If you want to communicate with young African-Americans send them a tweet.

As Twitter evolves we are seeing a definite minority skew for the medium, with African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans accounting for 41% of total users versus 34% for Facebook and 33% for total Internet users.

While the company is focusing on growing its Latino audience, its current sweet spot is young African Americans.  40% of African-American Internet users between the ages of 18-29 use Twitter compared with 28% of Whites in that age group. (Koh, 2014)

Advertisers that have taken notice and are doing something about it include AllState, Home Depot and "12 Years A Slave."  I imagine that others will soon follow.

Koh, Y. (2014, January 21)  Twitter's Racial Diversity Becomes Plum Selling Point.  Wall Street Journal. p.B1, B4

Trying to sell computers? Reach out to African-Americans.

2/10/10

A recently released study of African-Americans showed that while population had increased by 10% from 2000 to 2008, buying power increased by a whopping 55% to $913 billion.

It also indicated that they spend a proportionately higher percentage of their income on technology products. In fact, 31% of their discretionary income ($39 billion) is used to buy computers, cell phones and electronics.

Finally, the same study indicated that African-Americans spend more time weekly online (18 hours) than watching television (15 hours). (Loechner, 2010)

It’s a perfect combination -- a more qualified prospect, with a specific media skew. Can a targeted campaign be far behind? Which computer company do you think will be savvy enough to capitalize on the opportunity first?


Loechner, J. (2010, February 8) African-Americans Major Influence in Tech, Media and Buying Power. Mediapost.com. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=122016