Marketing is very important for the growth of your business. In the digital world where information bombardment is getting more vigorous, making a brand stand out is very difficult.
You can be an ace marketer but sometimes, campaigns just do not resonate with the audience. Even billion-dollar companies spending a lot of money on marketing campaigns on a regular basis have reported this issue.
The biggest culprit – your audience.
If you do not know the audience, their pet peeves, their interests, or their preferences, your campaign is bound to fail. This is the reason a campaign showing exceptional success in one region will brutally fail in other regions. This issue becomes more challenging in the US – a melting pot of mixed cultures.
If you are a marketer trying to reach out to a Spanish audience, here is everything that can help you design a successful marketing campaign to target a Hispanic audience.
Top Marketing Tips to Engage Your Hispanic Audience
Hispanics are generally ignored when targeting an audience for any product in the US. However, keep in mind that Hispanics are the second largest minority group in the US. As per a study by eMarketer (2020), they contribute a remarkable $2.8 trillion, equivalent to 13% of the country’s GDP.
This means that Hispanic specific or not if you want to make a brand successful in the US, targeting a Hispanic audience is essential. Successful brands in the US, like Spectrum, recognize this need, and they are already targeting Hispanic audiences. For instance, Spectrum has a dedicated Spectrum servicio al cliente to help their audience. This conveys the message to the audience that they are valued by the brand.
1- Set Relevance
Relevance is very important for targeting any audience. While marketing any product, you want to build a bond with your audience. This bond can be established through emotional connection, product image, issue awareness, or problem-solving.
Through relevance, you will condition your customer to relate to your product with an emotion, imagery, or issue. A classic example of relevance is the luxury car segment i.e., Rolls Royce, Bently, or Mercedes. Most luxury car brands do not sell their product; instead, they sell the feeling of being rich. From the taglines to the imagery, they build their campaign around it.
2- Speak Their Lingo
The selection of words plays a very important role. When you are talking to your audience, speak their language. In the case of Hispanics, speaking Spanglish is advised, if your target audience consists of youngsters. However, millennials and boomers use Spanish.
Since Spanish can be very tricky, make sure you know Spanish or run it through a Spanish speaker. Even billion-dollar companies have made the biggest mistakes while translating their brand into Spanish. My top two favorites are definitely “Mazda” and “Mitsubishi Pajero,” as both these brands translate to slurs in Spanish.
3- Use Association and influence.
Influencer marketing is on the rise and most big brands are already using it to drive sales. As a brand, affiliating with Spanish-speaking influencers and Hispanic influencers who match the image of your brand or have the attention of your targeted audience can be helpful.
Keep in mind that while audience and following are a big factor, the image and opinion of the influencer you have chosen are equally important. Influencers with huge audiences generally fail to meet the expected sales goal because of their problematic content or opinion. So, make sure to run a background check or at least scan through their content before you get them on board.
4- Learn From Others
While marketing, seeking inspiration is very good. Most big brands seek inspiration from competitors, old campaigns, legacy brands, or other upcoming brands. As a brand targeting a Spanish audience, try learning from brands that are already popular in Spanish-speaking countries of Hispanic communities.
Learning from other brands or seeking inspiration will eventually help you understand effective practices and predict the success of your campaign as well. For instance, if your brand sells food items or beverages, look for a Spanish brand to audit the campaigns. Go through online comments and check the overall response as well. This can also help you get into a friendly banter with your competitor brand, helping you boost sales.
5- Use Cultural Values
Understanding cultural references is very important while targeting a Hispanic audience. Daily events, lingo, slang, celebrations, historic events, and even heroes, everything is important while designing a marketing campaign.
While playing with cultural values will help you communicate with your audience effectively, it also offers an opportunity to cash in on important events. However, keep in mind that Hispanics come from different countries and each country has different events and heroes. So, to avoid using any offensive reference, make sure to run your campaign through someone familiar with Hispanic culture.
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Brands Acing the Marketing Game for Hispanic Audiences
- Yipao Coffee
- Miss Rizos
- Tia Lupita Foods
- Blank Tag Co.
- Tragos