Spanish Speakers in an English Dominant Online World

“The future of America depends in part on the success of the Latino community” –Julian Castro

In this, the second in a series coinciding with National Hispanic Heritage Month on Omaha’s and America’s fastest growing demographic, we’ll explore how to reach this consumer and how to navigate an important generational divide in the Latino market as their contributions to our entire community grow exponentially.

According to a 2015 Nielsen report, Latinos have become the most avid smartphone user group, now surpassing Asians. “They’re on their phones for more than 14 hours a week for app, audio, video and web purposes,” the report states. “And when it comes to the other things we do with our phones—including talking—the same trend seems to hold true.”

But those numbers only tell part of the story.

Immigrant and First Generation Technology Usage

A sizeable generational gap in the Latino demographic impacts these statistics because smartphone adoption is largely a youth-driven trend. It’s the youngest Latinos, especially those who are U.S.-born, that have led the way in technology adoption.

Their parents, the heads of household many of whom are 1st generation immigrants, have given their children this opportunity while their experience was likely much different. The Pew Research Center reported that ” Most Latino smartphone owners are native born (54%). By contrast, most Latinos who do not own a smartphone are foreign born (58%).

To bookend the generational divide, Pew reports two-thirds of Latinos aged 18 to 29 own a smartphone, whereas 14 percent of individuals 65 and older own one. These findings play out in online use. Their findings show that 93 percent of Hispanics aged 18 to 29 going online at least occasionally versus 33 percent for those 65 and older.

A 2012 OLLAS report from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Office of Latino/Latin American Studies reports that Latino purchasing power in the Omaha metropolitan area was $1.4 billion in 2010.

With 3 out of 4 Latino households in Nebraska reporting they speak Spanish at home, navigating online search in Omaha – where English results have always been dominant — can be challenging. Businesses should not solely rely on online strategies that work with the general population to reach this demographic.

 

The parents of our wired Latino youth segment often have had a different experience. One of the factors behind Latino youth’s adoption of digital is that they are less likely to have a broadband connection at home. Their handheld devices are their link to the world, but their parents are far more focused on their immediate family and community. One of the results is that older Latinos are more likely to rely on non-digital sources.

Part of that is history. The lion’s share of Latino immigrants here are from Mexico, where just like our Bell Telephone, one phone company – Telmex — dominates telecommunications, helping making Carlos Slim one of the world’s richest individuals and the savior of the New York Times.

According to PTG Media, Mexican consumers represent almost 80% of all internet users in Central America, even though internet adoption in Mexico was less than 30% in 2010.

The other part is our failure in technology.

Ever tried searching for local business in Spanish?

Using a smartphone set to Spanish as the default language and searching some of the most common consumer needs in Spanish, the Local Stack results are on average 1-5% of the English search results and the organic search results are even worse, referring national sites of almost no use or relevance for a local consumer.

So does your marketing strategy account for this?

Directorio Latino, a comprehensive Spanish-language directory with its 17th edition being published this December, is a valuable tool for businesses who seek to span the generation gap in reaching this vital demographic at the peak of its earning and spending.

Directorio Latino is Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa’s only Spanish-language business phone directory and community guide, providing Spanish-speaking residents important information in an annual guide that is not available anywhere else in Spanish.

The Knowledge Network’s data showed that Spanish-language directory users are more likely than their English-speaking counterpart to:

• Have no specific brand name in mind before the reference (48% vs 34%)
• Look at one or more ads (70% vs 62%)
• Be new customers to the place where the purchase was made (54% vs 42%)

“Latino consumers use Directorio Latino,” says Diva Mejias of Liberty Tax Service. “I know because it makes my phone ring! It is one of the most affordable vehicles for building new customers in the Latino market.”

“Directorio Latino is a wonderful source of information,” adds Francisco “Paco” Fuentes of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands. “I use it to find resources for myself and others. It has everything you need – schools, restaurants, hospitals, youth agencies – you name it.”

Building on the value of good content, your businesses can magnify your presence in the market with a custom Business Profile in Directorio Latino, available in both English and Spanish.

Furthermore, with an eye to the future and an increasingly bilingual, family focused demographic, the digital experts here at New Plains MediaMedia can help your business show up in Spanish language search results.

With great opportunities come some challenges. We’re happy to help you meet them. Having served the Latino community for the last 17 years, bearing witness to its strength, growth and creativity, we look forward to keeping familia front-and-center and serving all generations of a demographic that will help define our future.