Hispanic Public Relations Blog

Hispanics are more active than the general population in almost every category of mobile phone activity, whether it’s talking, texting,  downloading, or browsing the Web.  Compared to the general market, Hispanics use more minutes and own more phones despite having generally lower incomes.  It’s been found that 87% of Hispanic households have multiple mobile phones, and use them more than any other form of personal or handheld technologies on the market today.

Age is one important factor in explaining the high use of mobile among Hispanics.  Hispanics are the youngest segment of the American population, with an average age nine years younger than the average for Americans overall (27.2 versus 36.2.).  Currently, 58% of America’s K-12 grade students are non-white minorities, and of that group, the largest minority is Hispanics.

Besides age, another important factor is the strong presence of mobile technology in Latin America.  40% of the Hispanic population in the U.S. is foreign-born, and in most Latin American nations, as in much of the world, mobile phones are becoming more common than landline phones.

The Hispanic Institute and Mobile Future’s recent report sheds some light on mobile phone use in Latin America.   In Mexico, mobile phones have a 36% penetration rate, compared to only 16% for land lines.  In Chile, mobile and landline penetration rates are 60% and 22%, respectively.  The rates are similar to Chile in most Central and South American countries.

In the U.S., mobile use among Hispanics has been fueled by the growth of mobile products and services for lower-income customers.  These options range from pre-paid calling options to low-cost smartphone offers, and unlimited mobile texting, phone and data plans at costs as low $40 a month.  Currently, AT&T has 71 million Hispanic wireless subscribers, the most of any wireless provider.  One contributor to their success in bringing in Hispanics is their effort to provide bilingual service staff and information at more than 600 stores nationwide.

When thinking about their mobile content, companies can look beyond just providing ads and entertainment.  The Hispanic Institute report mentions unique ways that health care, government and financial groups can reach out through mobile technology.  When it comes to diabetes, health care groups can send text reminders to elderly Hispanics about checking their blood sugar levels, exercising and taking their daily medication.  Offering mobile banking services can help financial service companies bring in the large “unbanked” Hispanic population; there are approximately 23 percent of U.S. Hispanics without bank accounts.

While mobile is still an emerging form of communication for many companies, it’s a common one to America’s Hispanics.  Companies stand to get the attention of this large and growing audience with smart, in-culture mobile outreach.

Tags: AT&T, culture, Hispanic, HispanicPR, Latino, mobile, mobile communications, Population

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