Dozens of people came to the Los Angeles City Hall to learn how to leverage the internet and social media networks into their business at an event organized by El Clasificado and Su Socio de Negocios
Jose F. Sanchez. Los Angeles
Reaching the 27th floor of the Bradley Tower, home of the Los Angeles City Hall, is not easy. But that did not stop the conference room from filling with entrepreneurs looking for more information on a very current issue among Latino entrepreneurs: digital marketing, which was explained in detail by four expert panelists.
Martha de la Torre, cofounder of EC Hispanic Media, a multimedia platform that includes El Clasificado and Su Socio de Negocios, opened the event by thanking the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office for the opportunity to collaborate and help small businesses prosper in Los Angeles. Right after, Ana Guerrero, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Chief of Staff, mentioned all the tools and resources available in the city to help Hispanics start or grow a business in her address. “We are in the process of designing a website for entrepreneurs that will help them with permits and licenses, among other essential things.”
During the event, presented by Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and Su Socio de Negocios, the main topics discussed were how to take advantage of the internet and social media networks to start and grow a business. “For someone to come at 8:30 am to Downtown Los Angeles, you realize that the topic is of great interest,” said Tayde Aburto, one of the panelists and president of the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce, located in San Diego. In regards to the integration of Hispanics to the digital market, Aburto said that unfortunately a gap still exists within the business community, and that “having an internet presence is not a luxury but a necessity”, he added.
The audience agreed. One of them being Juan Rodriguez, owner of a digital marketing company in Glendale, who was very interested in social media. “There is a great opportunity for the Hispanic market. The presence of digital marketing in Hispanic companies is not as extensive as in American companies. We must take advantage”, he said.
“It was a great event and the small business owners had excellent questions. Hopefully the discussions inspired many entrepreneurs to join the digital market”, said panelist Jesus Chavez, Sr. Vice President of Operations for Mitú, a company dedicated to creating video content in English for the Latino Millennials. “The Latino audience, in terms of consumption, is now digital and, therefore, business people must integrate the digital side to their business strategy. The goal is to connect with more digital consumers. Social media is a great tool to achieve this objective but it is important to monetize these connections to increase the reach”, added Chavez.
There was a strong connection between the panelists and the audience, especially during the Q&A round. People were eager to participate and learn more. “I think the most important message that was given today is that we must take the first step by applying the methods discussed to reach consumers. In the digital world, we can create a business from scratch”, added Ana Flores, an expert blogger and founder of We All Grow Latina Network, who spoke about this particular topic. Everyone agreed. EC
