If you or your company haven’t thought about how to reach the Latino audience, now is a good time, especially with the release of the Census data in early 2011. According to recent reports, the buying power of Hispanics in the U.S. will reach $1.3 billion by 2014–or twice as fast as the general market.
An amazing convergence is happening in marketing today: the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population is coinciding with the growth of digital media. In fact, Hispanics worldwide are increasingly using the Internet and social media to not only keep in touch with family and friends but they are also searching for product information, comparing prices, printing coupons, and shopping online.
Is your brand ready?
In Latino Link: Building Brands Online with Hispanic Communities and Content (October 2010 / Paramount Market Publishing / Trade Paper Original/ $34.95), Joe Kutchera outlines the key issues companies need to understand today to successfully cater to Hispanic consumers online including shopping behavior, social networks, translation, localization, and mobile platforms. From building branded networks and developing online Spanish language content to targeting Latina mothers and using Facebook and other social media tools, Latino Link explains how companies can better reach a Latino audience through a broad range of online initiatives and strategies.
As Kutchera explains, U.S. businesses create websites in Spanish thinking they are doing a service for their Spanish-speaking customers in the U.S., only to find that they are getting inquiries and sales from Mexico, Spain, and other Latin countries. In Latino Link, he educates marketers on how they can effectively use the Internet to increase their reach into Spanish-language markets worldwide. The book offers specific advice for translation techniques as well as developing localized, culturally relevant content for specific geographic regions. He also outlines how successful online strategies can reach first and second generation U.S. Hispanics as well as Mexicans who shop online and plan shopping trips in the U.S. Kutchera estimates that Mexicans spend $40 billion in the U.S. on shopping trips annually.
Kutchera offers case studies of how some companies have successfully reached out to Spanish speaking customers around the world including Best Buy, American Family Insurance, H&R Block, Ford Motor Company, Lexicon Marketing, and Monster.
Joe Kutchera is a leading speaker and advisor on how to reach Hispanics and Latin Americans online, bringing over 11 years of interactive sales and marketing experience to his clients. Previously, he launched ContextWeb’s Spanish-language network for U.S. Hispanics and opened its Mexico City office as its Director of Spanish-language markets.
During his nine-year tenure at Time Warner, Kutchera built web properties such as Warner Bros. Online, ThisOldHouse.com, CNNMoney, and CNNExpansion. He also launched the digital ad sales team for Grupo Editorial Expansion in Mexico City, launching the websites CNNExpansion, Quien.com, and Chilango.com. Learn more about the author at www.joekutchera.com