SandraSays

the life & times of Sandra Fernandez

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US Latino population is mostly made up of Millennials (or younger)

 

It isn’t news to any of us that the US Latino population is young, much younger (in fact) than the other segments of our community. But I think it’s going to come as a surprise just how big a difference there actually is. According to Pew Internet Research, nearly 60% of all Hispanics are either under the age of 33.

You read that right — nearly 60% of all Hispanic are under the age of 33. That’s more than half.

And it isn’t just the millennials that make the big difference (though they help). 26% of Hispanics are millennials, with 25% of Blacks, 25% of Asians and 20% of Whites in this age group.

It’s the younger generations that make the real difference. 32% of Hispanics are younger than 18, with 26% of Blacks, 20% of Asians and 19% of Whites in this age group.

Okay, that was confusing even to me. Here’s an easier way to see that:

Younger than 18
Millennial adults
(18-33)
Gen X
(34-49)
Boomer
(50-68)
Silent/Greatest
(69 and older)
Hispanic
32%
26%
22%
14%
4%
Black
26%
25%
21%
21%
7%
Asian
20%
25%
25%
21%
8%
White
19%
20%
20%
27%
13%

The numbers speak for themselves. The Hispanic population is younger, and by a big margin.

Marketers, are you paying attention?

Via.

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Trends in Hispanic Marketing from Hispanicize 2016

Full_ColorMy blog went on a hiatus last week while I headed to Miami to attend the 7th annual Hispanicize conference. Hispanicize is the largest Hispanic marketing conference in the country. It’s an event that pulls together the nation’s top Latino bloggers and social media influencers (and some international ones), brands who are already reaching out to or want to reach out to Hispanic markets, celebrities, journalists, and many others. And you learn a lot.

It’s a great opportunity to learn from top brands about what’s working with Hispanic audiences, in English and Spanish. We get to learn from social media stars about what’s working with online audiences — I’m talking about people who reach from 100,000 to more than 1,000,000 people on their social channels and bloggers who actually have larger readership than some newspapers. You get to actually meet (offline and in person) people you may only know through articles and videos, as well as representatives from some of the nation’s most trusted brands (including State Farm, Kelley Blue Book, Home Depot, etc.). And you get to be a total fangirl when you see Rosario Dawson waiting for an elevator … wait, that may just be me.

I’ve been lucky enough to attend this conference several times before. And this year I did actually speak. There were a few trends I observed that you may want to note:

I need to get over this procrastination and get onto video. I’ve been promising to get more active in video, both for SandraSays.com as well as for HispanicHouston.com, but I always have a good reason why that hasn’t happened. And there are so many options for video now that it’s become a joke that I’m still resisting. YouTube may still be the granddaddy, but it’s not the only option and it’s not the “hot” channel either. Blogs and bloggers are doing great work with Periscope and Blab. They’re doing great work with short-form video on Instagram and Snapchat. And now they’re all praising Facebook live video.

The reality is that video is simply going to continue becoming more important. And since it’s now so easy, and mobile-accessible, to create video, we can expect to see personal and company brands use it more. At some point it will include me.

There’s still room for new blogs, as long as their content is good. There are a lot of crappy blogs out there. They pop up every day, they post regularly, and they make us cringe when we see the content. But I met quite a few bloggers at the conference that had launched their sites in the last year, and were making them a success. Yes, even in the crowded Internet, there’s room for new blogs. The key is that they need to be providing content that’s exceptional and, most importantly, not trying to copy what others are doing. Individuality is essential.

Podcasts are hot hot hot. I launched my podcast last year after thinking about doing it for two years. The reason I finally launched it? I found the time. There were several sessions at this year’s conference from podcasters, teaching everything from how to get started to how to monetize. And several of the long-time bloggers I know were talking about launching their own podcasts this year.

You need to start thinking about Generation Z. When it comes to online influencers, the new crop of personalities is already creating content. Tweens already contributing to online channels or who are starring in their own channels were on hand to talk about what they want to see in content targeted to them. They also discussed how they “work.” There were even sessions to educate parents on the best ways to get their kids “online” in videos, blogs and other social channels.

The last thing I noticed wasn’t precisely a trend, just something I noticed: there was a large Texas presence at this year’s conference. And I loved seeing all the Tejanos showing up and demonstrating our influence and expertise.

Missed it? You should really think about attending next year.

And for those of you in the Houston area … join us on May 5, 2016 for Hispanicize Texas: Cinco De Mayo Houston Celebration!

SAVE THE DATE – May 5, 2016 – 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Center Stage Gallery
3527 Highway 6, Suite 250
Sugar Land, Texas 77478

More details to come, but please RSVP now to join us for the official Hispanicize Texas Cinco de Mayo Celebration in Houston. This is a FREE event, but you MUST REGISTER on EVENTBRITE to attend – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hispanicize-texas-cinco-de-mayo-houston-celebration-tickets-24309109200.

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Radio is still a great option for Hispanic marketing

Are you trying to reach out to Hispanic audiences? While video has become a very important channel (online and offline), Radio remains one of the best ways to target this market segment. In fact, according to a recent NIELSEN report, radio reaches 97% of the Hispanic population every week and this audience has grown by 11% since 2011.

This media is particularly important for the Spanish-dominant market; they spend more than 13 hours a week listening to the radio. By comparison, English-dominant Hispanics spend nearly 12 hours a week listening to the radio. That’s a lot of hours where you can reach out to your desired audiences, so make sure you’re including radio into your communications and marketing plans.

Just a reminder, choosing the right channel is important, but it’s more important to make sure you’ve selected the right message (and in the right language). Spanish-dominant Hispanics still outnumber their English-dominant counterparts, but the number of English-dominant Hispanics are increasing at a faster rate. Don’t assume that just by creating your messages and outreach in Spanish that you’ve done all that you can. In the end, culturally-relevant messages will always win out.

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Source: Nielsen: 97% Of Hispanics Listen To Radio Each Week

SOURCE: The Latino Listener: How Do Hispanics Tune in to the Radio? | NIELSEN

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3 Social Media Marketing Resolutions for 2016

Social, MediaHave you set goals for your social media marketing for this year? It’s not too late to do that (and, for the record, it’s always a good idea to set goals regardless of the time of year). Cision gives several recommendations on goals you might want to consider. My three favorites:

I resolve to get consistent in my posting. “Consistency” is one of those words you’ll hear me repeat a lot. It’s important to your success in online marketing.

I resolve to actually listen on social media. If you’re not already engaging in social listening, you need to start today! And then you need to start responding to questions and comments.

I resolve to set up goals for my social media. And make sure you create SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Did you set up social media marketing resolutions for this year? What were they?

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Read the article for more info: What Are Your Social Media Marketing Resolutions for 2016? | Cision

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My 3 Words for 2016: Focus. Comfort. Creativity.

A few years ago I gave up on New Year’s resolutions. Instead I adopted a practice of choosing themes for the year, areas where I would try to excel or in which I would try to make changes. So every year I pick three words to help guide me in the upcoming year. And I try to make that year all about those themes.

Unfortunately, most years my themes suffer the same fate that resolutions would: I lose sight of them by the mid year. I’m working on making sure that doesn’t happen in 2016, but I say that every year too.

This year’s words are (once again) a revisit of some I’ve used in previous years.

Focus. I need to stop letting distractions… well, distract me from the things I really want to achieve. Focus is something that’s once again become a challenge for me. I’m hoping to make some progress in that this year.

Comfort. I want to push myself out of my comfort levels and take more risks personally and professionally. I’ve just begun to do this and I’ve seen improvements in my “product.” I’m hoping to do more of this and to see its effects on my life.

Creativity. The ability to create (write, photograph, complete projects ) is one of the reasons I want to focus.

Let’s see how I do this year. Wish me luck!

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Video Pick: Don’t work for free!

“Can I pick your brain?”
“I need a ‘full’ proposal before I decide whether to hire you or not.”
“We need to see the campaign first.”

These are phrases with which I’ve become very familiar as a consultant. So when I came across the video (below) I knew I had to share it. It’s a funny look at how professionals in other industries would/did react when asked to work on spec.

Watch and enjoy, then commiserate.

Found via.