Category Archives: Media

Social Network Usage By Race/Ethnicity

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ImageMany businesses that are savvy enough to not only utilize social networking but also recognize this medium’s power among people of color will want to check out the recent Pew Study on how demographics play out across various social media services.

Here’s a quick overview:

  • Black folks over index on Twitter (26%) and Hispanics (19%) prefer it more than whites (14%)
  • Whites (white women, in particular) love Pinterest (18%); Blacks (8%); Hispanics (10%)
  • Blacks (23%) and Hispanics (18%) use Instagram far more than whites (11%)
  • Almost everyone black, white or brown, uses Facebook

Why do Blacks and Hispanics utilize Twitter and Instagram more than whites?  The answer probably has something to do with the lack of diverse stories in the media.  Services like Twitter and Instagram allow people of color more accessibility and control to information that is specific to them.  It provides a channel and a platform for their voice to be heard in a way that it usually is not.

Read more:  Pew Internet

The Browning of Media on the Internet: A Step Forward or Back?

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With the advent of new media and advances in access to technology the internet is supplementing, complimenting and slowly siphoning viewers from television. While the delivery mechanisms for viewing video are changing, mainstream content providers remain frustratingly rooted in a world which ignores the demographic changes our country is experiencing. Nowhere is this more apparent then in the lack of representation of Hispanics on television.

The reality is the countries demographic changes are starting to influence how everyone interacts with video content from mainstream television on the web. While a majority of people still watch T.V. on a television a growing number of viewers supplement their T.V. viewing with video content on the internet. Hispanic’s are actually leading this trend. Hispanic video viewers are 68 percent more likely than non-Hispanic White viewers to watch video on the Internet. This change is beginning to foster a analogous growth in representation of Hispanics on the internet. This raises several important questions: how do content providers better define and reach English language Hispanic consumers. Does more segmentation and micro targeting on the internet let television off the hook for years of under-representing Hispanics? In 2012 does it even make sense to have a token Hispanic character on a mainstream T.V. show when they could have their own web series?

Read more:  The Huffington Post

Shut Out by Mainstream Media

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I worry that the proliferation of advertising, entertainment and news organizations hoping to engage predominantly English-speaking Hispanics will also isolate a continuously assimilating community from a mainstream that seems to view Latinos as newcomers who don’t quite want to blend into the crowd.

The list of news and entertainment companies jumping into bilingual or English-only programming aimed at Latinos is long and ever-growing, the two most recent examples being Cosmopolitan magazine and Univision-ABC News.

Hearst Magazines premiered Cosmopolitan for Latinas earlier this month to its target audience, “the young, bold, Latina woman who is sexy, stylish, and intelligent,” according to editor Michelle Herrera Mulligan, “and wants to see herself reflected in the pages of a magazine.”

Well, OK. But isn’t that what Latina magazine has been doing for about 16 years? And even it wasn’t the only magazine already aimed at bilingual, fashion-conscious Hispanic women.

You have to wonder why Cosmopolitan sought to capture the attention of young Hispanic women with a separate publication instead of simply folding in more Latina celebrities, models, staff writers and photographers into its flagship offering. It’s not as if you couldn’t quote a Dominican starlet saying “I’m very proud to have Latin blood” or feature photo spreads of Brazilian Carnaval dancers in the regular Cosmo.

Read more:  GazetteXtra.com

NEW 360i Report On Hispanic Digital Influencers

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Key Findings— 360i Report on Hispanic Digital Influencers

  1.  72% of Hispanic digital influencers choose to communicate in English. And, since Hispanic influencers who communicate in English tend to share more promotional content and equity content rather than personal anecdotes (which are favored by those who communicate in Spanish), there is a ripe opportunity for brands to enter conversations in a valuable way.
  2. General population influencers demonstrate more diversity in what motivates the types of content they share. Hispanic Influencers are primarily motivated by shared cultural ties, and they express culture in four distinct ways. It’s important for brands to understand the specific mindset of the influencer they are trying to reach so they can tailor their approach accordingly.
    • Informative Mindset (63% of posts analyzed): to inform/educate readers on their area of expertise (topics: cuisine, child raising techniques, language, etc.)
    • Creative Mindset (23%): Learning through blogging and sharing
    • Personal Mindset (8%): Seeking companionship from readers by detailing theirlife journeys of assimilation and acculturation
    • Awareness Mindset (6%): Recognize social and cultural challenges breakthroughs and accomplishments, and seek to spread awareness about these issues among the community
  3. Hispanic influencers include photos in 54% of their posts and links in 65% of posts. Brands should keep this in mind, and include such content and assets in their outreach.
    • Roughly 33% of images posted tie back to recipe creations, coinciding the cultural importance of meals to the Hispanic Community.
    • 25% of shared links are promotional, driving back to brand or product websites.

c/o:  Hispanic PR Blog

Who Are Social Media’s Highest Influencers?

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Hispanics are 37% more likely than the general population to publish a blog on a blogging platform or use a social networking site, according to a recent  study by 360i.

While the general population influencers reveal a tremendously diverse set of motivators, the study found that Hispanic influencers are most commonly motivated by their shared cultural ties.

c/o: OhMyGov!

How Do You Determine Race And Ethnicity Online?

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As marketers realize the importance of social media in regard to multicultural consumers the question of how to determine black, from brown, from white is a big one.  However the next question to ask is if this online racial profiling is a smart social media strategy?

 has a great blog post about this over at ZDNet.

CafeMom Launches MamasLatinas, The First Bilingual Online Destination To Serve Hispanic Mothers In The United States

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Yesterday, CafeMom launched MamasLatinas (www.mamaslatinas.com), the first bilingual website to serve Hispanic mothers living in the United States. The site launch comes at an apt time for a growing audience — by 2014, one in four moms online will be Hispanic. Additionally, 92 percent of Hispanic moms across the acculturation spectrum believe there is not currently a website that clearly meets their needs, according to a major national study of Hispanic moms conducted by CafeMom.

“Latina moms are culturally unique, and there’s no site in the U.S. that focuses on super-serving the interests and needs of this influential segment,” explained MamasLatinas Co-founder and Executive Vice President Lucia Ballas-Traynor. “The Latina mom wants to be part of a community of moms like her who also strive to succeed in America while preserving and passing on their Latin heritage and traditions, cultivated by experts who uphold her value system and parenting style.”

Read more here…

Mom Bloggers Control $2 Trillion Worth Of America’s Purchasing Power

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While companies have started to notice Mom bloggers in general, targeting multicultural Moms, who are typically very family focused, would definitely be a smart move as well.

“Five years ago, toy companies handed out 98 percent of their samples to TV stations, newspapers and magazines. Today 70 percent of those free samples go to [MOM]bloggers.” (via CBC)

This radio documentary from the CBC traces the history and importance of mommy bloggers. Whether or not you work with this segment, it’s worth a listen and will provide context on how to engage with this ever evolving and important group.

 

Why Marketers Should Pay Attention To “Sh-t White Girls Say To Black Girls”

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I think as business people we’re often too narrow-minded when it comes to shaping our marketing strategies.  We tend to look for marketing opportunities, or consumer shifts from a pure business perspective when we should also pay attention to what’s going on in society in general.  This is especially true when it comes to multicultural marketing.

How people are thinking and reacting to each other can be very telling and potentially informative when it comes to understanding your target market.  For example, now that some of the intensity around the viral sensation “Sh-t White Girls Say to Black Girls” is starting to die down I realize there’s some telling insights hidden among people’s reaction to the video.  If you’re not familiar with Franchesca Ramsey’s video it’s her take on the hugely popular “Sh-t Girls Say” meme.  While many found Ramsey’s version extremely funny just as many labeled it as racist.

Although the social commentary the video has created between African Americans and whites is interesting, I think marketers should pay close attention from a consumer strategy point of view.

The reaction to the video highlights how important race and culture are and how easily people can move into offensive territory and not even know it.  Marketers who lack this cultural knowledge have gotten their companies in trouble and without careful consideration will continue to do so.   The easy (a.k.a. lazy) way out for many marketers is to avoid scratching the cultural surface but all that leads to is ineffective and inauthentic marketing.

Bottom line, cultural knowledge is crucial when it comes to multicultural marketing.  Watch the video.  If you don’t get it, or think you may have said a few of things in there then you should definitely get some help with your multicultural marketing strategy.