Hispanic Consumers Have Distinct Pattern of Online Social Behaviors [PRESENTATION]

By Kurt Abrahamson

Today, in partnership with Mindshare and Unilever, ShareThis released new research analyzing the online social behavior of Hispanic consumers, the fastest-growing consumer group in the U.S.  This study takes a deep dive into what they share online, how they share it, who they influence, and how sharing relates to offline purchases.

Understanding online social behavior is vital for brands and advertisers that want to engage with their audience in meaningful ways.  The Hispanic community is a highly social and influential audience with nuanced sharing behaviors across the web and on mobile devices. Because sharing is a direct measure of consumer interest and intent, we believe it’s vital for brands to understand how Hispanic consumers are using social channels and devices.

The report includes four months of sharing insights from more than 42 million users and nearly 70 million shares. Key findings include:

•     Hispanic consumers are more social: Hispanic consumers are twice as likely to either share content or click on shared content. More specifically, they share five times more often than non-Hispanic users, and content shared by Hispanic consumers is 35 percent more likely to be clicked on than content shared by the non-Hispanic population.
•     Nonetheless, they are less likely to use Pinterest and Twitter for sharing content:  Hispanic consumers are twice as likely to use email and nearly 50 percent more likely to use blogging channels such as Tumblr and Blogger. This indicates a preference to share content across more intimate and personally curated social channels.
•     Hispanic consumers read content on mobile devices, but they’re generally less inclined to share on these devices: Mobile makes up 17 percent of total content consumption, but only seven percent of sharing activity.
•     However, mobile sharing behavior increases with younger generations: Hispanic millennials share on mobile as much as their non-Hispanic counterparts, and use Twitter and Pinterest just as often. The generational similarities also hold true when it comes to what content millennials, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic, consume and share.
•     The correlation between online shares and purchases among Hispanic consumers is higher than it is among non-Hispanic consumers: Hispanic consumers are twice as likely to purchase the kinds of products they share about compared to non-Hispanic consumers who are only 1.3 times as likely to make a purchase compared to what they share online.1

“We’ve long known that Hispanic consumers are highly social and influential, but this study goes significantly deeper, uncovering new and fascinating insights about how and where they’re social.” said Mark Potts, Head of Insights at Mindshare. “By drawing insights from actual behavior rather than self-reporting, we are able to help companies like Unilever better reach Hispanic consumers and drive impactful social campaigns. This is the future of strategic insight generation.”

 

“At Unilever, we always strive to develop programs that connect with Hispanic consumers in the most relevant way,” said Russel Lilly, Marketing Director, Multicultural Marketing Team, Unilever.  “Understanding how Hispanics socially engage helps us to create more effective marketing campaigns for our brands.”
Hispanic sharing on email

 

“This study reinforces that the rise of social networks has changed the way people find, consume and share information,” said Gail Tifford, Senior Director, North American Media, Unilever. “Regardless of social channel, sharing is the purest expression of interest-based activity that gives us the intelligence we need to make our media planning more efficient.”