Facebook comes out on top as the number one social network for U.S. Hispanics

A recent study has identified Hispanics as one of the largest-growing ethnicities in the United States. The population has grown an astonishing 43 percent, compared to the 16.3 percent growth for the rest of the population, according to Advertising Age. It's estimated that the purchasing power of this group will be around $1 trillion in 2011, with room to grow. With this information, companies have been going crazy thinking of innovative ways to reach out and tap into this growing segment of American society.

One of the best ways to go about this, it would seem, is by turning to the social media giant, Facebook. According to Advertising Age, Hispanics make up 14.5 percent of all Facebook users and 71.8 percent of all Hispanic internet users are on Facebook. With this information in mind, tapping into the Hispanic population through the social media site can present the potential for huge gains for companies.

But what is the best way to go about this? Recent changes to the web site's platform have already been projected to be bad news for companies trying to cash in on the site's popularity. The "filter features" that have been added give Facebook users the ability to easily opt out of receiving notifications and updates of even the products and services they claim to "like." Not only that, but the new layout calls for a much more hands-on approach if marketers expect to continue their traditional style of advertising on Facebook.

"Every brand and marketer is going to have to be a content programmer. They have to ask themselves if they are prepared for that," Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, told ClickZ. " Are they prepared to create content, curate content, aggregate content?"

Some companies may prefer an alternative approach that doesn't call for as much content publishing, but rather relies on better targeting techniques to reach out to the large number of Hispanic consumers on Facebook.

Semcasting’s facebook microTargeting and Hispanic Indicator Index can help. By using facebook microTargeting, you can analyze consumers using over 750 demographic data points that will not only indicate who your customers are, but will also point to look-a-like models that are just like them, and therefore ideal candidates for your ads. By combining this technology with Semcasting's Hispanic Indicator Index, you'll be able to locate and reach out to Hispanic households and business owners across the United States and ensure that you are reaching the large number of this growing ethnic group on Facebook.