• by Karl Greenberg , January 3, 2011

Hispanics are the ideal online consumers, which is meaningful because 30 million Hispanics -- or 60% of the U.S. Hispanic population -- are online, and according to comScore, the so-called "digital divide" between Hispanics and everyone else is pretty much defunct.  

A new study from comScore, commissioned by Terra -- a Spanish-language media network -- suggests that Hispanics are more active online and more receptive to new technology than non-Hispanics. The research also says the Internet is the main media source of information for Hispanics in terms of services and products.

The study finds that regardless of whether marketing is in-language or not, if it's relevant it will have a more significant influence on Hispanics than non-Hispanics. "While non-Hispanics may tend to look at interactive advertising as intrusive, Hispanics seem to be appreciative of the brands that are trying to reach out to them," per the study.

In the survey of 2,300 Hispanic consumers conducted in fall 2010, 37% of Hispanics versus 30% of non-Hispanics said they would respond to online pitches, and 35% of Hispanics vs. 27% of non-Hispanics said they are more open to advertising on sites where they read or contribute user-generated comments.

Also, 37% of Hispanics versus 25% of non-Hispanics said they enjoy the interactivity of online video ads, and interactivity as a conduit for getting more information than one can get from traditional ads. Thirty-six percent of Hispanics vs. 24% non-Hispanics said that Internet advertising has motivated them to visit a retail establishment; 35% of Hispanics vs. 25% of non-Hispanics are likely to attend movies based on their online campaigns.

Hispanics, according to the study, are also more amenable to virtual demos of gadgets than the general market. Sixty percent of Hispanics polled versus 42% of non-Hispanics said they like things like iPad demonstrations, virtual shoppers, mobile coupons, and live streaming.

The study also said Hispanics are more receptive to updates for offline activities via mobile text alerts, Twitter feeds and Facebook. These include shopping for large retail items, looking for entertainment information such as movies, concerts, events and places to eat. They are also more likely to visit a brand's fan page and to follow Twitter updates from artists. Hispanics also show a higher rate of participation than non-Hispanics in numerous social media activities.