A 2012 Nielsen study concluded that African American buying power will reach $1 Trillion dollars by 2015.
What is Economic Empowerment?
In an article at Politics365.com, Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt indicates that perhaps we are looking at the wrong metrics to measure Black economic power. While our spending is increasing, the wealth gap is getting larger. Our so-called spending power is not the appropriate measure of Black economic empowerment. She asks: "Should we be proud of just making up 13% of the total population yet spending at a rate of growth that outpaces the remaining population by 30 percent?
While it is wonderful to acknowledge the report's data which shows that the Black American demographic is younger, more educated and have higher incomes than commonly believed, what can be said about the fact that we aren't retaining that wealth for the long term and at a rate sufficient to pass down wealth to subsequent generations?
... And for all the spending we are doing, it's not necessarily going to help black businesses either."
Social Networking to Economic Power
I have been an advocate for the Virtual Black Community for many years. Over the past few years there has been an increasing adoption of the Internet and Social Media within the Black community that suggests that the digital divide is almost closed. However, the economic empowerment of Social Media is not being leveraged as effectively as it might be.
If followers and fans would make one small change in their behavior, there would be a dramatic increase in visibility and business activity for Black entrepreneurs.
Black mobile users are more active users of social media than any other segment of the marketplace. Can this rapid adoption be transformed into economic empowerment? I believe the answer is Yes -- if we engage in effective viral activity.
Convert "LIKES" and "FOLLOWERS" into economic power.
STEP ONE: On every Facebook post there are three options: Like, Comment, Share. The "SHARE" option is the button the leads to viral activity.
The "Like" and "Comment" buttons make the author feel good, but the "SHARE" button pushes the post out into your network of friends. Each "share" action multiplies the economic effectiveness of the post by sharing it with other consumers.
ACTION: Click the "Share" button and tell your friends why you purchased or recommend an article. This is the action that leads to empowerment. Move beyond the lazy and easy step of simply clicking the "like" button on your favorite Facebook Articles. Your friends are more likely to act on a personal recommendation from you.
STEP TWO:
ACTION: "Retweet" every good post you see for the next few days and see what happens at your Twitter feed.Your followers will appreciate that you are sharing good news with them. Try this and you will see that your friends will also respond. This is how to create viral economic activity.
On every Twitter post there are three options: Reply, Favorite, and Retweet. The most effective of these is the "Retweet" option.
This is because you forward the message intact, as the author created it. One "retweet" adds hundreds or thousands of new followers to an effective tweet. This is how to start a trend -- and more importantly -- keep it going. It only requires one click of the mouse.
STEP THREE: As an entrepreneur, don't forget that you are also a consumer. Don't spend so much time promoting yourself and your business that you forget that your support of others is critically important to their success.
ACTION: USE YOUR $PENDING POWER to support other Black entrepreneurs. Lead your followers to economic empowerment by walking the walk, not just talking the talk.
The key to leveraging our social networks for economic empowerment is to "SHARE", "RETWEET",and "SPEND"with Black entrepreneurs.
What goes around comes around.
