Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on February 6, 2018
 A recent PwC report, “Always connected: U.S.-based Hispanic consumers dominate mobile, entertainment and beyond,” found that an astonishing 90 percent of Hispanic consumers stream video on their mobile devices. When it comes to their video channel of choice, YouTube reigns. Seven in 10 Hispanics regularly use YouTube (compared to six in 10 non-Hispanics).
“Hispanic consumers spend a disproportionate amount of their day on the phone—most notably, streaming videos,” write the report’s authors. “Mobile video and, in particular, YouTube, are at the heart of Hispanic consumers. In response, brands looking to win over this mobile-dominant consumer should position the phone, and video, at the epicenter of their marketing plan.”
Credit unions looking to develop and deepen relationships with this young, fast-growing and often underserved segment, should pay close attention to these findings, as well as to how some of their colleagues are having success with video. Below are three ways credit unions have integrated YouTube into their Hispanic marketing and engagement efforts.
Financial Education
YouTube is a great channel for educating consumers on financial wellness topics. Here are just a few ideas:
• The credit union difference
• Budgeting
• Building credit
• Phishing scams
• Identify theft
• Scholarships
• Home equity loans
• Rewards programs
• Debt collection
• Car-buying process
• Home-selling tips
• Tax returns
• Money-savvy traveling
• Back-to-school shopping
 Ascentra Credit Union in Bettendorf, Iowa, has leveraged YouTube to educate consumers, specifically through a monthly video series called Ascentra Making Cents. In addition to YouTube, Ascentra also provides the videos directly to its community partners to share through their own networks. The credit union is currently in the process of adding Spanish subtitles to the videos using funds it received from the 2017 Warren Morrow Hispanic Growth Fund Grant for Hispanic Outreach.
Member Testimonials
Consumers – particularly those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with traditional financial institutions – want to see certain things from any credit union attempting to make a connection with them. Employees and members who look like them, communications that speak to them and experiences that feel real to them are crucial to encouraging underserved individuals to give credit union membership real consideration. Videos of real members sharing why they chose the credit union and how it’s impacted them can benefit the credit union in many ways, including:
• Building credibility and trust
• Highlighting success stories
• Showcasing community impact
• Encouraging viewers to take action
 Community 1st Credit Union in Ottumwa, Iowa, has several member testimonial videos on its YouTube channel. One example tells the story (in both Spanish and English) of how Community 1st helped members who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico open a restaurant and buy house.
Advertising Videos
Because it’s free to host videos on YouTube, it can offer a much higher ROI than television advertising. Plus, a Google-commissioned Nielsen study found more Hispanics watch YouTube than any cable network in the U.S. Posting advertising videos on YouTube can help your credit union build brand awareness and share your commitment to the community.
 The videos don’t have to be overly complicated. Hapo Community Credit Union in Richland, Wash., has a series of short advertising videos on its YouTube channel. Each features a credit union employee sharing a benefit of banking with Hapo.
When launching a YouTube strategy, it’s important to continually go back to your credit union’s strategic plan to ensure each of your video tactics aligns with your business goals. If you have goals to engage Hispanic consumers, educate your community or promote the benefits of membership, you may find YouTube the perfect place to be.
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Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on November 20, 2017
 Google recently surveyed more than 4,500 U.S. Hispanics ages 18-64 about their preferences related to online sources, digital ads and search. The study found U.S. Hispanics use online sources at a higher rate (54 percent) than the general population (46 percent) throughout the purchase journey. It also found:
- Hispanic consumers tend to favor online sources over family, radio and TV.
- 79 percent of those surveyed said they use search engines on a daily basis.
- 68 percent of the respondents who use search engines at least monthly do so on their mobile devices.
- More than half of respondents who use online sources use their smartphones specifically to gather information before making a purchase.
How can credit unions and other organizations dedicated to serving the underserved Hispanic community meet them where they already are – online and on mobile? Below are a few examples of online and mobile resources being tapped by organizations to do just that.
Crowdfunding
According to Pew Research, 16 percent of Hispanics have contributed to a crowdsourced fundraising project. Since it launched in 2010, do-it-yourself crowdfunding website GoFundMe has raised more than $4 billion for personal causes from more than 40 million donors. When a licensed clinical social worker was struggling to afford providing low-cost mental health treatment to uninsured Spanish-speaking individuals in Louisville, Ky., for example, she turned to GoFundMe. She is currently well on her way to reaching her $5,000 goal to enable to her to continue providing therapy.
Putting a twist on the GoFundMe model, PayPal just launched Money Pools, a service that lets people create pages to fundraise for a specific item or effort among family and friends. Could this become a digital tanda? Although the service is too new to have data on usage rates, the focus on family and friends could resonate among many within the Hispanic community.
Social Media Influencers
One way for an organization to increase its reach within a certain segment of the population is to connect with those who have influence inside that segment. Consider starting with the top 25 Hispanic influencers on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. If your credit union has, for example, an important message to share with Hispanic members about helping children save for college, you could simply share with your social media followers. Or, you could try to get it in front of Jorge Narvaez, whose parenting-focused YouTube channel has more than 600,000 subscribers.
Instagram Stories.
After just one year in market, Instagram Stories has more than 200 million users – 50 million more users than Snapchat. At this rate, nearly half of all Instagram users will be using Stories by the end of 2018. A large portion of Instagram users, 38 percent, are Hispanic. In August, Instagram declared that JBalvin, an all-Spanish language music star, is the most-viewed Instagram Stories content provider in the U.S.. Brands interested in connecting with Instagram users, and with Hispanic Instagram users specifically, should consider mastering Instagram Stories. Here’s a how-to guide to get you started.
Connecting with Hispanic consumers online requires not only understanding where they are, but also how they want to be connected with. Google’s study found that including culturally relevant content – food, family and traditions – resonates with U.S. Hispanics online. Consider incorporating content that Hispanic members care about or that which is unique to the Hispanic experience. While not as important as culture, language also matters. For some U.S. Hispanic consumers, Spanish and bilingual content are signals you want to engage with them.
Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash
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Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on October 30, 2017
 There’s no question social media is an important channel for engaging Hispanic consumers. According to recent research by Viant, nearly 50 percent of Hispanic shoppers reported they had either discussed a brand online with others or used a brand’s hashtag in social messaging (this compared to 17 percent of non-Hispanic shoppers).
Analyzing social media habits by channel, Viant said Hispanic Millennials are more active on Twitter and Instagram compared to non-Hispanic Millennials. However, the amount of time spent on Facebook is relatively similar between the two groups.
Another platform that should not be discounted is video. In its report How Hispanic Consumers Engage with YouTube, Google shares some interesting insights:
— 75 percent of Hispanics go to YouTube first when they want to learn more about a product or service by watching a video
— Nearly 1 in 2 Hispanic smartphone video viewers look for video content relevant to them as Hispanics and are more likely to watch ads that contain aspects of Hispanic culture
— Of U.S. Hispanics who visit YouTube at least once a month, 60 percent watch videos in English always/most of the time; 28 percent watch videos in English and Spanish equally; and 12 percent watch videos in Spanish always/most of the time.
— 83 percent of Hispanic video viewers will read or post comments, watch recommended videos or like or rate videos
BEST PRACTICE: To achieve the best results when engaging Hispanic consumer segments through YouTube and other social media channels, ensure the content is culturally relevant and language appropriate.
How One Credit Union is Engaging Members on YouTube
 Ascentra Credit Union in Bettendorf, Iowa, is leveraging the power of YouTube to engage consumers through a video series called Ascentra Making Cents. New videos focused on financial topics like credit scores, the home buying process, spending plans, tax returns and the credit union difference, are available monthly on Ascentra’s YouTube channel.
The credit union is currently in the process of adding Spanish subtitles to the videos using funds it received from the 2017 Warren Morrow Hispanic Growth Fund Grant for Hispanic Outreach.
“This will give us some content in Spanish that we can share on social media to interact in a new way with current members, future members and any Spanish-speaking individuals worldwide,” said Alvaro Macias, Ascentra’s AVP of community development. “These videos will be shared with our community partners, such as Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities, Esperanza Legal Assistance Center and the Floreciente Neighborhood Association – a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Moline, Illinois, for them to share through their networks.”
Ascentra also has a highly successful Facebook page, with nearly 2,500 followers and frequently updated content focused on Ascentra’s community involvement, as well as product and service updates.
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Posted by AnnaPeña on July 31, 2012
Nowadays, the rise of social media seems unstoppable. The advantages that social media has created now extend far beyond its initial purpose of providing individuals with social networking opportunities. Companies are also finding their involvement with social media to be beneficial. A current trend in the social media world involves the inclusion of “social media icons”. These icons are small images that represent websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and are being used to express a person’s or company’s affiliation with different social media websites.
Recently, a new icon has been introduced to the icon family and it is used to represent a company’s link to their website in Spanish. The “ñ”, known as the enye symbol which is part of the Spanish alphabet, is now being presented as a modern replacement to the commonly used “En Español” hyperlink found in most websites.
The innovative icon was developed by Cultural Strategies to “provide access to [their] client’s online Spanish content”. Cultural Strategies CEO Juan Torne, said that the “ñ” icon is meant to replace the “En Español” link, which can be plain and boring or the Flag of a Spanish speaking country (like Spain or Mexico) which is bound to leave out other nationalities and heritages.
Companies can use the “ñ” icon in several different resources to transmit the idea that they have a Spanish component to their business. The social media icons can be effectively placed in an orderly fashion to provide an organized listing of links without taking too much space or providing a lengthy direct link of the website. Some places to use the social media icons, such as the “ñ” are the top of websites, business cards, in your e-mail signature and even brochures.
To add this icon, simply hyperlink the link of your company’s Spanish website into the image icon and add it wherever you want people to access such information. The addition of the “ñ” icon can therefore become a new innovative way to transmit your efforts to connect with the Spanish speaking community.
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