Using a Multiplatform Approach to Communicate with the Hispanic Community

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: According to the 2011 report of the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics comprised 15.7% of the U.S. population, or 48,348,144 individuals. Results of a 2009 Ipsos’ US Hispanic Omnibus study show that 63% of Hispanics who live in the US say that they access the internet at least once a month for information. Pew Hispanic center also estimates that 47%of Spanish-dominant Latinos use the internet, compared with 74%of bilingual Latinos, and 81%of English-dominant Latinos.  Additionally, Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2010 estimates that 48% of online Latinos have profiles on social networking websites. Online Latinos spend nearly twice as much time per week using social networking websites or chatting via instant messaging (5 hours versus 3.5 hours) compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. As a result of this significant evidence that the Latino population is a predominant portion of the online and social media community, the CDC made a proactive decision to create several electronic media channels tailored specifically to Hispanics. The implementation of electronic media channels dedicated specifically to a Hispanic audience seeks to answer several key research questions, including what are the principal channels used by Hispanics to receive electronic and social media; what are the health topics of primary interest to the Hispanic community; what campaigns and best practices promote an active fan base and increase user engagement; and what are the metrics that measure the level of success.

Methods: The CDC has used several evaluation methods to determine the level of reach to Hispanic audiences through a variety of electronic media channels. The CDC’s user satisfaction survey has been used to identify user demographics as well as overall satisfaction with the CDC EnEspanol website.  CDC’s social media channels have used primary metrics and process evaluation methods such as embedded Omniture coding, Facebook and Twitter analytics, Radian 6 and Cision media and social listening tools and various other tools to identify success of newly launched campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and CDC mobile websites.

Results: Overall data collection is ongoing, but preliminary results identify that the Hispanic audience is a dominant market with active user engagement through all electronic media channels.

Conclusions: Initial results indicate that that the CDC has been successful in targeting public health communications and messages to Hispanic audiences through electronic and social media channels. As this population continues to grow, best practice methods are continually identified on how to tailor messages, further attract and engage members of the Hispanic community through these unique communication channels.

Implications for research and/or practice: The results of this evaluation will demonstrate the importance of providing electronic media channels tailored specifically to the growing Hispanic community. Furthermore, results will identify the value of communicating these findings to develop long term electronic media evaluation and communication planning specific to multilingual populations.