Category Archives: Innovation in PR

The press has always been a very influential channel of trust and the main focus of many PR campaigns – How to get The New York Times, CNN, Univision, El Nuevo Herald to publish something positive and influential about my product, service, campaign? How to generate that press coverage? How to engage the press and end consumers to spread the news?

Today, the question remains the same except that social media has brought in a new form of engagement that pulls brands into a new era of storytelling; social media has revolutionized who the channels of trust are and how they spread the news. And those channels of trust are not necessarily The New York Times and CNN en Español, and their form of spreading the news is not necessarily the front page of the paper or the top of the news hour.

So, for the Hispanic market, who are the new channels of trust your consumers are listening to? Who is influencing their opinion and as a result their purchase decision?

Meet the NEW Hispanic Press:

• Legacy Media: Univision, Telemundo, El Nuevo Herald, La Opinion are part of the Hispanic market’s legacy media, media that has built a loyal following and a high level of trust over the years – much like CNN and The New York Times in the general market. Their news departments are in charge of informing, educating and empowering the Hispanic consumer on a local and national level and, with the dawn of all new media, are still very visible and highly trusted.
• Organizations: Through the powers of social media, organizations such as the National Council of La Raza, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund support and spread the word about a wide variety of efforts and collaborations that benefit and empower the Hispanic market. What newsfeeds – Facebook, Twitter, online publications – do they have that could benefit your brand’s efforts?
• Hispanic Bloggers: Leading media outlets have created blogs and so have citizen journalists. One of the most powerful and influential forces is the Latina Blogger community, who is influencing, advising and empowering women – Latina and non Latina – nationwide. According to the research company Sophia Mind, Hispanic women in the U.S. are one of the fastest-growing online demographics, and more than 85 percent of Latinas visit social networks on a regular basis. If your brand targets women, for example, have you made sure latina bloggers are a part of your ‘Media List’?
• English Language Latino – Bi-lingual Latinos are a force to be reckoned and one of the main reasons we’ve seen an explosion in English language media targeting Latinos including the well-known mun2 and more recently, Fox News Latino, nuvoTV and The Huffington Post’s Latino Voices. With excellent journalistic and production quality they have quickly become a trusted source for the bi-lingual, bi-cultural Hispanic consumer.
• Celebrities – Long known in Marketing Communications as an excellent way to gain trust and awareness about your brand, these celebrities today have Facebook, Twitter. Can your brand be a part of their 114 character tweet?
• Brands – Brands now also own their own media and are publishers themselves. General Mill’s Que Rica Vida is a wonderful source for recipes and other content targeting Hispanic women, Coca Cola’s recently launched Adelante is a gathering space for Latina entrepreneurs. Are there any ways your brands can partner with them to gain their endorsement and subsequently be featured on their social media newsfeeds?  Or do you need to support your PR efforts by also becoming a publisher?

There is a great anecdote from Nick Bilton’s “I live in the Future and here’s how it works”. Nick was sitting in his home when one of the guests asked if she could use his laptop to “check the news”. He handed it over. One of the most renowned journalists at The New York Times, Nick was curious about which news sites she was going to, so he asked her, expecting to hear something like CNN or The New York Times or maybe TMZ. With a sincere face she looked up at him and said “Facebook”. Then she turned to the computer and continued reading. Nick then said “I thought you were going to read the news”. “This is my news”, she replied.

News, channels of trust. They aren’t necessarily defined only by newspapers, or TV stations. Today, they are defined by which legacy media, blogger, new media, celebrity, brand or influencer your consumer trusts.

Is your brand reaching out to the NEW Hispanic Press?

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Natalie Boden is the founder and Managing Director of BodenPR. She is a member of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and the U.S Department of State’s Pathways to Prosperity. She is an active participant in Vital Voices, bringing visibility, training and mentoring to Latin female business owners.

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See some of BodenPR’s work in the Latina space for clients such as FedEx, Delta Dental and Oliver Pyatt Centers.

See BodenPR’s study on Latinas and Social Media.