In the U.S., Hispanic consumers’ usage rates of smartphones, television, online video, social networking and other forms of entertainment make this group one of today’s most engaged and dynamic populations in the digital space, according to Nielsen’s recent State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative report.  Mobile presents a significant avenue of opportunity for marketers looking to reach Hispanic consumers – Hispanic mobile users send or receive 941 SMS (text) messages a month, more than any other ethnic group.  They also make 13 phone calls per day, 40 percent more than the average U.S. mobile user.

Social is another platform where Latinos are especially active and rising in numbers.  During February 2012, Hispanics increased their visits to Social Networks/Blogs by 14 percent compared to February 2011.  Not only are Latinos the fastest growing U.S. ethnic group on Facebook and WordPress.com from a year ago, but also Hispanic adults are 25 percent more likely to follow a brand and 18 percent more likely to follow a celebrity than the general online population.

Other digital findings from the report include:

• Hispanic video viewers are 68 percent more likely than non-Hispanic White viewers to watch video on the Internet, and 20 percent more likely to watch video on a mobile phone.

• Hispanics outpace all ethnic groups in mobile downloads of music and pictures.

• Hispanics are less likely to have Internet access at home compared to the U.S. average (62 % and 76%, respectively), but have increased home broadband use by 14 percent over the past year, which is higher than the 6 percent growth of broadband use in the general market.

For more information on Hispanic consumers, download Nielsen’s State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative report.