What Language to Use when Targeting Hispanics?

Hispanic or Latino are terms that represent an ethnicity that makes up the largest minority group in America. Statistics by the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth indicated that the buying power of the Hispanics is set to increase to approximately 1.5 trillion in the year 2015.This represents a large percentage of the buying power and demands marketers to evaluate their marketing strategies in relation to the Hispanic market.

Importance of Language to Hispanics 

Hispanics generally identify with the Spanish language as it represents a factor which binds Hispanics irrespective of their place of origin. Although Hispanics living in America have adopted various mannerisms, they still hold true to their traditions which set them apart as consumers.

Effect of Considering Language in Marketing 

The language use particular to Hispanics in America is definitely Spanish, though most of them are proficient in both English and Spanish. Employing the preference of a certain language in the determination of what marketing strategies to embark on presents a two fold situation. It may be viewed as a way of setting apart the Hispanic population based on their culture or can be viewed as a way of increasing the reach of a product to the Hispanics. Whichever way, it is evident that employing language use as a marketing strategy can serve to attract a certain target group.

Media and Language

Marketers targeting Hispanics as a market have to consider the relevant media to use in addition to the language that will best attract the audience. In the year 2007 TNS Media Intelligence rated the Spanish-language media as the fastest growing media at a rate of 5.4%. The radio and television networks represented the most listened to channels of communication. The Spanish print media usually represents a critical part of the Hispanic community as it identifies with their particular needs. The marketers however, must familiarize themselves with the kind of news presented in the papers and how to phrase his advertisements in order to pull the desired target group.

Phrasing Adverts 

The language use in advertisements highly influences how the target group will perceive your particular advert and their response to it. Hispanics do not only identify with Spanish-language media thus a blend between Spanish and English may be preferable. For example, a survey by Advertising and Marketing Review showed that 49% of Hispanics watch Spanish programming during prime-time thus presenting an opportunity to marketers to utilize both languages in marketing. Direct translation of English sentences to Spanish usually results in a loss of the emotional and cultural appeal of the language and may discourage the audience. In terms of online searches, most Hispanics use long words or phrases in Spanish. Applying these phrases as keywords is likely to pull a larger market base. The language use employed by the marketers can be strictly Spanish or bilingual phrases commonly used by Hispanics such as ‘a welcome fiesta’. This however, depends on the site needed by the audience. For example, if the person only uses Spanish phases in the search engine then the search is directed to a Spanish site and not an English site.

It is essential to weigh which language is most suitable when targeting Hispanics as a market group. Language use influences the market as it brings a personal touch to the audience. Spanish does stand out as an identity point for the Hispanic ethnicity but many Hispanics use media with English programming. Utilizing both languages in marketing by weighing the effects in different regions affects the market response for your product.

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