American Black consumers: More diverse, demanding and reachable than ever

Attention marketers: America’s Black population is more diverse, more reachable and more demanding than ever before, according to a new survey.

The report, “The Global Black Audience,” from Nielsen, calls this group Black Americans and not African Americans because it includes a growing number of immigrants and their children. While the majority are African American, about 4.6 million, approximately 10% of the group are foreign-born. The U.S. Census projects that this will increase to just under 10 million by 2060. At that point, 16% of the U.S. Black population will be foreign-born, up from just 7% at the start of the century. 

Why we care. This presents a challenge and an opportunity for marketers. The challenge is making campaigns that are more nuanced and aware of cultural differences when targeting this audience. The opportunity is that this adds to the data which can be used for creating personas and personalization.

Where they’re from. The Caribbean is the largest contributor to the rising foreign-born Black population, while Africa accounts for the fastest growth, contributing more than two million in 2019 alone. This, of course, adds more diversity as the people aren’t coming from “Africa,” but from 51 of the continent’s nations. Each with its own culture and language. 

Media consumption. The U.S. Black audience over 18 spends nearly 12 hours with media every day, compared with just under 10 for the general population. This means in a week they spend a full three days consuming content, almost 55% of it on TV.

TV plays a much larger role with Black Americans than with other groups. They spend 31.8% more time watching TV each week than the general population. Among Black Americans 65 and older, TV accounts for almost 69% of all media use.

The driving factor. Black Americans have truly embraced the increasing amount of streaming content that’s available. While they do use connected TV devices more than the general population, it makes up a much smaller portion of their total TV use than Hispanic and Asian audiences.

Dig deeper: How to fight bias in your AI models

They are also least likely to feel overwhelmed by the more than 1.1 million unique titles across linear and streaming channels. Black audiences say they’re less likely than other viewing populations to feel that the abundance of choice makes it more difficult to find something to watch.

More streaming subscriptions. Nearly three-quarters of Black Americans pay for three or more streaming services, well above the general population average of 60%. They also use many tools to engage with TV content, such as captions and subtitles. This reflects similar trends among young audiences using social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Fifty-two percent of Black American Gen Z audiences, for example, say they use subtitles to better understand the content they watch.

Black creators connect. More than half of first-generation Black Americans say they’re following a Black creator based outside of the U.S. The demand for Black creators isn’t yet enough to overcome a persistent pay equity gap compared to white influencers. According to the latest research from MSL U.S., the pay disparity between Black and white influencers on platforms like Instagram can be as high as 67%. 

Backing the Black. Black consumers are open to new brands, especially if they are Black-owned. The report (registration required) says they are finding them on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook; 66% say social media makes it easier to discover and buy from Black-owned brands.

True representation matters. More than a third (35.7%) of Black Americans believe that brands always represent Black people the same in advertising, compared with 27.9% among the U.S. general population. This is costing brands that don’t address the issue: 59% of Black consumers say they will look elsewhere if they don’t see accurate or representative depictions of their community. Also, Black consumers prefer brands that support causes they care about. Two-thirds say they are very likely to cut ties with brands that devalue the Black community. 

This poses a challenge to corporate America. The hyper-partisanship swarming so many online channels has some companies dialing back or not publicizing their involvement with so-called “hot button” issues. In addition to that, some companies that embraced DEI initiatives following the murder of George Floyd, are now cutting funding for them or eliminating them. Either of these can torpedo brand support from Black consumers.