Influential Hispanic Consumers spend 30 hours per week sharing views Online.

The most influential Hispanic consumers use the Internet to share their views about products and brands as well as to connect with friends and family, according to a study released by Burson-Marsteller. The study focused on the way these Hispanic opinion leaders, dubbed the Hispanic-fluentials, communicate online and offline. The survey is part of Burson-Marsteller’s e-fluentials series of studies examining the habits of the most influential online consumers.

Hispanic-fluentials spend more time per week interacting with others online (30 hours) than the general population of U.S. influencers, called e-fluentials (25 hours). They also have more interaction offline in face-to-face conversations (30 hours vs. 21 hours). Overall, the study found Hispanic-fluentials to be extremely well-networked, as they communicate in person, on the phone or online with many more family members, friends and coworkers each day (58 individuals) than general e-fluential population (45 individuals). Among female Hispanic-fluentials, this number jumps to 68 individuals.

“Hispanics cultivate the most extensive personal and professional networks both online and offline among the efluentials studied, attesting to the potential effectiveness of grassroots and viral campaigns,” said Theresa Rice, Director, U.S. Hispanic for Burson-Marsteller.

In addition, the survey found that 66 percent of Hispanic-fluentials forward product recommendations by e-mail. This compares with only 28 percent of their general market e-fluential counterparts. Fifty-eight percent forward product warnings, while 42 percent of e-fluentials forward such warnings. The survey found that 56 percent of Hispanic-fluentials forward online information about causes, compared with 24 percent of e-fluentials. Similarly, Hispanic-fluentials are much more likely to tell others about product experiences in their blogs (49 percent) than are general U.S. e-fluentials (32 percent).

“Hispanic-fluentials embrace the Web even more than the general population of influencers for many activities,” said Mark Penn, CEO of Burson-Marsteller and author of Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes. “This demonstrates the significant degree to which this key group of influencers is wired.”

According to the study, Hispanic-fluentials are brand-loyal, with 87 percent loyal to their favorite brands. Hispanic-fluentials share their positive brand experiences with an average of 23 people, compared with only 10 people for general e-fluentials. Hispanic-fluentials share negative brand experiences with an average of 28 people, while the general e-fluential population shares these experiences with an average of 16 people. Influential Hispanic consumers are eager to warn others about problems with products and services (84 percent) compared with general population e-fluentials (72 percent).

“Since Hispanic-fluentials share their opinions – both positive and negative – to an incredibly wide audience, keeping a pulse on word-of-mouth discussions in the Hispanic community is vital to managing a brand reputation among this community,” said Ashley Welde, Director of Research and e-fluential Programs for Burson-Marsteller.

Other findings from the study include:

· Hispanic-fluentials are more likely than e-fluentials to take customer service (92 percent vs. 77 percent) and recommendations from family and friends (83 percent vs. 69 percent) into account when deciding what to buy.
· Hispanic-fluentials respond strongly to promotions, with 90 percent more likely to pay attention to companies who offer them coupons and 72 percent interested in companies who send emails with promotions or offers.

Courtesy of http://www.burson-marsteller.com/>