Reach your whole potential audience. This white paper from Elon University's graduate program in Interactive Media describes best practices for reaching minority influencers on social media.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Through social media, people have a channel to instantly share their opinions with hun-
dreds sometimes thousands of viewers. Never before has our world seen a technology
that almost instantly has the power to connect people from all over the planet. Never-
theless, the question arises how do you use the information your users are sharing to
attract more people to your brand and generate money? The answer to this question
are the major influencers in the social media world. We will be specifically analyzing
African- American social media influencers.
If African-Americans are a target audience for your marketing
campaign, it is essential that you know who the major African-American
social media influencers are. By knowing these active, influential social
media constituents, you are in a position to model and develop a beneficial online
presence and relationship with your viewers and influencers.
1 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson

2. CONSUMERS
Consumers Trust Who They Know Online
According to Nielsen’s African-American Consumer Report for 2013, African-American television viewers
tend to watch programs that provide diversity in the cast or characters who are reflective of the Black
lifestyle and culture. Many of the top television programs amongst African Americans contain actors or
artists who become major influencers in Black cyberspace.
Consumers trust those they know. All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business
to those people they know, like, and trust. A 2011 study done by Nielsen revealed that more than 90% of
online consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends over advertising. The
value of African-American social media influencers relies on the influencer’s relationship with the Afri-
can-American culture. If you are someone who is well known and trusted amongst African-Americans,
you will have a higher impact on their social media trends and actions.
More than
90% of online
consumers trust
word-of-mouth
recommendations from
family and friends over
advertising.”
2 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson

3. WHO IS SOCIAL?
40% of 18-29 year
old African-Americans
who use the
Internet use
3 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson
In the past there has been a great gap between Afri-
can American internet use compared to other ethnic
groups. The Pew Internet and American Life Project
found that in 2000, 36% of Blacks had Internet
access compared to 50% of whites.The World Wide
Web definitely delivers access to information that
would otherwise be intangible. However, despite
the fact that most Americans use the Internet, those
who are older, less educated, minority and lower
income have lesser usage rates than younger, highly
educated, white and wealthier individuals2
.
Porter and Donthu found that age, education, in-
come and race are associated differentially with be-
liefs about the Internet and these beliefs influence a
consumer’s attitude toward and use of the Internet.
Lower income consumer such as African Americans
resist services with continuing cost, and although
public facilities often provide free internet access the
quality of access is often low2
. Though the residents
of these communities can access World Wide Web
usage at schools or libraries, the time involved in
online interactivity compared to someone with con-
tinuous Internet access is distinctly different, conse-
quently, resulting in two different perceptions of the
Internet and a theory known as digital divide.
Digital divide can be defined as the gap
between computer and Internet use of
whites and certain minority groups, the
wealthy and less affluent, the educated
and less schooled, and those residing
in urban and rural areas3
. Despite the
reality of digital divide, the Internet
access and usage for African-Ameri-
cans is increasing. A recent study done
bye the Pew Research Center found
that when it comes to overall internet
use African Americans trail Whites by
only seven percentage points 87% to
80%. These users are mostly young,
college educated, higher income Afri-
can-Americans and those who don’t fit
the latter description access the inter-
net through their smartphones. 92%
of African Americans own a cell phone
and 56% of them own a smartphone.
The high percentage of African-Ameri-
can smartphone Internet users may be
the reason why Twitter is so popular
among African Americans. According
to the Pew Research Center, 40% of
18-29 year old African Americans who
use the Internet say that they use Twit-
ter. That is 12 percentage points higher
than the comparable figure for young
whites. Blacks are 44% more likely
than total market consumers to create
a social media profile. For Blacks online
platforms are like beauty/barbershops.
where people come to voice their opin-
ions, share funny stories, and connect
with others.
“For Blacks,
online platforms
are like
beauty/barber-
shops...”

4. BLACK TWITTER
Black Twitter is defined as the substantial black presence on Twitter.3
It is important to note that every
participant in Black Twitter is not Black. Black Twitter serves as an online community that allows users
within this realm to critique, agree/disagree and share information with their peers.
African-Americans generate the majority of hashtags and trending topics. Within the black community,
it is important to note that Black responses to the news coverage about in-group members are typically
very critical.This online community is put together through collaborative comments and thrives on the
call-and-response types of communication.3
Within“Black Twitter,”an important feature is the hashtag. A hashtag is a word or a phrase prefixed with
the symbol“#”. A recent example of how hashtags were used in an effective way was during the 2014
Academy Awards. The movie 12 Years A Slave was up for 9 academy awards and powerful social media
users such as Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry and Will Smith were among many to show support of the film via
social media. This, in return, lead to countless retweets and shares from their fans and served as promo-
tion to the film, especially for those who had yet to see the movie.
According to a 2013 report by the Pew Research Center,
26 percent of African Americans who use the Internet
use Twitter, compared to14 percent of
online white, non-Hispanic Americans.
In addition, 11 percent of African American Twitter
users say they use Twitter at least once a
day, versus 3 percent of white users2
.
What Makes a Great Influencer?4
Holly Hamann, co-founder and CMO of TapInfluence, states,“Influence is no longer determined by net-
work ratings or a newspaper’s circulation, and influencers no longer need an audience of millions. Al-
though influence is sometimes measured by unique visitors, blog comments, YouTube views, or Twitter
followers, the numbers aren’t what matter most — what matters is the reaction a person’s content gets
from his or her audience.”
Passion and engagement are at the heart of what makes a modern influencer, and these
factors are also what make influencers so valuable to brands4
.
Influencers help brands:
1. Reach a Very Targeted Audience4
Marketing to a broad audience might raise awareness, but if people aren’t interested in
what you’re trying to sell, much of your investment is wasted by not hitting the right
audience. Targeting the right influencers means targeting the audience most likely to be in-
terested in your brand. If you make running shoes, partnering with a marathon runner with
a strong following gives you direct access to the people most likely to want your product.
4 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson

5. There are multiple ways that one could measure their own Twitter influence and find
their top influencers within social media.
Here are 5 Tools to Measure Twitter Influence
Klout is a website and mobile app that uses social media analytics to rank its users
according to online social influence via the“Klout Score”, which is a numerical value
between 1 and 100. In determining the user score, Klout measures the size of a user’s
social media network and correlates the content created to measure how other users
interact with that content.
Retweet Rank is the standard to determine influencers on Twitter based on retweets. This API provides
data about top influencers. You can also fetch any Twitter user’s retweet rank and percentile.
Twitalyzer is“web analytics for Twitter”in a lot of ways. It’s geared towards performance
measurement. It is centered on measuring individual user accounts (as opposed to
measuring/monitoring“topics”) and tracks a mix of“measures”and“metrics”over time. Basically, Twit-
alyzer is the Google Analytics of Twitter.
Twitter Grader is a free tool that allows you to check the power of your twitter profile
compared to millions of other users that have been graded. Just enter your twitter
username (password not needed) and you’ll get an instant grade and report. It’s easy.
SocialRank tells you more about your most valuable, most engaged, and best followers
on Twitter.
2. Create Trust
When people want information on a product, they look for like-minded
individuals whose advice they trust. Influencers garner large, loyal followings
because people know they will get real, honest information from them.
Building a relationship with these influencers means gaining the inherent
trust of their audience4
.
3. Generate Engagement
Print and television tend to be inherently passive mediums. People see ads,
but that doesn’t mean they’re engaged. An influencer, however, thrives on
active engagement. A blogger’s content lives or dies by how much it’s shared,
discussed, and replied to. People who follow an influencer on Facebook are
much more likely to act on a post simply because of the medium. If a brand
is looking to stand out in the online sphere and gain followers on its own
social media accounts, this type of engagement is key4
.
FINDING INFLUENCERS
5 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson

6. #1. President Barack Obama (@BarackObama)
Not only is he the first Black President, he is the first President to have
a Twitter account. If that fact has not sold you yet, get this: he created a
trending topic for the State of the Union Address called #STUA, where he
gave updates on points he spoke about in his speech.
#2. Rev Run (@RevRunWisdom)
His tweets are personal and authentic, so authentic he possibly types them
from his bathtub like he does on his hit show Run’s House. Whether you are
religious, spiritual, or worldly, his messages speak to people of all walks of
life.
#3. Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah)
Her tweets are filled with positivity and encouragement, and constantly remind me
that she is still human like you and me. She once tweeted about how excited she was
to meet Maxwell, while also promoting her many platforms such as the end of dis-
tracted driving.
#4. P Diddy (@IamDiddy)
Diddy promotes entrepreneurship, and never has become complacent in his rise to
super stardom. He shares his life in his tweets, from business ventures, to family issues.
He is so passionate about everything he does, from signing a multi-million dollar
contract, to tasting a new dish, to the lastest fashioon trends in the African-American
community.
#5. Dr. Marc Lamont Hill (@MarcLamontHill)
Dr. Hill is currently a professor at Columbia University, but his celebrity is growing
due to his unique passion for the proper representation of Black people, as well as his
analytical prowess.
All of these individuals are prime examples of how powerful influencers can be, in this
case, in the African American community.
CONCLUSION
Top African American Influencers on Twitter5
6 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson
Influencers can not only heighten your visibilty amongst likeminded individuals but they can also push your
content to new levels. Major influencers can build trust in your brand, create brand awareness and generate
engagement amongst your users. Within the African-American community, individuals see, on a daily basis, the
impact that an influencer such as Oprah Winfrey can have on a product. Utilizing the power of a social media
influencer not only shows the articulated thought of your business goals but also shows that you are confident
in your content, your message and your brand.

7. ABOUT
Jeffrey Williamson is a multimedia design and
interactive media professional from Reidsville, NC. He
graduated from Elon University with an undergraduate
degree in Digital Art and Communications and is
expecting to earn his Master’s degree from Elon
University in the Spring of 2014. Jeffrey has interests in
blogging, social media, interactive design and
photography. He enjoys networking and learning new tips
and trends to develope his knowledge with the field of
interactive media.
Follow Jeffrey on Twitter: @JeffreyLDesign
7 © 2014 Peterson, Williamson
A lifetime entrepreneur, Reginald Peterson II is CEO of
1/16th Media Productions LLC. He is a graduate of North
Carolina A&T State University and is currently acquiring his
Master’s in Interactive Media at Elon University. During his
time at North Carolina A&T, he was an active member of the
school’s first broadcast show,“Studio 475 News.”Reginald
wrote scripts, shot and edited video, appeared in-front of
camera, and programmed interactive graphics for WFMY
News 2 during his internship his senior year. After gradu-
ation, Reginald interned with P&P Productions in Virginia
Beach, VA. There, he gained experience producing wedding
packages and shooting a local television show. Through
his media experiences, Reginald decided to start his own
production company, which focuses on uplifting his culture
through different media platforms.
Follow Reginald on Twitter: @ReginaldPeter13

8. CITATIONS
© 2014 Peterson, Williamson
1 http://nnpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/African-American-Consumer-Report-2013.pdf
2 http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/05/31/twitter-use-2012/
3 Sarah Florini: http://tvn.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/03/07/1527476413480247.abstract?rss=1
4 Holly Hamannhttp://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131220144939-1959901-what-price-would-you-put-on-an-influencer
5 http://newsone.com/551705/follow-friday-this-weeks-top-5-black-celebrities-to-follow-on-twitter/
IMAGES
http://viralstatus.com/category/jazzithevoice/
http://mc-insights.com/2012/05/23/nielsen-black-consumers-are-above-average-in-many-of-their-online-activities/
http://dcentric.wamu.org/2010/11/why-was-african-americans-a-trending-topic-in-d-c-on-twitter/