acknowledge diversity and Inclusion within the culture
Hispanic/Latinx consumers are a very diverse community with origins from various countries, language dialects, and identities. And you cannot forget that Hispanic/Latinx is an ethnicity that also includes an Afro-Latinx community that often gets excluded from the storytelling of the culture. Your brand must acknowledge all identities within the culture to tell an authentic story.
Plus, there are other factors to take into account in your overall marketing strategy, such as: age, language preferences, generational differences, education, and socioeconomic status. It may seem overwhelming, given there are so many nuances to consider, but that is why it will be helpful to engage experts who actually understand these nuances. It also helps to engage market research so that it can demonstrate how your brand is responsive to the impacts of these nuances and how it aligns with cultural values.
Next, you want to engage real people from various subcultures within the community across the cultural diaspora to tell their real stories. Representation is important. Latinx/Hispanic consumers want to see that brands acknowledge all identities within the culture and their different cultural values. Otherwise, it can come off as a stereotype.
Tip#2 Remember, stereotypes are tired (and offensive)
The majority of the U.S. Hispanic/Latinx population belongs to several ethnic groups, spanning across North America and Latin America, inclusive of South America, Central America, Mexico, as well as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and so on. They may share a common language, but they come from different cultural backgrounds, which makes all Hispanic/Latinx people unique in their own right. It’s crucial to understand each group’s value system before developing your approach with them. For example, remember the importance of family across the cultures of each country. You can create marketing content that celebrates family and the influence of multi-generational roles.
What you want to avoid is objectifying and picking and choosing small aspects of Hispanic/Latinx culture and using those as the only value pieces. According to Marisol Solarte-Erlacher, she says that she is tired of her culture being reduced to food and music. Though these are valuable pieces of their cultural identity, it becomes reductive when people are being reduced to breakfast tacos, or non-Hispanic/Latinx people mispronounce “Si, se puede” or “Yes, we can.” Or, Cinco de Mayo is being represented through the wearing of sombrero hats and Margarita mix; instead of telling the history and legacy of this Mexican holiday and what it means to its people.
Hispanic/Latinx people have come to the U.S. from over thirty countries. Avoid oversimplifying or generalizing when marketing to Latinos / a / x / Hispanics.
Tip#3 Community leaders are trusted
Marisol Solarte-Erlacher says that the Hispanic/Latinx community holds a great deal of value for their family, connections, and cultural pride. They share a deep respect for elders, small business owners, advocacy leaders, community organizations, and media sources who serve as pillars of the culture. In order to hold that same reverence in your marketing campaigns in a meaningful way, start by doing some research into what leaders, platforms, and channels Hispanic/Latinx consumers use most often to connect with brands.
Create culturally relevant content that resonates with Hispanic/Latinx consumers. Make an effort to engage with Hispanic/Latinx consumers on social media and relevant blog posts. Demonstrate community support by responding to comments and questions about your brand and joining conversations around relevant topics that impact the community.
Reach out to community influencers to see if you can build partnerships with them all year round rather than solely focus on building partnerships during Hispanic Heritage month. Create an action plan that will really benefit the community and show reverence for their values.
Tip#4 Recognize the purchasing power
Currently, the Hispanic/Latinx population has an estimated buying power of $1.7 trillion. Digital marketing is a key platform for reaching Hispanic/Latinx consumers where they are. Some of the ways your brand can connect are through social media such as: Instagram, Tiktok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter, with less than one-minute video segments that demonstrate authentic cultural relevance.
Ensure you have a diverse and inclusive marketing team so that the content you are posting has been properly vetted for cultural nuances and sensitivities by those who are personally impacted and share personal experiences. Remember that these social media platforms appeal to different demographics within a population spanning across age to gender, so factor that in even when trying different content strategies.
The below might be helpful in determining which platforms create the most engagement amongst the Hispanic/Latinx community.
Tip#5 Use bilingual messaging with relevancy
According to Marisol Solarte-Erlacher, Hispanics/Latinx are very diverse when it comes to the use of the Spanish language. Less than half of the community in the U.S. is bilingual or monolingual Spanish speakers. So, using Spanish will not capture the whole community.
Therefore, don’t assume that everything always needs to be translated. Know your audience and when/where Spanish translation is critical to the community you are trying to reach. For example, when marketing to immigrant communities, which make up 44% of the Hispanic/Latinx population in the U.S., be inclusive with messaging in Spanish and, if possible, provide the option to select a language on your website.
Using “Spanglish” or a unique combination of Spanish and English words and phrases may also be helpful. But it has to be used in the right context. Utilizing Spanglish requires a team member or a translator who can guide you through its use because you want someone on your marketing team that has lived experience using both languages so that it doesn’t come off as performative or even crass.
Utilize market research to determine whether your Hispanic/Latinx community around you speaks predominantly Spanish, English, or both.
