Bilingual brand communities? Strategies for targeting Hispanics on social media
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 27 July 2021
Issue publication date: 4 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore different strategies used by brands to target the Hispanic market via social media from the lens of the Spanish language in a multicultural country like the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a netnographic approach by drawing information from a study of the Facebook pages of 11 brands belonging to different industries.
Findings
Companies engage in four levels of cultural identity adaptation using different strategies based on ethnicity: language adaptation, identity elements, identity matching and Latino persona. The study also shows that merely translating Facebook pages do not generate high levels of communitarian interaction.
Practical implications
This study examines different strategies used by brands in the USA to target the Hispanic audience on social media to provide insights for brand managers to develop online engagement.
Originality/value
With the increase in cultural diversity in different countries and the rise of social media platforms, brand researchers need to better understand how cultural identity permeates marketing strategies in online spaces. Social media platforms such as Facebook offer flexible environments where strategies beyond product- and brand-related aspects can be used. This study extends the literature by showing the heterogeneity of cultural identity-based strategies used by companies to ensure customer engagement and brand loyalty and the impact of such strategies on users.
Keywords
Citation
Villegas, D.A. and Marin, A.M. (2022), "Bilingual brand communities? Strategies for targeting Hispanics on social media", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 586-605. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-10-2019-2625
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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