Using Social Media to Help Latino Businesses

Latin-owned businesses have to do more than ever before to get noticed in the marketplace. This includes competing for exposure on an ever changing media landscape, some of the most prevalent mediums being social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

In order to make sense of how businesses can better utilize their online presence, LATV invited the Director of Partnerships at L.A. Taco Memo Torres, digital content creator Stella Navarro-Kim, entrepreneur Soraya Hennessy, as part of our Latino Alternative Business Forum. Each professional demonstrates how multi-faceted social media can be with many different avenues that can help a business succeed.

“I think street-level journalism gives you something more in-depth in the community to what’s actually going on in the streets versus what you see (in) major branded, Hollywood-style comb overs of news.” – Memo Torres

Memo Torres began as a passionate blogger, keeping tabs on the best tacos in the city. Eventually he connected with L.A. Taco, which began as a page back in 2006 has since rebranded as a publication in 2018. Now, the self-described street-level publication has become one of the most impassioned sources for discussion and pure voices of journalism on everything LA. One of the challenges LA Tacos has found is that most people are not reading articles on social media and are instead reacting off just the headline. The next step is getting the viewer more engaged with the content instead of simply scrolling on through the post.

“We use social media as a way to tell our story, and that’s the handmade story. We show the behind-the-scenes, how long it takes to weave, the fact that it’s handmade, and it’s been crucial for us to educate our audience and our customer.” – Soraya Hennessy

After graduating from college in Chicago as an international student, Soraya Hennessy started a fashion blog and began networking in the industry. After finding mochilas were being sold at a local farmer’s market while she was in Dubai, Soraya was struck by inspiration to make these traditional bags just like the ones she grew up with.

Soraya shared that in recent social media trends platforms are transitioning from static posts (pictures) to give emphasis to video posts. Much like the bags her company produces, these videos perform better with a user-made or organic look to them. Hennessy says in order to keep up with these changes, they try to do at least 3 to 4 tiktoks or video posts a week.

“I’m seeing a lot of really great food content, but it’s not getting that much visibility. I think it deserves to, but it’s such as saturated market now that you have to find something that really makes you stand out.” – Stella Navarro-Kim

Stella Navarro-Kim had the misfortune of losing her job when the pandemic hit in 2020. Already an avid home cook, she eventually turned that passion into a full-time hustle by posting videos to TikTok right as the platform started booming. There, she shared recipes with her followers based on her Korean and Mexican background. By connecting with other content creators like herself, help from her music producer husband, and finding a quality manager Stella was able to sustain her online account as a business. Sometimes the best help you can receive is from those you’re already surrounded by!

The connection between these three experts is that they all love what they do. Through showing their passions on social media, the message behind their work has been able to resonate and grow their audience. No matter how often the algorithm may change, this has been the one tried and true formula for social media success.

For more panel discussions from our Latino Alternative Business Forum, download the LATV app for this full episode and more.