Who Is The Online Black Community? Your Guess Is As Good As Mine!
I could have started this piece: We’ve all heard it before! "Blacks are the fastest growing minority demographic online!" or "The online African-American community can not be ignored". But the fact of the matter is that when you’re trying to get at this community and delve a little deeper than the above statements and that there are approximately 13 million blacks online, it’s scarce pickings. There are hard numbers, statistics, facts, figures, etc. regarding practically every other demographic but the online African-American community is one that for the most part, has not been thoroughly researched.
This is a call-to-arms for all of us to get involved and push attention towards this community. There are various industries out there from technology to financial services that could greatly benefit from the substantial purchasing power of the African-American community and the online segment of this community is more affluent and therefore even more attractive. The problem here is that no marketing campaign should begin without research and the fact that there is no ample research to pull from could speak volumes as to why these industries are not targeting the online African-American community.
Qualitatively, there is some stuff out there. For example, we know that blacks are more likely to register on websites and give out contact and demographic information. We know that this group is more interested in career advancement, professional development, education, family & relationships, entertainment, health care, news and travel information than the general population. What we don’t know is the intriguing quantitative data that drives marketing campaigns such as, the % of black users who visit black websites over mainstream sites and how many black sites are visited on a regular basis. The point is that we’re lacking the strong numbers that necessitates organizations take action.
By having the hard data to back up what seems to be obvious to many of us, it would force major corporations to take notice. If not from the standpoint that the online African-American community should be marketed to, then from the stance that they must be marketed to.
This is a call-to-arms for all of us to get involved and push attention towards this community. There are various industries out there from technology to financial services that could greatly benefit from the substantial purchasing power of the African-American community and the online segment of this community is more affluent and therefore even more attractive. The problem here is that no marketing campaign should begin without research and the fact that there is no ample research to pull from could speak volumes as to why these industries are not targeting the online African-American community.
Qualitatively, there is some stuff out there. For example, we know that blacks are more likely to register on websites and give out contact and demographic information. We know that this group is more interested in career advancement, professional development, education, family & relationships, entertainment, health care, news and travel information than the general population. What we don’t know is the intriguing quantitative data that drives marketing campaigns such as, the % of black users who visit black websites over mainstream sites and how many black sites are visited on a regular basis. The point is that we’re lacking the strong numbers that necessitates organizations take action.
By having the hard data to back up what seems to be obvious to many of us, it would force major corporations to take notice. If not from the standpoint that the online African-American community should be marketed to, then from the stance that they must be marketed to.
posted by Daze at 6:50 AM
3 Comments:
I think we know who the online black community is, but its just impossible to figure out what in the world they want, and how to give it to them. I am curious to understand once we recognize that blacks purchase, browse, scour, and do even more on the internet; how do we figure out how best to serve them.
See I disagree, similiar to the way that we've been able to quantify the buying habits of various demographics across other mediums.
The Internet is no different. Companies have figured out how to tailor advertising on Black radio to spur action because we have a good understanding of the "stereotypical" picture of who the listerner is and what appeals to them.
The same concept applies once we understand which types of sites certain age groups, income brackets, education levels, etc. tend to visit companies can then target those sites with advertising that appeals to that respective demographic.
Don't African Americans "defy" the sterotypes when it comes to buying habits "data". What I mean is this, African Americans and other minority groups make less money statistically, yet purchase at an enourmous rate, hence defying the thought that the more affluent you are, the more you purchase. Dont African Americans and other minority groups purchase above their social class and means, meaning you are unable to pin point the sterotypical black purchaser. He may shop like hes from the Hamptons, but live in a small Bronx apartment building. How do you get the typical pattern, when we defy it so often.
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