In recent discussions about Latinos and social media, we’ve seen more Latino talent crossing over and Hispanic media companies creating bilingual content.
According to HispanicAd.com, there are 32 million Hispanics online. The Hispanic online market grew 13 percent from April 2010 to April 2011 and Hispanics make up nearly 15 percent of the total U.S. online market.
More than ever before, mainstream companies are reaching out to this market along with Hispanic media and entertainment. Hispanic owned media companies recognize the value and importance of connecting with their people via social networks like Twitter, YouTube, Gowalla, Foursquare and Facebook as they are powerful platforms for their ROIs.
This was such a hot topic during SXSW with no fewer than six different panels focusing on Hispanics and Social Media. At Los Premios Billboard conference (sponsored by State Farm and NMS’ client Telemundo), social marketing within the Hispanic community was one of the main discussions among Latin artists like Don Omar (a guest speaker), entertainment marketing reps and agents, and music labels.
Hispanics rarely used Twitter before. Today, we are seeing more Latinos using this platform to connect with one another, discuss political issues, share their voice and culture, and engage and stay connected with their favorite artists from all over the world.
We’re also seeing many Latino artists like Shakira, Juanes, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Alejandro Sanz with large followings on the site. They’ve caught up to the social media buzz and are using these platforms with passion, coming up with many different engaging and creative ways to promote their new album releases.
In the past few weeks, Enrique Iglesias’ marketing team launched a viral campaign where they asked fans to help them spread the word about his new single ‘Dirty Dancer’ to help them get to #1 on iTunes. In return, one fan will have the opportunity to win a one of a kind USB drive signed by Enrique as seen above. And just this week, the singer released the title of his new album “Ayer” (which is in the works) via Twitter. Smart move!
Social media allows Hispanics artists and media to reach the first, second, and third generations of the world, not just in the U.S. It is also enabling Latino subcultures to better understand one another and together become a stronger community – and this is just the beginning!
What does this mean for mainstream companies and marketers? American companies should consider partnering with the leaders of Spanish media and artists online to maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns. After all, who do you think knows the Latino market best? And, during Los Premios Billboards, the show was the #1 trending topic in Twitter worldwide while airing hours before the Royal Wedding and the NFL Draft going on the same night. Enrique Iglesias stealing nine Billboard Awards was bigger news than Prince William and Kate Middleton! Now, isn’t that something?