African-American media usage by the numbers

Part of effectively building advertising plans to reach the intended audience is doing research. Who do you want to reach? What kind of media do they consume? When are the peak times that the audience is navigating media? Why are some media forms preferred over others? How much do they use? Once these questions can be answered, it can help a buyer start plotting in the essential media forms for that particular audience.

For example, Nielsen along with Essence conducted a survey to see how African-Americans consume media. The Center for Media Research reports the following findings from the study:

·        Overall, this audience over-indexes on almost all media forms compared to the general population as a whole.

·        Total time spent on traditional television is about 201 hours and 43 minutes per month. General population is about 141 hours and 19 minutes.

·        About 52% of those surveyed read magazines compared to 22% of the general population. The report shows that print content typically focuses on culture and heritage specific to the African-American community.

·        About 12 hours a week is spent listening to the radio which is double the total audience at six hours a week. Results show that the peak listening times generally are 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

·        Smartphones have about 81% saturation in the market. On average, this is about 7% more than the general audience.

·        Approximately 56 hours a week are spent using apps or mobile Internet browsers on smartphones. Another two hours and 30 minutes a week are spent watching video content on a mobile device.

Knowing the above general criteria will help an advertiser create competent messaging if wanting to reach this particular audience.