Diversity is becoming more important as the years go by. Individuals need to see themselves represented in brands, movies, stories, and even through the influencers they follow on social media. People scream for more representation in TikTok, more representative stories in the media, and ask for tailored experiences that adapt to their needs and background. This also requires more workplace diversity, allowing communication, ideas, and messages to speak directly to each market. One of the markets that have increased exponentially throughout the past decades is the Latino market.
In this blog, we will analyze the growing Latino population in the U.S., their increasing contribution to the economy, their growing interaction on social media, and ways that companies should take the Latino population into account when marketing and advertising.
Latino Population Increase
Over the past few decades, the number of Latinos living in the United States has sharply increased. This won’t decline anytime soon. In fact, the US Census expects the current Latino population in America to increase a twofold. In addition, ⅔ of the world’s Latino population is from America. The fact that Latinos are such an integral part of the US population demonstrates that they need to be accounted for in marketing and advertising.
Economic Status Of The Latino Population
Additionally, Latinos have risen to financial prominence over the past few years. As seen by the fact that average Latino household incomes have increased from $40,946 in 2009 to $42,936 in 2014. Much of this is a result of the higher-level education that more Latinos are attaining recently. What’s worth noting is that a higher income amongst most Latinos directly translates to an increased purchase ability.
According to the Inc.com article “6 Reasons Marketing to Hispanics Makes Sense”, “Data from the Selig Center for Economic Growth estimate that Hispanics have $1.2 trillion in purchasing power, which is growing at a faster rate than that of African American, Native American, and Asian buying power”. Therefore, as a considerable part of the American population that has recently gained an increased capacity to make purchases, they should be targeted for advertisements.
Latinos And Social Media
When looking at Latinos’ interactions with the internet, it is made even more apparent that the Latino market should be invested in. Firstly, Hispanics’ internet use has increased by 14% over the past three years. Demonstrating that more of them are using the internet and engaging with social media content. In fact, Hispanics actually interact with brands on social media more than other American citizens do. Hispanics that interact with brands on the internet rank at around 50%. While only 17% of non-Hispanics interact with brands online.
Future Steps Companies Can Take
Gen-Z is the generation that strives to bring diversity and equity to the social media platforms, given that this generation experienced the advent of social media from a young age. To achieve diversity in marketing that caters to Latinos and Hispanics, social media companies should increase the hiring of Latino and Hispanics. These experts would know what their target population wants to see on social media platforms more than anyone else.
Additionally, brands should create posts that have Spanish translations. Especially since 56% of Hispanics have a greater affinity toward bilingual brands in both English and Spanish. The states where these approaches should be invested heavily in are California, Texas, and Florida. Since these are the states with the most important Hispanic markets.
Translation Vs. Transcreation
When you deliver a message through your marketing platforms, you want everyone who reads it to have the same emotional response regardless of what language they are reading it. So, it’s not just about doing a quick translation of your original text into Spanish; it’s about speaking to this particular audience’s needs and emotions which are undoubtedly different from others.
When you transcreate, you are preserving the original intent, context, emotion, and tone so that it doesn’t seem forced. The campaign speaks directly to that audience and is so seamlessly executed that you can’t notice a translation happened. It’s about evoking emotions with the proper cultural adaptations.
This also means that transcreators can suggest design changes, ensuring that all creative elements, such as imagery, color, and layouts, align and resonate with the local market.
Key Takeaways
Overall, given that the Hispanic population is increasing exponentially in the United States, the purchasing power of the Latino market is on an incline, and they typically have more interactions with brands on social media than other communities do. It’s time for companies to begin creating marketing campaigns that account for their Hispanic population. They can do this by circulating bilingual content. And hiring Latino and Hispanic social media experts that speak directly to the audience you want to address.
Interested in learning more about the Latino market, transcreation, and other bilingual services? Schedule a session with our marketing team, and start now.
