Selena Gomez Fans Surpass Barack Obama Fans on Facebook, Plus Three Social Media Survey Finds

31 Other Latino Celebrities Among Top 1,000 Facebook Fan Pages

Latino Facebook Users Grew 167 Percent Compared to 21 Percent Among Non-Hispanic

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Plus Three recently conducted a survey of social networking sites to determine the growth of this valuable media tool for Latinos. Among the more interesting findings, actress and singer Selena Gomez has passed a significant milestone on Facebook by surpassing Barack Obama with 22.5 million fans.  A total of 32 Latino celebrities are among the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages, the survey finds.

"Latino Facebook users grew 167% compared to 21% among non-Hispanics from April 2010 to April 2011 according to comScore," said Juan Proano, President, Plus Three. " Latinos are using Facebook to stay connected with family and friends and to stay connected with their identity. Any organization that wants to stay in touch with a Latino audience will need to focus its outreach on using Facebook and social media in order to stay relevant today".

The triple digit growth provides the strongest indicator yet that Latinos are rapidly adopting Facebook and social media to connect with family and friends but also to advance common interests, issues, grassroots movements and social causes.

Plus Three surveyed the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages and found 32 Latino celebrities among the top 1,000.  Only three Latinos broke into the top 100. Shakira was the top Latina celebrity with 35 million fans and ranked number eight on the overall list followed by Selena Gomez at number thirty-five and Enrique Iglesias at number forty-eight.  

The Latinos with at least 2 million Facebook fans are mostly singers, athletes, and comedians.  Athletes from the World Cup and Reggaeton artists dominated the list.  Latino celebrities on the list include Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Lionel Messi, Ricardo Kaka, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, and Carlos Santana.

Nielsen reports that the average Facebook user spends four hours and 39 minutes on the site per week. That is more time than the average user spends on Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Microsoft, Wikipedia, and Amazon combined. With a number of public and private initiatives to drive broadband adoption among underserved communities, such as the one being led by NCLR, LULAC and One Economy, we should expect that Latinos will continue to increase their on-line presence as well as become more sophisticated in their usage to stay connected at home, school, work, and even on the go.

Founded in 2002, Plus Three (http://plusthree.com/) is a state-of-the-art web-design and technology company that helps nonprofit, membership, and political organizations promote social change in America. With a demonstrated commitment to developing innovative and effective online fundraising and advocacy tools it has helped clients raise over $250 million and engage over 12 million people – educating them and moving them to act in support of the causes and candidates they care about. To learn more, please visit: www.plusthree.com

SOURCE Plus Three