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Regardless of the language spoken at home, Hispanics take advantage of their bilingual abilities by using, accessing and enjoying media in both languages. And while English is the leading language of preference online for Hispanics, 42% of Hispanic women prefer Spanish when surfing, 67% say it is important for them to find information online in Spanish, and 60% said they respond more fully to Spanish advertising even if they are fully bilingual.
In general, Hispanics recognize the disparity between the availability and quality of English and Spanish language content. One of the reasons why so many Hispanics prefer English content is their mistrust of sites in Spanish which are often little more than literal translations of English content. They perceive English sites as more comprehensive, detailed and useful than their Spanish-language counterparts; thus leaving an important percentage of the Hispanic segment feeling under-served.
Language represents such a strong connection to culture that it can’t just be quickly translated. When creating the Spanish version of the site, it’s extremely important that the translated copy reads naturally because even if the translation is impeccable on a word-for-word level, the actual content may fail to connect with our target users when simply repurposed and translated to Spanish. In many cases, in fact, it’s actually better to create new content altogether. The more the site makes the visitors feel as if it might have been created just for them, the more it will resonate, and the more action they will take.
