Dime Con Quién Andas y Te Diré Quién Eres

By Stacie M. de Armas

Undoubtedly, if you are Latinx, you have heard this saying hundreds of times. For our non-Spanish speaking brothers and sisters, this saying essentially means, "you are the company you keep" and like your parents did, Latinx parents firmly repeated this admonition from birth until, well... they still deliver it! And while this saying is referring to who you surround yourself with, the truth is, humans are creatures of comfort and habit, and data shows, among demographic groups, people often behave similarly. Simply put, there are traditional behaviors and habits that are deeply rooted in a person, because of their cultural exposure. No, I am not talking about liking Cuban food because I am Cuban, I am talking about nuanced behaviors such as a predisposition to social interaction because, well, it is a natural extension of the cultural connectivity we see in Hispanic cultures.

So, if Latinx are more social, is it because it is culturally familiar to do so, and does that mean that Latinx consumers engage with social media and brands differently? Does it mean their expectations of those engagements are different? How is digital and tech a bridge for that? The truth is, Latinx are being rapidly transformed by and transforming the digital universe, perhaps more so than any other group in America. From communication to culture, shopping to information seeking and gathering, how the Latinx community is engaging with digital devices and consuming cultural content is shaping both their experience with technology and their expectations from brands that use it to connect with them.

Digital technologies are driving changes in Latinx consumer behavior and attitudes, yet at the same time, these technologies provide frictionless access to content that is both identity affirming and authentic. Nielsen’s latest Diverse Intelligence Series consumer report, Descubrimiento Digital: The Online Lives of Latinx Consumers, reveals just how broadly Hispanics have embraced the digital universe, in many instances at much higher rates than the mainstream population, and how Latinx consumers use the internet not only to carry out their day-to-day lives, but perhaps more importantly, as an extension of their cultural inclination to embrace community, and to connect to one another.

There’s a flip side to this phenomenon, too. Hispanics’ expectations for the way the world is reaching out to them are also changing. They seek personal and engaging experiences with brands, content creators and artists that recognize their cultural roots, but allow for them to grow. They are seeing a personal 360° experience that is culturally authentic, relevant and meaningful to their lives.  They seek the "social" in experiences in a way that we don't see in other groups. Perhaps that is because it is culturally familiar.

Social media is a natural extension of the cultural connectivity we see in Hispanic cultures. More than half of Latinx consumers spend at least an hour a day on social networking as compared to 38% of non-Hispanic Whites.

This predisposition to social interaction and sharing makes Hispanics natural influencers who actively seek reviews and share brand experiences 5x more than their non-hispanic white counterparts Latinx consumers are more likely to post online reviews, and personally recommend and seek recommendations about products and services.

Digital connectivity is ubiquitous in the lives of today’s Latinx consumer and as a younger and more connected group, Latinos are pacesetting digital usage for the mainstream. This presents an opportunity for brands and content producers to generate authentic dialog allowing Hispanics to see themselves, and their culture authentically represented and valued.