A few months back we provided an outlook of how many US Latinos or Hispanics can be found on Facebook.  Today we announce the very appropriate sequel which discusses the number of total US Hispanics on Twitter.  This is key information for brands looking to launch a Twitter account targeting US Latinos as it provides an estimate of how large the followership of your brand’s Twitter profile could potentially be.  Further, this article contains insight into which language should be used for the voice of the Twitter profile.  Choosing to use English, Spanish or a combination of the two (Spanglish) on the Twitter account is a very real question that all brands need to decide upon as they look to target the Hispanic market.

Without further ado, lets review the numbers.

8.1 Million US Hispanics using Twitter?

Today there are approximately 8.1 million US Hispanics on Twitter.  Of that amount 31%, or 2.5 million Hispanics, prefer Spanish and would be encouraged to follow a Twitter profile providing Spanish content. 44%, or 3.6 million US Latinos favor English and are more likely to follow a Twitter profile that is providing stories and media in English. And last but not least, 25% of US Hispanics (2.0 million) are bilingual and would be happy to follow a Twitter profile content in either language or Spanglish.

The graph presented below helps to visualize:

8.1 Million Hispanics on Twitter and Growing

Which Language do Hispanics Prefer when Following Brands on Twitter?

Hispanics preferring Spanish would likely prefer to follow pages offering daily content in Spanish such as the CDC Espanol Twitter profile.  Several other Twitter profiles that provide Spanish content include the Castrol Twitter profile and the Visit Florida Twitter profile. Hispanics that typically converse with family, friends, and colleagues in English are likely to prefer English language Twitter profiles.  A good example of Twitter profiles catering to English preferring Hispanics is Being Latino as well as Tampico.  Many brands are targeting bilingual Hispanics, as this is the most popular strategy currently.  Several good examples of brands doing this include the Mi Pepsi Twitter campaign and the Sears Latino profile.

So What Kind of Fancy Calculator Are We Using to Calculate This?

1. Total US Twitter users = 74MM (200MM * 37%).  Twitter states that 37% of its users are from within the US.
2.Total US Hispanic Twitter Users = 8.1MM (74 * 11%).  Based on Quantcast’s demographic data research.
3. Spanish Dominant US Hispanics = 2.5MM (8.1MM * 31%). Combines Latin Americans and all Spanish favoring Hispanics in the US.
4. English Dominant US Hispanics = 3.6MM (8.1MM * 44%). Includes 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanics and all other English favoring Hispanics.
5. Bilingual US Hispanics = 2.0MM (8.1MM * 25%). The large portion of Hispanics whom are comfortable with either language.

Note: There are a few differing numbers on the percentage of Twitter Users are Hispanics.  Edison Research and Portada have both reported higher percentages, 17% and 18% respectively, but I suspect these were either smaller sample sizes or based on Internet using Hispanics, rather than total Hispanics.  Common sense led us to determine that 11% of Twitter users was the most accurate figure as the higher percentages presented would indicate that 25% of all Hispanics use Twitter, which is very unlikely.

Thoughts?

How do these figures compare with what you would imagined?   What other factors are key when determining the tonality of messaging to the US Hispanic audience?  Please place your thoughts in the Comments below.

Sources:

Social Times – 200MM Twitter Users

Site Seeker – 11% of Hispanics are Twitter Users

Official Twitter Blog – 37% of Twitter Users from US

Pew Hispanic Reports – Census counts 50MM Hispanics

DK Web Consulting – Percentages of Hispanics preferring English, Spanish, or Bilingual

Portada Online – 18% of Hispanics are Twitter Users

Edison Research – 17% of Twitter Users Hispanic