What we’ve recently learned that we wanted to share with our clients:

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, African-Americans as a demographic group are now the leading early adopters of mobile technology in the United States compared to other groups, increasingly using mobile phones to access the web and perform online tasks, and making wider use of social media—far exceeding their Caucasian counterparts’ usage and daily frequency.

What this means to you, and why it’s important to your business:

Since African-Americans are now more likely than other groups to watch content on their mobile devices, more likely to try new mobile apps, and more likely to use their social networks to share rich content, NDG believes our real estate and homebuilder clients who operate in predominately African-American markets should begin testing a number of developing digital channels to engage prospects within this demographic, such as using QR codes on model home signage or flyers that can be scanned to quickly take a mobile user to video tours of home models, and allocating more pay-per-click/online advertising dollars to mobile media channels where African-American homebuyers are shopping and researching.

If your company operates in predominately African-American markets, then we believe it’s time to up your game, take more risks, and try new things that click with mobile users—this demographic is ready and waiting for mobile content and activity. Now is the time to set your company apart and create new connections by being an early mobile adopter too.

The Details:

The results of a 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project revealed that African-Americans are among the “most active users of the mobile web.” The survey found that mobile phone ownership is higher among African-Americans than among whites and that “minority cell phone owners take advantage of a much greater range of their phones’ features compared with white mobile phone users.”

• At least 64% of African-Americans now access the internet from a laptop or mobile phone

• African-American mobile phone owners are significantly more likely than Caucasians to use non-voice data applications on their mobile devices and they also take advantage of a wider range of mobile phone features compared with Caucasians

• African-Americans are more likely than all other groups to use their mobile devices to share and consume multimedia content

• 54% use their phone to send photos or video on their phone

• 20% watch video on their mobile phone

• 15% post photos or videos online on their phone