Creator Marketing: Winning with Gen Z Hispanics on Social
January 27, 2024
By Leslie Koch, VP of Social Media at TelevisaUnivision
Today more than ever, marketers recognize the power of social media and its ability to reach Gen Z audiences. But the real challenge? Creating long-lasting connections and loyalty with this young, increasingly Hispanic consumer base.
Hispanics are projected to drive 100% of all 18 – 24 population growth over the next 5 years. Engaging this audience requires a nuanced approach, like the ones shared during our Leading the Change livestream: Winning with Gen Z Hispanics on Social.
We gathered Jocelyn Cruz, Director at Paramount Pictures; Cara Buscaglia, Chief Innovation and Insights Officer at Talkwalker; and Creator Jay Torresto discuss the importance of cultural relevance, trusted voices, and big social moments in driving impact among this coveted demographic.
Here are their top three takeaways for winning with Gen Z Hispanics on social. Spoiler alert: Creators are key!
1) Lean Into the Power of Authenticity to Drive Cultural PRIDE
Insight: Authentic, in-culture content should be the foundation of social marketing for young Hispanic audiences. Use of talent and creators from diverse backgrounds and filming in Spanish (or Spanglish) are two ways to foster representation. TelevisaUnivision social campaigns spark 37% more feelings of “pride” than other U.S. media companies. Cultura matters!
Jocelyn Cruz spoke to the need to reflect the nuances of the Hispanic experience in order to forge true connections.
“There are different words in Mexican Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish; when you have the right people writing copy, it’s super important.”
Those nuances can be generational too.
“You have to take your product and figure out what’s going to resonate — not just for myself, but what would resonate for my grandma, or my mom, or my tía or my primo.”
Further emphasizing the importance of authenticity and emotion, Cara Buscaglia stated, “Oftentimes we can forget that quantified metrics are not the only way to measure message resonance. It’s really important to understand qualitative insights, particularly around social ads. So that way you can really understand consumer attitudes and their emotions around messages to determine if your campaign is resonating with your target audience.”
Actionable Tip: In 2024, brands must infuse campaigns with authentic storytelling and cultural relevance. Empower creators to produce content in their own voices, which resonate with Gen Z Hispanics.
2) Amplifying Impact Through Creators and Trusted Voices 📣
Insight: Creators play a pivotal role in engaging Gen Z Hispanics. Collaborating with creators who genuinely engage their communities will amplify your brand message and drive brand impact.
Jay Torres, a creator with over 5 million total social followers, stressed the importance of emotional connection, saying,
“I think that emotions [are] key when it comes to connection between audience and creator… I make sure the video seems [like] an adventure WITH my followers and not them seeing myself doing the whole adventure.”
His partnership with Paramount on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a perfect example of this. Jay activated the TMNT campaign on the red carpet at Premios Juventud, TelevisaUnivision’s youth award show. It resonated so deeply that it generated 14x more engagement than our TelevisaUnivision campaign benchmark.
Actionable Tip:Elevate brand messaging by partnering with creators who truly understand the interests, and cultural identity of Gen Z Hispanics, fostering genuine connections. Focus on emotional storytelling, transforming one-sided experiences into shared adventures that bring audiences along for the ride.
3) Storytelling: The Importance of Big Moments on Social ⚽💃
Insights: Cultural events like awards shows or sports matches drive social engagement and connection for Gen Z audiences. These moments present unique opportunities for brands to make a lasting impact.
It’s “critical for marketers to recognize the significance of these moments and then plan strategically around them,” Buscaglia said, because they “drive a heightened level of engagement in conversations” with target audiences at a massive scale.
Consider TelevisaUnivision’s Premio Lo Nuestro—the longest-running Spanish-language music award show on TV, which draws a massive, young social audience. Premio lo Nuestro (PLN) is consistently the #1 most social program of the day, and 61% of its social followers are under the age of 35. Not surprisingly, creators are central to driving engagement on PLN branded content campaigns.
Actionable Tip: Strategically align campaigns with major cultural moments, tapping into the heightened engagement during these big events to enhance brand visibility and connection across social.
Use Social Media to Connect with La Cultura
In 2024, social strategies need to be about more than just reaching Gen Z Hispanics; brands must authentically connect with them. These insights offer a roadmap to help you start navigating the road to Hispanic Gen Z engagement. Investing in this growing audience will build brand love that will resonate for years to come.
To learn more and watch the livestream in full, please click HERE.
Sourcing:
U.S. Census Bureau 2017 National Population Projections (2017-2060) – Projections for 2022 – 2027;
Social based on Talkwalker Social Content Ratings, 02/23/2023, linear episode-level total interactions.
SproutSocial & YouTube Studio Analytics; PLN owned accounts across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as of April 2023.
Talkwalker. Custom sentiment/emotional analysis tool developed for TelevisaUnivision to analyze EL and SL comments on social campaign posts. 2023 PLN campaign comments indexed vs overall TU social campaign benchmark.
