Engaging Ethnic Communities Through New Media

8/8/2019 Engaging Ethnic Communities Through New Media

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Q: What is new media?

A: Online, digital and mobileways of connecting andreceiving all types of contentor information. It’s aboutgetting whatever informationyou want, whenever andwherever it is convenient for you.

Engaging Ethnic Communities: Why go multicultural with new media?

As we know, the U.S. has become increasingly diverse. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that theminority population is an estimated 104.6 million, or 34 percent of the population. Additionally, the Bureaureported that 44 percent of children under age 18 are now from minority families. Not surprisingly, Latinosmake up the largest and fastest growing minority population followed by Asians. (See chart below)

Types and trends of new media usage

Looking up healthcare information is one of the three top online activities in the U.S. In fact, 132 millionAmericans are online today and almost 80 percent of them are searching for health information. Some other interesting trends from a recent by Pew Internet Research Study include:

Seven-in-ten adult internet users, or roughly half of all U.S. adults, have used the internet to watch or download videos.

Half of online users share videos. In 2009, nearly 9 out of 10 U.S adults (or more than 270 million people) subscribe to a mobile service

compared with 77 percent of Americans who use the internet.

Who’s looking? Compared with all other racial and ethnic groups, Latinosincreasingly turn to the internet for health information. Other non-Hispanicpopulations (Asians, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians,Alaskan Natives, and people who named multiple races) also frequently lookto the internet for health information. In addition, more Latinos (62 percent)access the internet via a handheld or wireless device compared to whites.And according to a 2009 study by Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, certain minorities visit social networkingsites more frequently than non-Hispanic whites. (See graph on next page)




Additionally, some ethnic minorities tend to be drawn to collectivistic values and often look to one another tohelp guide decisions and opinions. They are more likely to leverage social networks to communicate withgroups of family and friends who are geographically dispersed.

Not always for the young. The largest age group on Twitter in early 2009 was 35-49; almost 42 percent of the site’s audience. The fastest growing population on Facebook is age 55 and older.

What, where and when to use it?

New media is not about tools and technology; it’s about creating venues for exchange and humanconnection. Tools and technology just facilitate the whole ability to interact.

Where is it being used? Given that 70 percent of online adults have searched for health information over the internet, it is no surprise that the number of U.S. hospitals using the popular micro-blogging site Twitter or posting videos on YouTube channels has skyrocketed in the last few years. (See below)




There is also an increased adoption of video usage in healthcare; anything from compliance and marketingto clinical care and efficiency. Interestingly, multilingual videos have also been rising, with Spanish videosgrowing more rapidly than in other languages.

Online Hispanics in the U.S. are "media mavens," consuming and adopting media and technology at ahigher rate than the general population, according to recent research released by Yahoo! Telemundo andExperian Simmons Research. A recent study from comScore reported that 71 percent of Hispanics accessmobile content compared to 48 percent of the general market.

What about mobile? There is no doubt that mobile is one of the largest growing markets—in fact, there arenearly 4.6 billion mobile phones on the planet covering almost two-thirds of the world’s population.According to the 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project, nearly 75% of white Americans have cellphones, while 84% of Latinos and 71% of African-Americans have them. The study also shows that certainminorities, particularly Hispanics, are much more likely to engage in mobile activity as a primary vehicle for sending and receiving messages, emailing, taking pictures, and social networking.

When to use multilingual new media? New media and multimedia can significantly improve information

retention, particularly when dealing with low health literacy and/or multilingual audiences. Allowing theaudience to see, hear and read the information can greatly improve their chances of behavior change or learning new health habits. Multilingual media can be used by all types of healthcare organizations for topicssuch as:

Welcome/orientation videos Health and wellness Disease management/education Exam/hospital room Age-specific or habit-related content Pre-diagnosis Post diagnosis /discharge At home or on the go

Tips for reaching and engaging through new media channels Pre-project Assessment: Identify your goals/initiatives: Define your scope, clinical areas of focus, internal and external

resources, etc. Know your target culture and community: Consider factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and

gender as well as cultural health beliefs, customs, and practices. Define delivery methods: If using video, where/how will the video be viewed? If it will be posted online,

consider the internet bandwidth and location of your audience (home vs. work).

Healthy Eating in a New Land

Diet changes often mean obesity,Diabetes and other health conditions.

New media reaches:• Limited English Proficiency• Low native English literacy• Limited literacy in native language

Source: University of Minnesota Extension's Simply Good Eating Program




Before Translating, Remember: Use professional linguists: Cultural nuances can be lost in direct, word-for-word translations, and using

machine translation for critical healthcare communications can be a costly gamble. Utilizing

professional translators can ensure the readability, accuracy and effectiveness of your messages. Keep messages clear and concise: Use plain language written no higher than a 6th

grade literacy level,and try to focus on key messages or what patients need to know.

If “Tweeting” or blogging, avoid jargon: Don’t use a big word where a small one will do; don’t use threewords where one will do. If you need to clarify a tweet, link to a blog post or article on your website.

Keep word length in mind: Translated text can expand 25-80 percent, so consider word and sentencelength in your online, audio or video messages.

Video Localization Tips: Include culturally-relevant content: Use appropriate images, colors and symbols that match the target

culture and beliefs. To speak or not to speak? Engineering costs increase with voiceover and voice syncing. Consider

replacing some audio with animations, subtitles or interactivity which can be more economical and

more impactful to your audience. Speak slowly, clearly: Try to speak at a 6th-8th grade level, and avoid lengthy sentences/paragraphs,

slang and idiomatic expressions. Translator timing is key: Localized videos can be as much as 50 percent longer than the English

videos, so syncing audio and video for the final project should be done and tested meticulously. Assess Results: Determine what will be reported by your community and how in order to assess the

effectiveness of your video and elicit feedback.

About viaLanguage

To learn more about new media translation and localization, or how viaLanguage can help ensure youalways say what you mean when communicating with your patients, members and community, contact us at1-800-737-8481 or visit us online at www.vialanguage.com.

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Engaging Ethnic Communities Through New Media