A Look At Hispanics' Usage of Social Media

BodenPR recently completed a thought piece detailing the high engagement level by U.S.

Hispanics with Social Media and what brands should consider before developing an online news campaign targeted towards this very coveted market. Interestingly, very few leading brands are catching on to the online trends identified for the different Hispanic segments and what influences their opinions as consumers. Learning the trends and what truly influences these segments online will allow brands to create a powerful online news campaign that will create buzz on and offline for themselves.

Some of the key findings within the article include:

- An estimated 20% of Hispanics online are considered ‘Hispanic-fluentials.’ Hispanics are more likely than any other segment to pass on both positive and negative reviews/information to friends and family

− Hispanic teens are connected online 24/7 and it’s because this segment values the latest communication tools more than any other. This segment’s likes and dislikes also overlaps into the general market’s (American) teen trends.

− The older and acculturated Generation Y Hispanics turn to online forums and blogs to make everyday decisions from what restaurant to dine at to what car they will purchase next. They are not reading their local papers, but turn to online news instead and like to receive and comment on news more than any other U.S. Hispanic segment.

− U.S. Hispanic Baby Boomers are online, but most are not blogging. They’re online for reference information on topics from investments to healthcare and a vast majority prefer communication online in Spanish.

As a result, when beginning to develop a Social Media and Online News Campaign for your brand, it is key to ask two key questions:

(1) Which U.S. Hispanic segment am I targeting (Generation Y, Latinas, Baby Boomers?)

(2) Who and what is influencing them today (social media forums, TV shows, bloggers?).

New Study Shows African Americans Financial Planning Attitudes and Actions differ

A new survey of 1,200 participants commissioned by The Smiley Group and Nationwide Insurance shows 58 percent of African Americans expect their household situation to be better a year from now, compared to only 30 percent of the general population sharing similar optimism.
While African Americans say they think their financial situation will improve in the next year, most of those surveyed indicated they are not taking deliberate actions to better their financial circumstances:
- Less than half say they are proactive about their financial future
- Three in 4 say they do not have a written financial plan
- One in 3 say they don't know where to start when it comes to personal financial planning African Americans are more confident than their general population peers in their ability to make savings and investment decisions (52 percent vs. 43 percent), but are also more likely to indicate they are struggling with credit card debt (38 percent vs. 32 percent).

Another Evidence That Hispanics Do Go Online

Question: Which network is the most-pirated U.S. broadcast network on YouTube?
Answer: ABC?
WRONG
Correct Anwser: Univision
The Spanish-language TV network is the most-pirated U.S. broadcast network on YouTube, with mostly clips of blockbuster telenovelas drawing more than twice as many views as Univision's nearest network competitor, Fox.

New Research from IRI shows that Lower-income Shoppers including African American and Hispanics Are Driving Today's CPG Growth

Lower-income shoppers are the fastest-growing income group in the United States and will generate $84 billion in incremental spending during the next decade. The latest research from Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) reveals that these consumers represent an enormous opportunity for retailers and manufacturers during the slow economy, if they understand that lower-income shoppers are not a homogenous group. “The Lower-Income II Report: Serving Budget-Constrained Shoppers in a Recessionary Environment” uncovers the critical differences and recessionary spending patterns and behaviors of lower-income micro segments that are driving today’s CPG growth.
For example, the biggest concerns now for African American moms is Crime (54%), Hispanic moms is Employment (67%) and Caucasian moms is Financial Security (54%).
Compared with other income groups in today’s economy, budget-constrained, lower-income shoppers are shopping more frequently, but are spending less per trip. They are also aggressively shifting spending across channels, retailers, categories and brands. African American household spending has increased notably in salty snacks and chocolate candy, and Hispanics have increased their spending on frozen dinners and cereals.

Affluent Ethnic Consumers

A new study by chief economist Greg McBoat of the research firm and consultancy, Diversity Affluence, reflects "Estimates of Population, Income and Purchasing Power for African, Asian and Hispanics Americans in America." It defines affluent ethnic individuals with an annual income of at least $75,000 and households with an annual income of $150,000 or greater.
Of the three primary groups , African Americans possess $87.3 billion in purchasing power, Asian Americans possess $90.2 billion, and Hispanic Americans hold $104.5 billion.
Although they account for only 2.4 percent of all ethnic individuals in the country, they represent 39 % of total income, a significant portion of wealth that shouldn't be ignored.
While these recessionary times have luxury marketers overly cautious, brands may benefit by attracting new audiences that could otherwise help them survive and thrive.

AT&T Celebrates Black History Month on Facebook - Good Intention, Poor Execution?

AT&T has rolled out a new Web-centric ad campaign on Facebook tied to February's Black History Month.The wirelesss company has recently launched a microsite on Facebook called Twenty-Eight Days, which is aimed at inspiring African Americans. The site encourages users to share inspirational quotes, whether taken from historical figures or their own thoughts and ideas. The premise of Twenty-Eight Days, according to AT&T, is to shift thinking around Black History Month away from primarily serving as a time to reflect on history and more toward becoming a moment in time to look ahead.

However, I couldn't really locate that "Mini Site" anywhere, I googled it and searched it on Facebook and nothing. Using the internet as a medium is an awesome today, but need to make sure all elements involved are carefully planned and excecuted.

Ipsos Omnibus Study Claimed U.S. Hispanics Prefer English Media, Even Though Advertising In Spanish-Language Media Is Growing

More than half of US Hispanics say they are most comfortable speaking Spanish, but a larger percentage prefer English-language broadcast, print and internet media and can switch easily between languages to get needed information, according to an Ipsos Omnibus study.

Some 52% of US Hispanics report speaking primarily Spanish at home, while 43% say they speak mostly English, the study found. Among Hispanics surveyed, the study found that regardless of language spoken at home, Hispanics overall take advantage of their bilingual abilities by using, accessing and enjoying media in both languages.

Wheaties Celebrates Black History Month With New Box

When General Mills' Wheaties cereal brand formally unveiled its latest box design featuring a likeness of NBA Hall of Famer Willis Reed at an event at New York's NBA store on Wednesday, none other than the former Knicks player himself stepped up to pull the wraps from a mockup of the box.
Such pomp and circumstance might be forgiven with Wheaties, whose brand equity is arguably more about the sports icons gracing its boxes than the cereal itself. The 80-plus-year-old brand, which has celebrated the likes of Bruce Jenner, Tiger Woods, Stone Cold Steve Austin, boxer Max Baer and NASCAR racer Cale Yarborough with its "Breakfast of Champions" tag since 1934, is timing the new limited-edition Willis Reed packaging with Black History Month.

Webbased marketing has long been overlooked when it comes to reaching Latinos. No more.

If a brand wanted to reach out to the increasingly important Latino consumer, there were always a variety of traditional tools to grab -- traditional being the key term. Historically, little importance had been placed on Web-based marketing. But those days are over.
TNS Media Intelligence reports that during the first 10 months of 2008, Hispanic online display advertising pulled in almost $212 million, up from about $165 million for full-year 2007. That $212 million represents slightly more than 4 percent of all Hispanic media ad spend during the same January to October 2008 period.
Why now? Hispanic online space has been gathering momentum for some time, but "it's been topical in 2008," says Bruce Eatroff, a partner in Halyard Capital, a private equity fund whose holdings include the Hispanic news and information company ImpreMedia.
Far more immediate forces may be at work, too -- specifically, the recession. The budgetary constrictions caused by the economic climate have apparently compelled many brands to look at online marketing strategies because of their cost effectiveness.
There's still another -- and far more basic -- reason why brands are taking a closer look at Latinos online these days: There are simply more of them online.Overall, 48 percent of all Hispanics in the U.S. have broadband online connections. Sure, that's nine percentage points less than the population as a whole (57 percent), according to a January 2008 survey conducted by Horowitz Associates for its "State of Broadband Urban Markets 2008" research report. But the survey's data also show that 68 percent of Hispanics with a preference for the English language (predominantly younger ones, who are a key demo target to start with) have broadband access.
Increasingly, streaming media is another direct plug-in to more of the Latino population. On Yahoo! Telemundo video streams were up 67 percent in October 2008 versus the same month in 2007. Unique users were up 103 percent during the same period.
Still, brands that shift attention to Hispanic-geared online efforts face a number of hurdles.
(This article is quoted from AdAge, January 12, 2009, Janet Stilson)

What Is Multiculturalism?

"Multiculturalism is a philosophy that appreciates ethnic diversity within a society and that encourages people to learn from the contributions of those of diverse ethnic backgrounds. It is an ideal way of life that acknowledges and respects the various cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, attitudes and opinions."
Maybe because it is an "Ideal Way Of Life", multiculturalism is still a "Work-In-Progress" even after 100 years.

Another Reason Why Faith-Based Marketing Is Important For African Americans - Analysis Finds African Americans more Religious Than Overall Population

While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with a religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion's importance in life.
According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, 87% of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another. Latinos also report affiliating with a religion at a similarly high rate of 85%; among the public overall, 83% are affiliated with a religion.

Americans Favor Diversity: Trends suggest otherwise

According to results of a new survey from the Pew Research Center, released December 2008 (http://pewresearch.org/), most Americans value diversity and favor living in communities with a variety of income levels, political views and ethnic groups.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and The Nielsen Company, however, paints a somewhat different picture of how communities actually live—a portrait of a country still separated by race, ethnicity, political orientation and a wide range of other factors.
This dichotomy between what consumers say and what they actually do poses a challenge to marketers. While national advertising and promotion must reach and appeal to a wide range of consumers in a highly diverse marketplace, there is also a need for more locally-targeted advertising and promotion that speaks to the sentiments of varied consumer segments.

Breaking The Myths: Two-Thirds of US Hispanics Go Online Monthly

Hispanics in the US are now online in overwhelming numbers, and are taking full advantage of the internet as a primary tool for finding and contributing information, researching and making purchases, being entertained, and networking with others, according to recent research from Ipsos.
While online, 79% of Hispanics research products on the internet and more than half (53%) make a purchase at least once a month.
“The idea of US Hispanics either lacking internet access, or lacking the ability to utilize the online tools often thought exclusive to the mainstream is no longer relevant,” said according to Cynthia Pelayo, senior research manager at Ipsos. “We know that millions of Hispanics are online, either at home or at work, and they are engaging in functions, often in higher numbers, than the general population.”

How Obama's 'Permanent Dialogue' Affects Marketers

In this AdAge article today, Pete Snyder talked about how Obama's direct, always-on communication will change what consumers expect from marketers. This affects every market segments including the multicultural market.
Brands and marketers need to come to terms with the fact that we now have a president (and an administration) who understands the internet and is a "power user" of technology. After all, this is the first president in history to refuse to give up his Blackberry. More importantly, we need to understand how this will impact the behavior of American consumers:
1. The battleground for both consumers and ideas is online.
2. The permanent dialogue has begun.
3. Consumer expectations will change.
4. You'll need an active, authentic voice in the conversation.

Engaging Hispanics Via Mobile: Speak Their 'Edioma'

In this article on MediaPost by Joseph Kutchera, it talked about how more Hispanics and other Spanish-speakers around the world first experience the Internet via their cell phones. Interestingly? Not. Because they lag behind the general population for Internet access and many will first go online via their cell phones.
According to comScore m:metrics, 71% of Hispanics consume content on cell phones compared to the market average of 48%. In addition, Hispanics tend to notice and respond well to ads on cell phones. Nielsen's recent "Mobile Advertising Report" highlighted that Hispanic data users are more likely to recall seeing ads on mobile phones (41% compared with 30% of non-Hispanics) and more likely to have responded (22% vs. 13%).

African American Internet Use Climbs

The internet gap is closing according to this published report by eMarketer. The percentage of African-Americans who use the Internet increased to 64% as of December 2008, up from 56% in December 2007, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In comparison, Internet users represented 74% of the total US population in December 2008, dipping slightly from 75% in December 2007.
The proportion of African-Americans who use the Internet increased by 22 percentage points from December 2000 to December 2008, compared with 21 percentage points for the total US population.

Marketers Make Mistake by Failing to Expressly Target Nearly $1 Trillion Market

In this AdAge article on Feb 2, 2009, Marissa Miley spoke to industry experts why marketers spent millions chasing after segments like mommy bloggers and ignore the nearly $1 Trillion African-American market. Do they really think there's something call one-size-fits-all when talking about this segment?