As the final presentation of last week's much anticipated Hispanic PR & Social Media Marketing Conference came to a close, the chatter online showed no signs of slowing down, with attendees and followers buzzing about the latest insights and trends emerging from the growing Hispanic segment.  

The first conference devoted exclusively to the Hispanic public relations and social media marketing industry, the three day event in Dallas, TX attracted leading brands as well as marketing and PR professionals from corporate communications, government, non profits, PR and social media agencies. Hosted by the Hispanic PR Blog -- led by founder, Manny Ruiz -- and the Hispanic Public Relations Association, the conference exceeded everyone's expectations with more than 300 attendees and 20 informational sessions.

Using the #HPRConf hashtag and following the newly designed @HispanicPR Twitter page, conference enthusiasts were able to stay up-to-date on event details and speakers.


Zócalo Group was also on-site as a presenter and the Official Twitter and Word of Mouth Sponsor, helping to co-host the event's Tuesday Tweetup with the Sánchez Ricardo Agency, a Washington DC-based multicultural communications firm. Thanks to the hard work and incredible energy by Midy Aponte, President/Founder of the firm, and her team, the event turned out to be a huge success and a great networking opportunity for attendees.

Throughout the week, the vibrancy and excitement from the conference floor was evident, spilling over into the hundreds of messages and introductions shared via Twitter and other social media channels. Discussions focused around the role Hispanic marketing and social media will play in coming years -- a conversation that will undoubtedly grow as brands and marketers work to better engage consumers.

Key Trends:

In case you missed any of the conference, check out some of the important trends and questions emerging from the dialogue.

• Hispanic PR & Social Media Conference becomes an important catalyst for industry trends and change
  
  
• 50% of moms in the US are of color and 40% of US kids are multicultural
  
  
• Digital understanding is essential for winning with Latinos
  
  
• Measurement & ROI is big - Hispanics are 73% more likely to purchase a brand associated with a cause
  
  
• PR measurement can be divided into four stages: output quantity, output quality, impact, and economic value
  
  
• How is social media going to transform Hispanic marketing?
  
  
• Latinos are quickly becoming the most active social media users, but the key is translating that into influence
  
  
• Ignore the dividing line between social media and PR as they're often seated at the same table
  
  
• US Hispanic buying power will exceed $1.3 trillion by 2013
  
  
• Want better ROI? Get away from pay media and invest in sustainable social media programs
  
  
• Is social media a PR or advertising function?
  
  
• What tools do you use to track social media campaigns?
  
  
• Latino media is all about connecting to culture, language is not enough
  
  

The conference demonstrated the importance of paying attention to the needs and issues surrounding the Hispanic segment, with marketers already rethinking their strategies to effectively target and engage this audience.

Curious about what else people had to say about the conference? Check out the key presenters, tweeters and hashtags generating some of the greatest buzz during the event.


Most Talked About & Recommended Presenters:

• Rudy Rodriguez, Director of Multicultural Marketing for General Mills, discussing their "Que Rica Vida" campaign

• Lee Vann from Captura Group and his discussion on why Latinos are more social than other demographics

• Stephen Chavez, Hispanic Marketing Consultant, and his educational session on learning CSR strategies targeting Latinos

• Mike Fernandez, VP of State Farm, touching on the importance of the Hispanic community in the changing face of America

• Glenn Llopis, Center for Hispanic Leadership, discusses how diversity propels innovation

Most Active Tweeters:

• @MidyAponte
• @MauraHernandez
• @Berly624
• @hispanicpr 
• @leevan
• @jrvilla
• @hispanicfund
• @HPR_TweetUp
• @Ivan_Leon
• @statefarm
• @jansell
  

Other Top Hashtags:

• #latism
• #diversity
• #Dallas
• #latino2
  

Links:

For more information, photos and to hear what others are saying, check out these great resources.

• Hispanic Bound
• MyLatinoVoice
  
• PRSAY
• PRWeek
  
• HispanicTalentMemo
• HispanicBusiness
• MartinCan
• LatinVisionConference

What's next? Keep an eye out for the upcoming Hispanic Social Media Guide from Hispanic PR Blog, due out later this month!





(Photo Source: Jonah Ansell, MyLatinoVoice.com, Pegasusnews.com)




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With all the speculation about the potential success of the Ipad, we're seeing a lot of word mouth about this new product, from points of view emanating from all ends of the spectrum.  Not since Nostradamus put feather and quill to parchment have we had such provocative prognostication and conversation about the future; to wit, whether Jobs' new device will have the impact of Sir Isaac Newton (like, big) or Apple's Newton (tiny tiny).

And while much of the talk is about how the "marketplace" will respond to such a new product, it's easy to get over our heads quickly.  Let's not forget the "marketplace" is just a bunch of people, like you and me, who buy and use things we like and don't the things we dislike.  Following that logic, let's do our own speculation on the future success of Apple's new screen, the Ipad.

As I see it, we, human beings, not the "marketplace," today use screens in our lives to do three things: 1) Create 2) Communicate and 3) Consume.  Pick up a Best Buy circular or wander into the electronics section of any big box and you'll see no shortage of screens on sale, of all shapes, sizes and forms.

Screens for Creation:  Computers do a really good job of this, whether desktop, laptop, or netbook; computers are screens that help us make things.  Typically with keyboards, they're singularly awesome at helping us we build, write, assemble, and edit content.  They're pretty good at communicating (email, social networking, and chat) and ok at consuming (surfing the web or watching a DVD). 

Screens for Communication:  Mobile devices are really good at this, and today's smartphones are powerful in helping us reach out and stay in touch through voice, SMS and MMS, and social networks.  However, these devices typically aren't the best at creating content (ever tried to write a long email on an iPhone) or consumption (ever tried to read a book on your Blackberry?)

Screens for Consumption:  This is where it gets interesting because, to date, screens built primarily for consumption were either really big, such as your monster HDTV at home, or really small, like your Ipod nano.   Big consumption screens were made for groups of people to experience the content together, primarily video, and small screens were primarily for individuals to consume music first, with video as an afterthought.  And here is where Mr. Jobs has laid his bet...we will want to consume all types of content, including content that has sight, sound and motion, personally. 

We consistently hear of Ipad users marveling about the device's immersive, incredible capability to experience content, whether it's movies, books, photos or the web.  This is where the Ipad seems to shine brightest; it's a phenomenal personal consumption device first and foremost, that allows you to communicate (email, social networking, but not phone); however, it's not a very good creation device (no camera, virtual keyboard, limited storage, etc.) because that's not its focus.  We've never seen a device that emphasizes personal consumption in a way the Ipad does, which is why it's revolutionary and, I speculate, while it will be a runaway success.



How might we measure this success, you may ask?  Enter the (not yet industry standard) Kissel Formula for Word of Mouth Capability (The KFWOMC).  This highly scientific (ha!) formula stipulates that a product's ultimate success (PS) is dependent on how highly and smartly marketed a product is (M), multiplied by whether the product Sucks (-) or is Cool (+), which directly correlates to its Word of Mouth and whether people will talk about and make the product successful.  I would imagine the equation would look something like this:


In practice, and without a tremendous amount of intensive regression, the formula could help us explain disasters like the movie Waterworld and New Coke (both highly marketed but sucked), and runaway successes like sliced bread (high "cool" factor for the time) and the mobile phone.  Ok, so looking back is always easy, but what about the formula's predictive capability?
 
Looking forward, and using the above formula, the Ipad will do well...highly marketed, great story, very cool, leading to positive word of mouth, leading to product success (hey, over 500,000 sold already!)  The formula, however, does not bode well for Baltic evening wear becoming the next fashion trend, nor for any future entertainment vehicles that include Janeane Garofalo.  In regards to Apple's newest innovation, only time will tell on how successfully this new device can impact the future of how we create, communicate and consume content.




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I was recently asked by a friend what I did. After giving her an elevator speech-style description of our company's work with social media and strategy behind making brands the most talked about and recommended in their category, I was shocked by her response. She looked at me and very simply stated,

"That's great, I'm glad you like it. Now someday, you're going to have to explain what you mean when you say social media."

At that moment, amid the noise surrounding me as I walked down the street of one of the country's largest cities, I realized that I lived in a bubble. My work brings me front and center with a world guided by platforms like Facebook and Twitter, or technologies like augmented reality and geo-tagging. Brands are eager to be the most innovative and always, the most successful among their competitors. And so, as an agency, we must deliver. Although a strategic marketing plan guides our efforts, very often, the tactics used to execute involve some variant of social media--used as a way to reach consumers and inspire recommendations of and for the brand, sustainably, over time.

To me, using these tactics seems obvious in today's age of social networking and online sharing. All I could think was, how can any well-informed person not know what social media is, or what you can do with it?

The bubble had engulfed me and I was no longer looking at our consumerist society from the eyes of those we hope to target. Being able to experience a product in 3D via black squiggles of a jagtag may be cool, but do people really care? What's the point of having location-based services for finding the closest subway stop or restaurant if reliable and consistent cell-phone service has yet to exist? Is broadcasting on Foursquare exactly when and where someone is always a good idea?

As marketers we are responsible for creating effective programs that attract the attention of consumers. We must also remember that we have a biased view of the online landscape. Not everyone knows what we're talking about.

Despite the flurry of business, make sure to take a step back. At some point in your life, you weren't as plugged in as you are now. Even if you can't do without your Blackberry used during work, your iPhone used after work, the 10 online channels where you share with the world hourly status updates, or the multi-platform-HD-1000-channel entertainment system that can even sleep and eat for you, there are people who can. Those are the people we need to remember. Just like my friend -- well informed, smart, interesting -- they are just as eager to talk about and share their experiences with a brand.

So, I'm curious, what are other creative ways marketers are engaging consumers that perhaps use social media, but go beyond technology to successfully engage?




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