Nielsen released a must-listen to podcast recently about the Hispanic Community titled, Young, Digital and Social-Connecting with Today’s Hispanic Consumers. The episode explores who today’s Latinos are – their demographics, language preferences and technology use. In addition, the podcast also explores how data can help brands authentically connect with Hispanic consumer.
This episode of Nielsen’s The Database podcast series features top leaders and experts in the Hispanic communications industry and is well worth the sixty minutes to listen.
There are countless take-aways shared in the podcast, here are my Top Ten:
1: Did you know that the average age of Latinos in the US is just 27? For comparison, the average age of their non-Hispanic white counterparts is 42. Because they’re young, Hispanics are driving the majority of population growth in the country – even though they make up just 18% of the population.
- If reaching the Latino community isn’t on your radar yet, it just became a priority.
2. While the median Latino household income is $50k today, that number should continue to increase steadily as the segment gets older and grows into their careers. For brands and marketers, connecting with this important and growing consumer segment requires action now.
- Content creators – what percentage of your organization’s resources are geared toward the Latino community?
3: Technology will play a big role in how businesses engage with Hispanic consumers. Consider this: Hispanics 18 and older are 9% more likely to own a Smartphone, 11% more likely to own a game console and 13% more likely to own a Smart watch than non-Hispanic whites. In fact, Latinos are embracing technology faster than any other consumer group!
- Translation: Budget now for targeted Hispanic digital engagement.
4: Latino digital habits for viewing, downloading, searching are all driven by community and cultural connectivity we don’t see anywhere else. Even when it comes to shopping – Latinos are reviewing products, sharing opinions and seeking reviews.
- The cultural relevance force is strong in this community – get to know it.
5: The vast majority of Latinos today are US born, not foreign born – this changes the US Hispanic experience. In the last 5 years, more than 50% of the population growth of the US has come from the 18%. They are contributing incredibly to the growth of our population in our country – telling us a lot about the future of American workers, our classmates, our colleagues, where our country is growing. We see this growth everywhere – in smaller markets in the East/Midwest and certainly in Los Angeles and Miami, but most interesting, in each of those markets, it’s a different Hispanic experience. Los Angeles is Mexican American and it’s different than the experience in Miami where it’s Cuban. Each has its specific set of traditions and cultures.
- Content providers need to provide content that is culturally nuanced.
6: What role is language playing? Latinos are deeply connected to language still – multi generational households (27% of Latinos are living in a household with multi-generational); 72% of Hispanics say they still speak Spanish at home. More than being a facilitator between generations and communications, language connects to the culture and is identity affirming.
- ¿Hablas español?
7: 78% of Hispanics favor a brand if they sponsor an artist they like – they’re looking for an experience; authenticity is important. Social media plays a part here as it relays a lifestyle, not a brand.
- Researching the artists Hispanics follow = getting to know the targeted audience.
8: Latinos support brands that support causes – nearly 60% will purchase a brand that supports a cause they believe in. They want an experience with the brand – they want your product to value their experience.
- Do you know the causes Latinos support?
9: Visual component in technology is essential — Instagram and Snapchat are over-indexing due to visuals as Latinos are 10% more inclined to lean into these platforms.
- A picture is worth a thousand words . . . in any language.
10: We’re dealing with this younger population who grew up in an internet age, this generation is very receptive to authenticity – it’s not just about delivering a message in Spanish, it’s about delivering a message that is authentic, relevant and nuanced. The US Hispanic experience is not the same as it was 10 years ago – brands need to take time to not just diversify a message but develop the message which speaks to them authentically.
- Keep it real.
With gratitude to Nielsen and The Database team, for the industry leadership and investment in directing attention to these significant trends in the Hispanic community!
