Influencing the Digital Age

Social and Mobile Media Usage Among Hispanic Americans

blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire

After “Google”-ing relevant search terms related to this article, a lot of studies were found regarding the nature of Hispanic Digital Influencers.  Although there was a plethora of research surrounding the U.S. Hispanic digital market, there doesn’t seem to be much regard to what the studies say.  Companies are just starting to reach out specifically to the Hispanic Market, if at all.  

Proof Is In The Numbers

blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire

According to an article by 360i Digital Connections, moving into digital media is an “effortless extension” of cultural habits centered on “living extremely social lives filled with family and friends."  In fact, the 2010 Census found that the economic influence of the U.S. Hispanic population doubled from $212 billion in 2000 to $978 billion in 2009, and is expected to reach $1.3 trillion in 2014.   

Clearly this market has a great online presence and online influence, but why aren’t they being targeted? It seems that companies do not know how or are fearful of spending a large amount of their budget on advertising with Spanish media and not getting a return.

Contrary to that fear, advertising through Spanish media is much cheaper than advertising through American media.  Spanish media also has a large base with many viewers, as can be seen with statistics from the usage of online social media from last week’s post. There are about 32 million U.S. Hispanics online in the U.S. which represents about 14% of the U.S. population. The following graph of U.S. Mobile Internet Users suggests that the Hispanic population is by far the prevalent user: 

 

Some of the main takeaways from 360i’s Hispanic POV Series on Hispanic Digital Influencers were:

1. U.S. Hispanics use the Internet as a virtual town square where the diversity of people and open environment allows them to join a conversation.  Given this view, Hispanics are 37 percent more likely than the general population to publish a blog and 12 percent more likely to visit other blogs, per Nielsen.  Brands that give this population the opportunity to become a part of their story in digital--to create and share--will have the most success when it comes to creating meaningful relationships with people.

2. Hispanic influencers who communicate exclusively in Spanish tend to share more promotional influencers who communicate in English, and even more still than general population influencers.  This presents an opportunity for marketers to utilize Spanish-language influencers to communicate brand messages in an authentic way.  

3. General population infleuncers demonstrate much more diversity in what motivates the types of content they share, while Hispanic influencers are primarily motivated by their shared cultural ties.  Understanding the various mindsets of Hispanic influencers will help marketers frame the right approach, especially when developing DWOM ® programs.

On the Move

The U.S. Hispanic community should also be a target audience to reach through mobile means. Companies are starting to catch on to the idea of group texting as 41% of Hispanics are accessible via smart phone, compared to 29% of the general population according to another article by 360i.    

Be on the move with your audience and grow with them as they catch on to the changing digital trends.