• by Lee Vann , Columnist, May 12, 2011

There is no doubt that social media is firmly embedded into the fabric of Hispanic online culture. Since we began studying Hispanic social media use in 2009, we have seen Hispanics lead the way when it comes to social media.

So it's no surprise that mainstream social media sites Facebook and YouTube are now among the five most popular websites among Hispanics and are growing at meteoritic rates, as shown by the following data*:

1. Yahoo.com

• 25 million Hispanic visitors
• 80% Hispanic reach
• 35% Annual Hispanic growth

2. Google.com

• 24 million Hispanic visitors
• 77% Hispanic reach
• 15% Annual Hispanic growth

3. Facebook.com

• 22 million Hispanic visitors
• 70% Hispanic reach
• 125% Annual Hispanic growth

4. YouTube.com

• 18 million Hispanic visitors
• 58% Hispanic reach
• 25% Annual Hispanic growth

5. MSN.com

• 18 million Hispanic visitors
• 58% Hispanic reach
• 17% Annual Hispanic growth

But that's only half story.

To better understand what's next in Hispanic social media, we took a look at some established and niche social networking sites. To put things in context, it is important to know that there are 32 millioin Hispanics online, the Hispanic online market grew 13% from April 2010 to April 2011 and that Hispanics make up 14.5% of the total US Online market.

What we found suggests that in some cases Hispanics are starting to venture beyond Facebook and YouTube and joining smaller and more specialized social networking sites.

Hispanic usage of Twitter and LinkedIn

Well known social media players Twitter and LinkedIn have established a foothold in the Hispanic online market reaching nearly 3 million monthly Hispanic visitors each. Between the two it appears that LinkedIn is poised to grow faster as younger Latinos enter the workforce and migrate to the professional social network, as the data below suggests:

1. Twitter

• 3.2 million Hispanic visitors
• 10% Hispanic reach
• 22% Annual Hispanic growth
• 13% Hispanic composition

2. LinkedIn

• 2.8 million Hispanic visitors
• 9% Hispanic reach
• 53% Annual Hispanic growth
• 9% Hispanic composition

Hispanic usage of niche social networks

There is a clear opportunity for companies to capitalize on the diversification that's occurring with Hispanic social media usage. Of the niche players, it seems Tumblr is making great strides. A hybrid between a blogging platform and Twitter, Tumblr "lets you effortlessly share anything." Tumblr currently hosts over 18 million blogs and generates over 28 million posts per day. Hispanics are starting to flock to Tumblr, and we expect to see organizations looking to reach them do the same.

Among other niche players, Badoo.com, a local focused social network, is resonating with Hispanics, while Plixi.com (now called Lockerz.com), a mobile photo sharing network, reached over 500,000 last month. QuePasa.com, one of the first Hispanic-focused websites, seems to have faltered recently.

1. Tumblr

• 787,000 Hispanic visitors
• 2.5% Hispanic reach
• 251% Annual Hispanic growth
• 9% Hispanic composition

2. Badoo

• 687,000 Hispanic visitors
• 2.2% Hispanic reach
• (2%) Annual Hispanic growth
• 70% Hispanic composition

2. Plixi

• 528,000 Hispanic visitors
• 1.7% Hispanic reach
• Plixi did not exist a year ago!
• 10% Hispanic composition

3. QuePasa

• 230,000 Hispanic visitors
• 1% Hispanic reach
• (17%) Hispanic annual growth
• 54% Hispanic composition

So what's next in Hispanic social media?

Facebook will probably continue its supreme dominance, but when it comes to the future of social media and Hispanics, small might be the next big thing.

* Source: ComScore Media Metrix