By: Cristy Clavijo-Kish
Founder, Talento Unlimited
With Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 ramping up and major marketing experts calling for reinvented brand strategies around community-directed campaigns (see Isaac Mizrah’s Forbes story on this) it’s a good time to examine how social media is helping advocacy issues take hold across Latino audiences online. This trend is most evident among our youngest Latinx audiences- Millennials and Gen Z.
In terms of the data, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau findings, nearly six-in-ten minority Americans were Millennials or Generation Z and younger. Generation Z begins with those born in 1997, with the largest group (38%) being Hispanics aged 11.
The data directly correlates with events this summer that fostered a tipping point for many major issues reverberating on social media and catching interest among younger audiences. Miami-based Cuban-American content creators and activists took their passionate plight regarding Cubans on the island fighting to end the communist regime to their social channels to call for U.S. government intervention. Content posted in Spanish reached more than half a million loyal fans on one channel while English-language content focused on new social channels created to share information around major rallies. The ultimate game-changer was seeing U.S.-based social channels sharing videos that were being sent by young Cubans on the island. The images were so vivid that it caught the attention of NBC Network News which covered the story and hosted a national online town hall. The collective social content on the subject helped spark a movement across cities with many peaceful rallies getting a new generation of younger Latinos (representing an array of Latin American cultures) and non-Latinos involved in this mission. The concept of ‘giving voice to the voiceless’ comes into play and social media conversation is leading it.
When it comes to the issue of low COVID-19 vaccination rates among the Latino community including farm workers, essential employees and multigenerational households, many online campaigns were created to spread awareness. Bilingual grassroots campaigns including a program created by California’s Latino Community Foundation aimed at using social media to drive action.
And it’s not just Latinos. Teens in general are using their significant and highly engaged social footprint to create interest and drive change for issues they are passionate about. The teen-led group ‘Gen-Z For Change’ mobilizes its members to use video on their social channels, with an online reach into the millions, to actually talk with their parents about vaccinations, politics and more. The trend is disrupting social norms by having kids empowered to inform their parents, not vice versa. The group’s teen founder summarized in an ABC Nightline Report that their members have a broader reach than all the major news networks combined.
Our own HMC Education committee led an online webinar with content creators in August (watch webinar) who talked about trends in their space, best practices when collaborating with agencies and brands, and, most importantly, the difference between tokenism and inclusion.
So while grassroots campaigns are nothing new, understanding the power and collective reach and impact of online channels and influencers has actually never been more crucial. Key considerations for upcoming campaign planning includes:
- Are you talking to the right audiences?
- Should your focus be on teens instead of parents?
- How will you spread critical word of mouth that causes a desired reaction without potentially missing your goals?
As marketers and communicators heading into Q4 2021 and well into 2022 planning – the answers need to be clear.
Cristy Clavijo-Kish is a Hispanic marketing, communications and content strategy veteran with more than 25 years of experience at global agencies, and as a co-founder of newswire distribution companies and key industry events. She is the founder of Talento Unlimited, a boutique talent management, content strategy and event partnerships agency. The team represents Latino and multicultural content creators, business influencers and empowerment speakers. The firm consults with marketers to develop content strategies and executes custom campaigns, speaking opportunities and branded event sponsorship management and activation.
