Why Marketers Should Care About Reaching Latina Bloggers

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Speaking about Latina Bloggers is Elianne Ramos is the principal and CEO of Speak Hispanic Communications and vice-chair of Communications and PR for LATISM.

Elianne Ramos is the principal and CEO of Speak Hispanic Communications and vice-chair of Communications and PR for LATISM.

The first gift of the season goes to my dear friend, Elianne Ramos.:)  Elianne is an incredibly talented, knowledgeable, and hard working human being, she is the Principal & CEO of Speak Hispanic communications and vice-chair of Communications and PR for Latinos in Social Media (LATISM.) She is constantly on the go, generating great ideas and positively impacting the U.S. community. As if this wasn’t enough, she was the vice president, creative director and founder of i3 Creative Group, managing production teams working concurrently in the United States, Mexico, Uruguay and Argentina. In over 15 years of  creative direction, copy writing, public speaking, public relations and TV commercial production experience, Elianne has developed broadcast, multimedia and social media campaigns for high-profile clients. Her writing has appeared in numerous books and publications including the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and now, for the first time-ever, on the Hispanic Marketing blog.

Please, enjoy Elianne’s article. Elianne, this one is with all of the Target Latino love.

Why Marketers Should Care About Reaching Latina Bloggers

Even with the well-documented explosion of the Hispanic market, Internet sources like Technorati, which by 2008 was indexing 112.8 million blogs, have never touched upon the topic of Latinas and blogging. With the release of the Latinos in Social Media’s Latina Blogger Survey, though, it is now official: Latina bloggers are increasing their numbers and spreading throughout the blogosphere.

The intrinsic characteristics of blogging, where the private becomes public and communities rally together around common interests, make it the perfect platform for Latinas to voice life from their viewpoint … in in two languages, no less!

Beyond the obviously good news that these bloggers now provide us with a new outlet for furthering our brands’ messages—what with ever-shrinking minority-outreach budgets—the implications of this Latina blogger explosion for PR and marketing professionals are many:

The Good

• In Latino culture, where word-of-mouth and group interaction are second-nature, the trustworthiness of a blog post wrapped in a culturally relevant package can certainly influence the value of a brand in the eyes of their thousands of followers.

• These bloggers provide us with micro-niche audiences and more targeted outlets for furthering our brands’ messages. Stories published and promoted online have the potential to reach a greater number of people in very little time. In this context, a Latina blogger outreach program puts us in an ideal position to secure widespread coverage for our clients.

• Most Latinas blog in English, followed closely by Spanish and peppered with Spanglish, which means that their potential reach is amplified. Their choice of language in this case may be more about connecting with their readership, not necessarily a reflection of the language they speak more fluently. The key is listening and doing your homework in order to find the perfect fit.

• Latina bloggers are actively engaged in social media, and they tend to belong to tight, supportive communities online. Besides the fact that your message will reach well beyond the scope of the blog, this also means that other influencers in their communities will help disseminate it.

• Their culture infuses their writing but does not rule it.  Contrary to expectations, Latinas blog about numerous subjects, which opens up possibilities for different types of brand engagement.

• These Latinas are at the epicenter of merging worlds: between traditional and modern roles, between English and Spanish, between American and Latino cultures. They will bring a fresh perspective to your message, one that most closely reflects the Latina experience in the US.

The Bad

• Brand credibility: With consumers now doing research online and even generating their own content, consumers are less likely to believe a product review that blatantly comes from a sponsorship.

• Relative lack of control over the message: Know that consumers will be getting and act on impressions about your brand from less than perfect sources. Bloggers are not necessarily a self-regulating bunch, at least not yet. The fact that they can and will write whatever they want in their blog might create public relations issues. Just be sure to monitor their blogs, so you can address any issues or comments and give your official brand perspective, if need be.

• Saturation: With the fast growth rate of this segment, the Latina blogger market is likely to become saturated fast, which means their individual reach will, at some point and with few exceptions, start to diminish. This being a relatively young blogging community also means that the time to reach out to them is now.

The Ugly

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on so-called “Blogola” by regulating blogger/advertiser relationships. The rules were updated December 2009.

The new rules include the fact that now bloggers must disclose material connections with a brand: whether they are receiving payment or free products and the kind of relationship they have with the company. What’s more, now both the brand and the blogger are subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made. This means that the potential of a company being held responsible for approving unfounded claims—not rare in this realm—is a very real one. While the FTC regulations are beginning to be applied, the blogger outreach game is still an evolving one. The main things to keep in mind seem to be transparency, clear objectives and open ears: a willingness to listen and adjust, if need be.

Though a blogging campaign may be a godsend of great, relatively inexpensive publicity, remember that it is also —or should be—part of a larger communications/PR plan. Make sure all other elements of the campaign support your Latina blogging outreach and vice versa. If you do it right, Latina blogueras will rally behind your efforts with the same pasión they pour into their Web writing every day.

What has been your experience in reaching out to Latina bloggers? Please share in the comments below.

inspirational quote

inspirational quote

Females More Likely Than Males to Buy Online in Latin America

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Consumers in Brazil and Argentina Most Likely to Make Purchases Online, Females More Likely Than Males to Buy Online in Latin America

comScore, Inc. released results from a study of the e-commerce landscape in Latin America. The study, which surveyed nearly 800 respondents, looked at e-commerce activity across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru as well as online banking behaviors, mobile activity and Twitter usage. The study found that although the majority of visitors to e-commerce sites in Latin America make purchases online, retailers still face obstacles in converting many consumers to online shoppers due to concerns over transaction security, availability of payment options and the selection of goods available online. The results of the study were also presented to the Latin America E-Commerce Association event held in Bogota on December 1.

Consumers in Brazil and Argentina Most Likely to Make Purchases Online, Females More Likely Than Males to Buy Online in Latin America

Consumers in Brazil and Argentina Most Likely to Make Purchases Online, Females More Likely Than Males to Buy Online in Latin America

“Relative to other global regions, the e-commerce industry in Latin America is still in its infancy, but consumers are showing encouraging signs of adopting the channel,” said Alejandro Fosk, senior vice president of Latin America for comScore. “With 3 out of 5 Internet users in Latin America visiting retail sites each month, it is clear that consumers are interested in online shopping. In order to convert these browsers to buyers, retailers need to address consumers’ concerns about purchasing online in order to help the e-commerce industry develop to its full potential in this region.”

E-Commerce Site Visitors in Brazil Most Likely to Make Purchase

Among those who visited e-commerce sites in Latin America, 79 percent of males reported making an online purchase, while 88 percent of females reported doing so. Across the markets included in the survey, Brazil showed the highest percentage conversion of online e-commerce site visitors to purchasers with 94 percent of visitors in Brazil making an online purchase. Argentina followed at 89 percent, with 84 percent of e-commerce site visitors in Colombia doing so.

Question: Do you make purchase online, in addition to your offline purchases? (Of those that visit e-commerce websites)October and November 2010Source: comScore, Inc.

Percent E-commerce SiteVisitors that MadePurchases Online
Latin America by Gender
Males – Latin America79%
Females – Latin America88%
Country
Brazil94%
Argentina89%
Colombia84%
Mexico82%
Chile71%
Peru63%

Security Reasons the Main Concern for Prospective Online Shoppers

Of those that did not purchase online, security ranked as the main concern among prospective shoppers. Specifically, 68 percent of females listed security concerns as a reason why they do not make purchases online, with 48 percent of males reporting this as a reason. Preferring to shop in person rather than online was also a main deterrent to online shopping, with 38 percent of males and 32 percent of females reporting this as a reason. Consumers also reported that type of payment options offered hindered their adoption of online purchasing (35 percent of males, 32 percent of females) as well as shipping costs (30 percent of males, 42 percent of females).

Question: Why do you not make purchases online? (Of those respondents that did not make purchases online) October and November 2010 Source: comScore, Inc.  (Percent of Latin AmericanConsumers )

Reason for Not Purchasing OnlineMalesFemales
Security reasons48%68%
Prefer shopping in person rather than online38%32%
The type of payment options offered35%32%
Shipping costs30%42%
Not as good of a selection online as offline13%5%

3 out of 4 Online Shoppers in Argentina Prefer to Make Purchases at Local Websites

An analysis of consumer preferences regarding purchasing at international versus local e-commerce websites revealed that consumers in Argentina have the strongest preference to shop at local websites with 3 out of 4 consumers preferring this option. More than half of consumers in Brazil and Colombia also preferred shopping at local websites, while slightly more than half of consumers in Mexico, Chile and Peru preferred international websites for online shopping.

Question: If given one option, would you prefer to shop on International or Local Websites? (Of those respondents that make purchases online) October and November 2010 Source: comScore, Inc. (% of Consumers)

Local WebsitesInternational Websites
Brazil58%42%
Mexico49%52%
Argentina76%24%
Chile49%51%
Colombia55%45%
Peru48%52%

Mr. Fosk added, “Across most markets, consumers show little preference for shopping at international versus local e-commerce Websites, revealing that this differentiation is of minor consideration in consumers’ online buying decisions. Both local and international retailers have the opportunity to penetrate the Latin America region.”

i have a feeling that my guardian angel

i have a feeling that my guardian angel

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

Translate Word of Mouth With Social Media Monitoring Tools

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A comprehensive measurement plan should consist of three parts—gauging the audiences’ reactions to a brand before, during and after a campaign | Social Media Monitoring Tools

A comprehensive measurement plan should consist of three parts—gauging the audiences’ reactions to a brand before, during and after a campaign | Social Media Monitoring Tools

The abundance of content that is easy to access and consume makes launching and sustaining noteworthy online projects challenging. As social media matures, the need to measure online word of mouth and demonstrate success becomes indisputable.

A comprehensive measurement plan should consist of three parts—gauging the audiences’ reactions to a brand before, during and after a campaign. The first step in measuring online word of mouth is to listen and monitor audience chatter across blogs, forums and social networks. This effort helps uncover existing issues, attitudes and behaviors. It marks the starting point for a campaign. The second step requires tracking the campaign’s progress and studying the interaction between message senders and receivers. During this phase, marketers can take note of attitudinal and behavioral changes among their target audience. The third step involves comparing final campaign results with benchmark scores to demonstrate the momentum and change the campaign generated.

When setting benchmarks and tracking online word of mouth throughout the course of a program, marketers can use the following measures to show how their initiatives generated buzz, changed brand perceptions and led consumers to take action.

Volume of discussion: Using blog search engines such as Technorati, Google Blog or research firms’ proprietary software tools, count the number of posts that mention key words or messages related to your program. The numbers of unique Web site, blog and forum posts that reference the brand, product, service or issue indicate online word-of-mouth reach.

Influencer mentions: When writers quote and reference a source, they deem that information outlet reliable and useful. Similarly, every link that points to a social media address boosts that source’s authority. When a blogger refers to your program, enter the blog’s address into the Technorati search engine and note the authority score the search engine calculates for that blog. Some monitoring tools also measure the number of inbound links to blogs from brand sites, news sites, forums and other blogs. The higher the score, the more influential and authoritative the source will be.

Stickiness: To show the full impact of word-of-mouth programs, we must account for those who received and shared a message. Impressions and unique visitors are metrics that speak to the broad universe of people who may have been exposed to a message. However, not everyone passes along every bit of information they receive. Stickiness is based on the percentage of people who pass along a message among those who are exposed to the message.

The Echo Factor and Tone: When reviewing the overall volume of mentions, analysts often distinguish between positive and negative tone. Marketers can take this assessment a step further and measure how their messages echo through consumer conversations. They can calculate the total number of positive and negative messages generated through at least one cycle of word of mouth. Tonality Index, which is based on he ratio of positive to negative mentions, indicates the dominant tone of word of mouth and gives brands a pulse check.

Engagement: There are popular ways of quantifying engagement such as measuring the amount of time spent on a Web site and counting the number of comments online posts garner. Yet, online media engagement can be a qualitative measure that gives directional information about consumers’ online experience. To understand the nature of users’ interaction with the blog content, marketers can study comments’ tone and length. They may find a detailed, positive review more meaningful than a neutral or negative monosyllabic comment. Furthermore, they can classify the topics commentators discuss and analyze the quality of information these social media agents share.

Advocacy: Differentiate between online conversations that are descriptive and those that contain recommendations or warnings. To identify those networking agents who are advocating for a brand, product or a company, look for those who are making solid recommendations, telling others what to do, and potentially influencing others’ opinions and decisions. For instance, “online promoter score,” distinguishing between mavens who are generating much of the volume on an issue and advocates who make recommendations

User Action: Online word-of-mouth campaigns yield recommendations, votes and purchases. When organizations engage word-of-mouth agents and infuse networks with their messages, they hope to see an increase in sales and public support. To connect such outcomes with their marketing initiatives, communication professionals need to document their audiences’ online behaviors and show that online buzz can lead to posts, clicks and downloads, or offline actions such as votes, coupon redemptions and in-store purchases. Marketers can review sales trends during and after the campaign and note any increases that correspond with online buzz volume. Political strategists can explore how visits to online information hubs affect votes, signatures and donations.

the less you respond to negative people the more peaceful a life

the less you respond to negative people the more peaceful a life

Source: PR NEWS

August 2010 U.S. Search Engine Rankings

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It is really perplexing that with the evident number of online searches, added to the fact that people themselves perform these searches in order to find what they need, are curious about or want to investigate, compare or purchase, that due importance is not placed on Search Engine Optimization. Remember it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.

Target Latino

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Google Sites led the explicit core search market in August with 65.4 percent of searches conducted.

 

U.S. Explicit Core Search

Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in August with 65.4 percent market share, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 17.4 percent (up 0.3 percentage points) and Microsoft sites with 11.1 percent (up 0.1 percentage points). Ask Network captured 3.8 percent of explicit core searches, followed by AOL LLC with 2.3 percent.

________________________________________________________________

comScore Explicit Core Search Share Report*

August 2010 vs. July 2010 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore qSearch              ________________________                          .

Core Search Entity            Explicit Core Search        Share (%) Jul-10    Aug-10        Point Change

Total Explicit Core Search         100.0%    100.0%               N/A

Google Sites                                      65.8%     65.4%                 -0.4

Yahoo! Sites                                     17.1%     17.4%                    0.3

Microsoft Sites                                 11.0%     11.1%                    0.1

Ask Network                                      3.8%      3.8%                    0.0

AOL LLC Network                           2.3%      2.3%                     0.0

________________________________________________________________

*“Explicit Core Search” excludes contextually driven searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.

Nearly 15.7 billion explicit core searches were conducted in August. Google Sites ranked first with 10.3 billion searches, followed by Yahoo! Sites in second with 2.7 billion (up 3 percent) and Microsoft Sites in third with 1.7 billion (up 2 percent). Ask Network accounted for 598 million explicit core searches (up 2 percent) followed by AOL LLC Network with 366 million.

_________________________________________________________________

comScore Explicit Core Search Query Report

August 2010 vs. July 2010 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore qSearch                            __________________________             .

Core Search Entity            Explicit Core Search                Queries (MM)

Jul-10    Aug-10                Percent Change

Total Explicit Core Search             15,589    15,695                              1%

Google Sites                                        10,263    10,259                             0%

Yahoo! Sites                                           2,661     2,728                              3%

Microsoft Sites                                       1,712     1,744                              2%

Ask Network                                              588       598                              2%

AOL LLC Network                                   365       366                              0%

_________________________________________________________________

U.S. Total Core Search

Google Sites accounted for 60.5 percent of total core search queries conducted, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 21.0 percent and Microsoft Sites with 12.8 percent. Ask Network captured 3.5 percent of total search queries, followed by AOL LLC with 2.2 percent.

_______________________________________________________

comScore Total Core Search Share Report*

August 2010 vs. July 2010 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore qSearch                    ________________________           .

Core Search Entity    Total Core Search                   Share (%)

Jul-10    Aug-10                 Point Change

Total Core Search              100.0%    100.0%                          N/A

Google Sites                              61.6%     60.5%                          -1.1

Yahoo! Sites                             20.1%     21.0%                             0.9

Microsoft Sites                         12.6%     12.8%                             0.2

Ask Network                                3.5%      3.5%                             0.0

AOL LLC Network                    2.2%      2.2%                              0.0

_______________________________________________________

* “Total Core Search” is based on the five major search engines, including partner searches, cross-channel searches and contextual searches. Searches for mapping, local directory, and
user-generated video sites that are not on the core domain of the five search engines are not included in these numbers.

Americans conducted more than 16.9 billion total core search queries in August with Google Sites leading with 10.3 billion searches, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 3.6 billion and Microsoft Sites with 2.2 billion.

_________________________________________________________

comScore Total Core Search Query Report

August 2010 vs. July 2010 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore qSearch                           _______________________      .

Core Search Entity    Total Core Search             Queries (MM)

Jul-10    Aug-10               Percent Change

Total Core Search                  16,673    16,950                          2%

Google Sites                             10,263    10,259                          0%

Yahoo! Sites                                 3,351     3,562                         6%

Microsoft Sites                            2,106     2,166                         3%

Ask Network                                   588       598                         2%

AOL LLC Network                         365       366                         0%

_________________________________________________________

A Note about September 2010 Search Reporting

comScore’s ability to report qSearch data for September 2010 will not be impacted by recent changes in the search landscape, including the introduction of Google Instant Search and Microsoft’s powering of specific channels of search activity within Yahoo! Google’s introduction of Instant Search does not disrupt comScore’s ability to measure search activity consistently, but does introduce a new dynamic that will be addressed in our data collection methodology.

Source comScore

the rat race Lily Tomlin #quotes

the rat race Lily Tomlin #quotes

Offline WOM More Prevalent, Positive and Credible than Online Buzz

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Word-of-mouth (WOM) conversations that take place in person and over the phone are overwhelmingly more prevalent than those online, according to research.

Also, face-to-face communication is more positive in tone, more likely to be judged highly credible and more likely to lead to strong purchase intent than online talk, the study found

Below, some of the findings issued

On average, 3.5 billion WOM conversations occur daily in the US. Offline WOM accounts for 92% of these (75% face to face; 17% by phone), and email, IM/text messaging and chatrooms/blogs account for a combined 7%:

Most Word-Of-Mouth is Offline

Most Word-Of-Mouth is Offline

Also:

  • Offline is the predominant mode of WOM across all age groups, ranging from 80% among the youngest group to 97% among the oldest
  • However, teens participate in a higher percentage of online WOM (17%) than members of other age groups.
  • Consumers under age 18 are also more likely than others to drive advice-giving in online talk. Though only 13% of offline advice-givers are age 13-17, 35% of advice givers in online conversations fall within that age bracket.
  • WOM expressed face to face and by phone also is viewed as highly “credible” more often than online talk (59% vs. 49%):
Offline WOM has more credibility

Offline WOM has more credibility

One possible explanation for the credibility gap is that online communications often occur between people who don’t know each other very well. But the study suggests that the credibility gap exists even in communications between people who are related or otherwise know each other.

Specifically, content from a spouse, relative or best friend is rated more believable when it is shared offline, either by phone or face to face, than online – via email, text messaging or blogs.

“Apparently, the value of eye contact, voice and perhaps even nonverbal communication provides a boost to credibility and to the likelihood that we’ll do something about what we’ve learned,” said Brad Fay, a coauthor of the study.

Other findings:

  • Offline communication has more purely positive content than online discussion (65% vs. 59%) and is less likely to contain negative or “mixed” content (23% vs. 30%).
  • A comparison between face-to-face communication and content on online blogs and chatrooms reveals an ever wider gap, with 66% of face-to-face communication “mostly positive” compared with 57% for blogs/chatrooms.
  • Offline WOM is more likely than its online counterpart to lead to strong purchase intent (50% vs. 43%).

About the study: Results of the Keller Fay/OMD study are based primarily on surveys of 18,486 Americans age 13-69, from late July 2007 through early February 2008.

True Indeed

True Indeed