Commentary

The Social And Mobile World Of Hispanic Millennials

Hispanic Millennials have come of age with technology and social media. Not surprisingly, they have become very adept at using technology in their daily lives and staying connected to the world around them. The most recent wave of the Hispanic Millennial Project provides an in-depth view into the social media and mobile lives of Hispanic Millennials. While they are heavy users of technology, they still show significant differences in social and mobile behavior with big implications for marketers trying to engage with them.

News via YouTube

One-third of Hispanic Millennials are consuming news through YouTube. When they were asked about the different reasons they visit YouTube, 33% reported that they did so “to get news.” This highlights how they are moving beyond traditional mainstream news sources and are now incorporating other sources that allow them to have more control over the content they consume. YouTube is reaching the level of credibility that major television networks had with previous generations.

Android is leading but Apple is catching up

Hispanic Millennials are predominantly (53%) Android mobile users. This is a result of the historically lower price point of Android devices and plans and the increased availability of prepaid plans on Android devices. However, the gap with Apple iOS is shrinking, with 41% of Hispanic Millennials indicating they have iOS-powered mobile devices. This is second only to Asian Millennials.

Not connecting on LinkedIn

Hispanic Millennials are the least likely to use LinkedIn, particularly compared to Asian and non-Hispanic White Millennials. Only 30% of Hispanic Millennials use the professional networking site, which is by far the lowest of any Millennial group. Those who do use it are more likely to use it to stay connected with friends as opposed to professional / business colleagues or to make connections.

Twitter is out and Instagram is In

Compared to other Millennial groups, Hispanics are least likely to show a preference for text-based social media like Twitter. They are drawn to social channels that are more visual in nature. When asked about how often they use Twitter, 41% reported that they never use it, the highest by far among all Millennial ethnic cohorts. Conversely, when it comes to Instagram, Hispanic Millennials (45%) were more likely than both Non-Hispanic White and Asian-American Millennials to report using Instagram on a daily basis. African-American Millennials were the only group that surpassed them.

Snapchatting with family

A recurring theme among Hispanic Millennials is the central role that family plays in their lives. Not only do they remain close to family, they adopt social media as a way of staying connected with family. For instance, when they were asked about the different reasons that they use Snapchat, 51% reported that they did so in order to stay connected with family. This is roughly 20 percentage points more likely than any other Millennial cohort.

These findings confirm that social media and mobile are central channels to reaching the highly attractive Hispanic Millennial segment, and that their digital behavior is highly differentiated, not only from older Hispanics but also their non-Hispanic white, Asian, and African-American Millennial counterparts. Savvy marketers will avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to marketing to Millennials.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared on May 26, 2016, in Engage:Hispanics.

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