Latin America is the continent with the most significant numbers of social media usage. The Global Media Intelligence 2022 report shows that Latin Americans are intensely connected, spending more than 3 hours and 35 seconds per day on social media. That comes with an opportunity for merchants to use these platforms to show their products or services, create content with influencers, and even innovate in engagement campaigns that bring and retain users.

Additionally, partnering with a payment provider specialized in the region’s market is also fundamental. Whether you use social media platforms to sell your product, whether it’s your main business, with the right partner you can provide the best experience to your audience.

Keep reading to learn more about the opportunities for social media in Latin America for 2023 and beyond.

Latin America, a land of heavy social media users

With 89% of the population active on social media, Latin America is the continent with the highest social media penetration in the world. Between Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social platforms, Latin Americans show interest in using them for entertainment, learning new things, knowing new products, and receiving advice from social media influencers.

After the pandemic, the share of online shopping grew in Latin America. According to Pagseguro’s Digital Renaissance in Latin America white paper, nearly 50 million consumers shopped online for the first time in 2020, and another 51 million did so in 2021, bringing total e-commerce penetration to 67% of the population.

With that in mind, having a solid presence online, especially on social media platforms, is fundamental to reaching potential customers and making your brand a reference. Furthermore, these spaces should be seen for the business potential they hold, which includes not only the content itself, but also opportunities for monetizing this heavy use in Latam.

Main opportunities in social media

Besides being present on social platforms, having a partnership with content creators is also essential. According to the Atlantico Latin Report 2022, 41% of Brazilians have purchased products because of a content creator, followed by Mexicans (29%) and Colombians (20%).

Partnering with social media influencers and creators is not new, but it's getting increasingly important with the evolution of social platforms. Also, nowadays, this partnership can be made in different ways.

Sponsored content is something that can be useful in reaching new customers. On the creator side, that is their primary source when it comes to monetizing. According to the Atlantico Digital Influencer Survey, 55% of the monetization made by creators and influencers come from sponsored content, followed by in-platforms ads (20%) and commission link (15%).

When someone else talks about your brand or product, that shows validation to the customers, demonstrating that this is not just an advertisement but an experience from a different user or client. That can create a better relationship between your brand and the customer, with the possibility of them becoming a defensor of your product.

Monetization is key

On the other side, social media platforms also know the importance of influencers for their growth. That’s why they invest in different ways to monetize content and pay the creators. Research by AMI shows that the payout volume for influencers, streamers, and gamers in Latin America should grow 60% annually till 2025. 

An example is Tiktok, which uses PagSeguro Payout Solution to send instant payouts for users that create content, share videos, and invite new users into the platform. Thus, such a strategy can be helpful not only for influencers but also for regular users that have a small base of followers.

Note that TikTok uses the solution also to monetize engagement, awarding users that share and watch videos and inviting new users to the platform. That can even retain the users and make them defenders of the platform, and become a differential for the audience when choosing to spend their time and attention on your platform rather than on another one.

Social media holds many business opportunities for Latin America, if your company has interest in starting or boosting strategies in this high rising region. With PagSeguro Payout solution, you can guarantee your monetizing and payment processes for social media users in Brazil have the speed and agility today’s social media users require.

Meanwhile, for selling products and services through social media to a wide, digitized consumer base in 17 Latin American countries, PagSeguro Payment Processing is the right choice. With over 140 local payment methods, you’ll be able to reach Latam with no bureaucracy, no need of a local entity, and a variety of integrations – some with no coding required – that fit your business size.

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