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Women and Online Purchasing Power

April 1st, 2013

Lately, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer and Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg as both are women in high-powered roles. Perhaps, some of the debate had something to do with last March being Women’s History Month or rather their prowess as leaders have put them in the limelight. Nevertheless, this debate has motivated me to take a look into current online trends among women as a whole.

What is the effect of women in social technology?

According to a recent study by Pew, 71 percent of women are users of social networking sites, compared with 62 percent of men, for which a similar trend was observed with regard to mobile use. Furthermore, women are more social than men when it comes to engaging with brands, buying products that they have seen ads for and making recommendations online. An interesting statistic also shows that women are leading in the online space commonly known to be dominated by men:

47.2 % of Major League Soccer fans are women
46.5% of MLB fans are women
43.2% of NFL fans are women
37% of NBA fans are women
Women spent 80% of all sport apparel dollars and controlled 60% of all money spent on men’s clothing.

The graphic below also shows that Hispanics, the fastest growing minority ethnic group in the U.S. over-indexes in social media use.

Pew Internet Project’s research related to social networking

The Online – Social Butterfly

Women not only represent the majority of the online market,but also 85 percent of purchasing in the U.S. They are worth more than $5 trillion in consumer spending power, and are increasingly taking on leadership roles and leveraging their decision-making power as digital influencers more than ever before.

Women use social media to build strong online connections, especially with bloggers. Together, they push brands to develop strategic marketing campaigns that are tailored to the female audience. Surveys have shown that women are more likely to purchase brands they follow, and use social media to engage with brands, find promotions and keep informed about new products and trends.

The Women of Social Media Report – Study by +Weber Shandwick Digital and KRC Research highlights

Brands That Appeal to Women

Some brands and organizations are embracing the influence that women have online and their potential to create a social movement. For instance, the National Institutes of Health launched a Facebook campaign to educate and encourage women to protect their heart health, as well as influence others to do the same. Degree is also leveraging the active women on its Facebook page and inspiring them “to move” and share their experiences.

As a bilingual Latina who speaks mostly English both at work and socially, I still feel more of an affinity with brands that have developed a sensitive, well planned Spanish space. As a good example, P&G’s Orgullosa has a fresh approach of today’s Latina life, interests and passions, which I relate to more than the English P&G marketing strategy.

Dial soap has recently launched a Facebook page in Spanish that features promotions, giveaways and images that evoke the relation between women’s and mother-child ties: “What’s your first memory of Dial? Is it mom washing your hands after playing outside? Or Washing your little one’s hands?” When it comes to choosing a product or becoming a loyal follower of a brand, I tend to support those companies that have made an effort to develop an emotional connection with my culture, traditions and values.

Top: Henkel/ Dial soap’s Facebook page in Spanish for Dial. Bottom: The National Institutes of Health’s campaign for women.

Top: Henkel/ Dial Soap’s Facebook page in Spanish. Bottom: The National Institutes of Health’s campaign for women.

Some Thoughts…

As women continue to influence online and offline purchases, brands should develop meaningful strategies to create online communities where women can communicate openly and engage in conversations about these social sensibilities. It is evident that digital communication has forced brands to target women outside of the box—creating campaigns with substance that deliver on more than just a pretty image. The quest for brand loyalty and online influencers is fair game in today’s digital world, and everyone from small business to large corporations needs to get in on the action.

Do you have a page or campaign designed for women that you would like to share with us? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Posted in Hispanic Marketing, Hispanic Retail Marketing

Does Your Campaign Need a Network of Bloggers?

March 15th, 2012

With the burgeoning blogosphere, simply having a web presence is not enough. Companies need to establish a successful website, social media campaigns as well as a blog strategy to stay relevant in today’s online market.

Blog Integration

Integrating a blog in the company’s overall marketing plan not only helps with search engine rankings and furthers the brand’s online image, it also propels all other marketing initiatives in a way that other platforms cannot. Evidenced by the recent influx of bloggers; brands and bloggers are taking heed and fostering symbiotic relationships.

As of July 2011, there are an estimated 164 million blogs on the Internet. Hispanics make up 15 percent (33.5 million) of the overall online presence in the US, and are growing three times as fast as the general market. Evidently the sector of Hispanic bloggers is thriving as seen by the number of big-name brands sourcing bloggers to promote their products. Hispanics are 37 percent more likely than the general population to publish a blog on a blogging platform or use a social networking site, according to a recent study by 360i.

Big Brands using Bloggers

In January of 2012, Ford sent 150 bloggers on a two-day, all-expenses trip to Detroit, Michigan for the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Green Bloggers, otherwise labeled “Online Influencers” by the Ford company, were taken to the Henry Ford Museum, given a behind-the-scenes tour of design facilities and were first to preview the new 2013 Ford Fusion. The bloggers were strategically sourced via ad agency Ogilvy. The lengths Ford went to recruit bloggers speaks to this overall trend of non-traditional marketing. Ad and marketing agencies are pitching to bloggers and using them as both a focus group and test market for new products and ideas. Some companies court bloggers more aggressively by incentivizing coverage and requiring live blogging via Twitter, Facebook or otherwise.

Just as Ford focused on green bloggers to spread the message of eco-driving, brands looking to focus on the Hispanic market are turning to Latinas to promote their brands. A study released in November of 2011 revealed that Latino consumers spend $7.5 billion on personal care products. Thus it’s no surprise that Pantene and Covergirl incorporated Latina bloggers as part of their Valentine’s Day campaign. Mary Kay also got in on the action at November’s LATISM (Latinos in Social Media) Conference in Chicago in 2011 by offering makeovers to attendees. They were interested in hearing what bloggers thought about Mary Kay products. Mary Kay’s tactics were akin to Ford in their subtlety. Nevertheless, this type of deliberate recruitment of bloggers shows just how valuable they are to brand promotion.

Mommy Bloggers, “Las Blogeras”

When it comes to the most targeted and arguably the most lucrative, Mommy bloggers are it. It is reported that 3.9 million women with children write blogs. This number will rise to 4.4 million by 2014. Mothers are more likely to blog than women in general and, with a lifestyle more conducive to consistent blogging, are more attractive to major brands. Though very much a niche market, brands are finding these bloggers to be loyal, deeply involved and committed to sharing their views and endorsements with their audience. A prominent Mommy blogger is 31-year-old Romina Tibytt who publishes Mamá XXI, a three-year-old Spanish-language blog that helps mothers source coupons, deals and samples to their families. We spent time talking to Romina about the blogging market, best practices and just why she joined this growing market.

Interview with Romina Tibytt of Mama XXI

1) Can you give us a brief description of who you are and why you decided to launch a blog?

My name is Romina, I’m 31 years old, and I am from Argentina but have lived in New York the past 10 years. I am married to an Argentine and together we have three children: two boys and a girl, who are both our joy and reason for living.
I received a Masters in Primary Education with a concentration in folklore and folk dances in Argentina. I also studied anthropology and philosophy, but I never received my degree because I emigrated.
Currently, I work as a freelance writer and blogger. I started my blog Mama XXI at the end of 2009. By then, the economic crisis had affected my family, I spent hours—more like full days—on the Internet, reading and learning about how to handle the situation at hand when I discovered the English-language blogs that offered readers coupons, tips for how to save money, etc., all of which had become quite popular at this point.
After not finding similar resources for the Hispanic community, I decided to start my own Spanish-language blog where I could share and exchange useful tips with readers. It also served as a creative outlet away from the everyday tasks and family chores that for years kept me on “stand by.”

2) What changes have you observed in bloggers and the blogging community from 2010 to the present?

There have been many important changes over the last two years. When I started my blog in late 2009, I remember that one of the first blogging communities that picked up my blog was Monique Frausto’s Blogs by Latinas, which had several English blogs and only a handful of Spanish-language blogs—I could count them on one hand!
Today we are many female Latina bloggers, active and writing in Spanish—there are hundreds of us in the United States. The reason? Demand! The popularity of these types of blogs has grown, and continues to rise rapidly, because they are platforms that users find very useful, practical and simple. The interaction between the blogger and readers as well as that among the readers themselves, plays a major role in its success.

3) Who are the “Blogeras” and who do they represent?
I think the term “blogeras”, as bloggers, arose from the need to translate the English term bloggers. Over time it became a name for the group of those who write in Spanish and with which we are simply identified, hence we use the hashtag #lasBlogueras on Twitter.

4) Tell me about a campaign for a government agency or a non-for profit organization. Explain the topic & the result.

I have participated in several campaigns for the government, most of them focused on the promotion of healthy habits. The response has been very favorable from all my readers, not only do these blogs send a good message but they also generate discussions and reflections. I personally consider these actions very important.

In the area of health, there are very few resources and information available to Hispanics. There are also major barriers for those seeking access to information sources; language first and second pre-conceived ideas, such as if the doctor will answer questions if you do not speak English. These and other similar barriers should be demolished.

Each time I receive a proposal to participate in a campaign that involves health, I have no doubt to be a part of it. I am all about improving the quality of life of my Latino peers. And health and education are key topics.

5) For large brands trying to reach the Latino market, why should they consider bloggers as part of the strategy?

This is a very interesting question. Nobody wants to be left behind in today’s competitive and demanding business world. Blogs are the trend of the moment and a preferred forum among readers to get recommendations and information. A blogger not only uses his platform to disseminate information, but does so through all networks.

To be Continued…

Please mark your calendar for next week when we will publish the rest of our interview with Romina Tibytt of Mama XXI. If you want to learn more about how Social Media Spanish can help you with blogger outreach for your campaign or brand, please visit our Capabilities page.

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Posted in Hispanic Marketing

Tags: blogeras blogger management bloggers Blogs by Latinas hispanics latinos mommy bloggers

Why would a Hispanic Marketing Agency Locate in Phoenix?

March 8th, 2012

DK’s First Year Anniversary in Phoenix

On Monday, March 12, my firm DK Web Consulting completes its first year in operation since opening a second office in Phoenix last spring. Much has happened in the past year, many new contacts have been made and client deals have been struck. I find none of that too surprising since we expanded to Phoenix because of the opportunity we saw to make a difference and provide our Hispanic communications services to the western region of the United States.

So why open a Hispanic marketing agency in Phoenix?

The question I am most often asked when I travel around the country, from those closest to me as well as people I have just met is, “Arizona? Why would we want to open an office in Phoenix of all places?”

I know they are referring to the anti-Latino sentiment here, and the fact that our current governor makes our entire region look like a buffoon-run state, and I will discuss my personal feelings on this towards the end of this post.

I explain to them that these are the reasons DK is proud to have moved to Phoenix, Arizona:

1. Phoenix is a major Hispanic market. With approximately 40% of the city Latino, it makes sense for a marketing agency that focuses on the Hispanic community to locate in a large metropolitan area with this demographic makeup.

2. Phoenix, is not saturated with Hispanic agencies. Unlike many of the other top Hispanic markets such as LA, New York, and Miami, Phoenix is not overloaded with agencies that focus on Hispanic communications. It turns out there recently was a major Hispanic player in Phoenix that folded in the past few years which has left opportunities for smaller growing companies like DK.

3. Phoenix is conveniently located and beautiful. We knew we wanted to have our second location in the western region. The appeal of Phoenix is that it is a very convenient (US Airways and Southwest have hubs here) and cost effective location. And with the scenic mountains and good climate, it is a wonderful city in which to have the annual company picnic :-)

LATISM and the Media

Since starting up in Phoenix, I have become a Director for the newly founded Phoenix chapter of LATISM, or Latinos in Social Media. This group is active in most of the top cities in the U.S. Prior to attending the first LATISM conference held in Chicago, I wrote a blog about what I planned to attend and learn at LATISM ’11. Having the chance to get out there and meet so many other like-minded Hispanic social influencers and bloggers helped to set us up for a big year and to plan our first Tweet-up event for LATISM Phoenix this April.

In December of 2011, I was interviewed on TV with my colleague Joe Ray (another LATISM Phoenix Director). The Latino-themed TV show Horizonte, part of the local PBS programming, invited Joe and I to discuss LATISM and what the movement was all about. We agreed as we are always looking for methods to spread the news of LATISM’s mission to other interested Arizonans.

PBS’s interest proved to me that opening an office here was the right decision as it was evident that there is much interest about learning what Hispanic social media professionals are doing in this community. You can view the 12 minute clip below.

¡Hola Local Clients!

Turf Paradise Latino Facebook Welcome Page

Additionally, in Phoenix more and more companies are listening to the waves of reports coming in about Hispanics high usage of social media and have been interested in how we can help them communicate with the Hispanic audience . I have been fortunate to partner with a local and well established traditional marketing agency, FACIL Marketing, founded by longtime journalist Ruben Hernandez. By teaming up with FACIL, we have formed a powerful unit which allows our clients to reach the Hispanic market through a combination of new media forums as well as traditional marketing methods such as earned media, PSA’s, and media pitches.

We have placed one of our clients, the well known horse racing venue Turf Paradise in North Phoenix,in several of the regional Spanish-language newspapers and radio stations, followed by initiating conversations on Twitter with personalities such as the first Mexican NBA player Horacio Llamas and even actor John Ortiz of the new HBO hit series, Luck.

Sneak peak of the ALAC website redesign

Other local clients that have become part of our portfolio include the Arizona Latino Arts and Culture Center (ALAC). DK is presently working on a web redesign for the 5 year old non-profit, which is an inspiring staple of Phoenix’s Hispanic artistic community. Watch for the new design to come out in the spring of 2012. I also am proud to have been invited to join the ALAC Marketing Advisory Committee to help promote their awareness both locally and nationally.

How about Sherriff Joe, SB1070, and the overall negative sentiment towards Latinos?

I have seen and felt the negative sentiment towards Hispanics many times in the past year, but not nearly as much as my darker skinned hermanos that don’t carry the same americanizado accent that I do. As I mentioned earlier, people outside of Arizona often ask me why I would want to subject myself to an environment that can be hostile to Latinos. On a personal level, I explain to them that I really see it as a great opportunity to show people that they have misjudged Latinos. I believe that most people who stereotype typically do so out of ignorance and fear. They listen to talk radio, local news broadcasts and even our governor that often skews or purposely misrepresents the truth about illegal immigration, Hispanic crime rates and Latino work ethic among other things. By presenting myself as a professional, well educated Latino that is involved with the community, I feel it works to show people that Latinos are not the bad guys from their nightmares. Latinos are people that work hard, pay their taxes and employ others just like they do.

A perfect example of how many people do not have a full concept of who Latinos are and how they are affected by new anti-Latino legislation was illustrated by a young filmmaker named Alejandra Gama. Ms. Gama created a documentary, “Right to be an American” about the life of a Latino family in Phoenix that is very personally affected by House Bill 2561 and 2562 in Arizona that would deny their children citizenship. When Ms. Gama was asked about how people reacted to the film, she mentioned that many people who see the documentary soften their tone on immigration as they have never previously seen the face of an innocent toddler who is affected by new legislation that would deny them their 14th Ammendment rights. It is a touching film and I encourage everyone to watch the 11 minute video.

To the next 5 years in Phoenix

Overall, DK is proud to be located in Arizona, which many people consider Ground Zero for Hispanic issues. However, things are improving here as more Latinos come of voting age, and become more active in getting out to vote. They are changing the Latino destiny here through the ballot box. And I, proud to be a new homeowner in central Phoenix, am continuing to spread my roots within the city I now call home.

Eric enjoying the sunrise at the Grand Canyon

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Posted in Hispanic Marketing

Tags: Hispanic Market hispanic marketing latinos latism non profit phoenix

‘The Numbers’ (Listen like the NBA: ¡Con Emoción! Part 2)

February 15th, 2012

Last week, we promised we would highlight the numbers from our “Listen Like the NBA: ¡Con Emoción!”story, as well as how the NBA’s Hispanic marketing group leverages social media in order to keep their fans in the know and excited about the season even during the recent National Basketball Association (NBA) lockout.

“Numbers were up during opening week this season. Hispanics tuned in, continuing to build on the year-to-year growth we’ve experienced since the launch of the campaign in 2009,” said NBA Vice President of Multicultural Marketing Saskia Sorrosa.

But how big is this growth exactly?

Last time we spoke, NBA Hispanic Marketing: “Social Media a Key Component of Our Strategy,” éne-bé-a had more than 248,000 fans on Facebook and 1,800 on Twitter. Today, they have nearly 310,000 fans (25 percent growth) on Facebook and 5,600 on Twitter (211 percent growth).

One would think growth like this is due to a heavy social media ad campaign, but to our surprise, it was not.

“The growth we’ve seen on our social media assets is mostly organic. We have TV, radio and online ads that drive viewers back to our enebea.com page, but we don’t buy ads on Facebook anymore,” Ms. Sorrosa explained. “One strategy we’re currently focusing on is heavily cross promoting our éne-bé-a pages with our general market [English-language] pages.”

Ms. Sorrosa explained that 12 percent of the NBA’s (English-language) Facebook and Twitter followers – more than 11 million likes and 3.8 million followers, respectively – are Hispanic. Cross promoting allows the team to push culturally relevant content among bicultural, bilingual fans across the NBA, and drive them back to éne-bé-a social media assets for customized engagement. She also shared with us that they are keeping many strategies they have been using for years, like their “blog squad, videos, and Q&A sessions.” Overall, they are now focusing on cross promotion through the multiple online channels where they know Hispanic fans are consuming, while allowing social media to serve as their primary engagement piece.

We examined how éne-bé-a has driven an increase of fan engagements from an average of 70 per post during the 2011 season, up to 85 engagements per Facebook post so far in 2012. Ms. Sorrosa attributes the growth to the fact that “the content we are providing is better, and we are cross promoting on our English-language social media pages where we know Hispanic fans are also following our game.”

Ms. Sorrosa enjoys seeing Facebook’s new “Talking About This” tracker as well as Facebook Shares, which is now a feature that appears on each post.

“These features are incredibly important. They allow us to track how many stories are going viral, being shared, and sparking conversations,” Ms. Sorrosa said. “Since we are learning more from our audience, we (the éne-bé-á) know what (fans) want to see.”

And without further ado, here are the numbers:

Hispanic regular-season viewership was up 59 percent in 2010-11 in comparison to the previous season (vs. 27 percent growth in non-Hispanic viewership)

2012 Enebea Opening Week Viewership Growth

During Opening Week 2011-12, Hispanic viewership was up 26 percent on ABC, TNT, and ESPN, over-indexing in comparison to non-Hispanic viewership by 160 percent

Hispanic Pop. Growth vs Hispanic NBA Growth

Over the past three years, the growth of the NBA

The enebea grew by an incredible 211% on their Twitter page since November of 2010

The enebea Facebook page has experienced 25% growth since Nov 2010.

Facebook engagement has grown by 21% since last season, up to 85 engagements (likes, comments, or shares) per post.

Sales of Noche Latina merchandise at NBAStore.com was up 104 percent in 2011 in comparison to the previous year

Missed last years review on the NBA’s Hispanic Marketing?

Read “NBA Hispanic Marketing: A look inside the éne•bé•a”

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Posted in Case Studies, Hispanic Marketing

Tags: enebea nba saskia sorrosa

Press Release: The Power of Social Media, from The Defense Logistics Agency

November 8th, 2011

Columbus, Ohio – DK’s own Natasha Pongonis was the featured speaker at a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) workshop in October in which she talked about the strong influence of social media, especially when working with Hispanics.

The first workshop in the “Professional Enhancement Series” provided an overview of the positive and negative aspects of social media.

“The Power of Social Media,” held Oct. 11 as part of the DLA Land and Maritime Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, explained social media,
security settings to protect yourself, and the do’s and don’ts of personal and professional profiles.

Instructor Natasha Pongonis, a native of Argentina who is fluent in four languages, has been the social media director at DK Web Consulting
since 2009. The company’s mission is to provide clients with modern and creative web solutions in a sustainable way.

Pongonis said the term “social media” refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive
dialogue. Social media and networking has become a versatile tool and can be accessed by anyone, she said, noting that one person can post or share information with hundreds, even thousands, of people across the world in a matter of seconds. Three out of four people in America use social media technology.

Some of the most popular social media forums are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. Other social media forums include Que Pasa, Orkut, Hi5, MiGente and Batanga.

“Social media channels offers good opportunities to interact with people and build relationships largely due to the real time, interactive nature,” she said. “Everyone can communicate information in a flash, regardless of geographical location.”

Pongonis said Hispanics are a very social group with high usage of social media, with 61 percent of U.S. Hispanics online. She said Hispanics are 14.5 percent of the total online market and that 19 percent of U.S. Hispanics are Twitter users and 54.2 percent of Hispanics online regularly use Facebook.

During the workshop, Pongonis mentioned that 57 percent of Hispanics learn more about brands, compare prices and make final decisions online compared to 43 percent of the general market. The purchasing power of the U.S. Hispanic market is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2015, she added.

Pongonis said there are a lot of advantages in the use of social media, but added that people need to be “extremely careful” about the type of information they provide or share in social media websites. She told audience members to think before posting anything in any of the social media forums and recommended they create separate private and professional accounts, don’t share too much personal information, build quality relationships and respect the web community.

DSCC MWR marketing manager Jennifer Russell said she tries to stay on the cutting edge of social media trends.

“We were the first DLA MWR site to have a fully functional Facebook page. Now we have over 400 ‘likes’ and are continuing to grow,” she said.

Social media has served us very well; we use it every day to get new information out to our associates,” said MWR Office marketing assistant Dana Thornbury, who spoke briefly at the seminar about MWR’s social media outreach efforts.

The workshop series is an initiative of the DLA Columbus EEO Hispanic Employment Program (HEP) and the Morale, Welfare and Recreational (MWR) Office to help DLA associates achieve their professional goals.

The next workshop is “Professionalism in the Workplace,” which is scheduled for Nov. 8 in the Building 20 auditorium with speaker Robert Boggs, chief of the DLA Land and Maritime Human Perfomance Division. This workshop will address important aspects of professionalism such as interaction and communication with others.

In addition, a seminar on “Choosing Words Effectively” is scheduled for Jan. 18, 2012 in the Buckeye Room with HEP manager Maria Buch Castillo. This workshop will focus on techniques to improve word choice.

DLA associates interested in participating in these seminars can register online at www.dsccmwr.com/seminar. There is a limit of 60 people per seminar. For more information about the workshop series, call Castillo at 614-692-9704 or MWR Relocation Assistance Program manager Lisa Passalacqua at 614-692-7220.

PSA by Mislin A. Perez-Fernandez, Hispanic Employment Program Public Affairs Liaison