Should You Use Social Media to Reach Baby Boomers?
The question has been asked, “Is it worth your time to try to reach Baby Boomers on social media?” The answer is, “Yes.” and “No.” I write a lot about Baby Boomers as business owners, but not as much about Boomers as consumers. Today’s post is about both.
Donya Schweizer markets her Beyond Chocolate products using Facebook. 
What is Social Media? First, I need to define “social media.” It’s one of those “if you don’t know what it is, I can’t explain it” kinds of things. Social media involve the Internet and mobile technology (iPhones, cell phones, blackberries, that kind of stuff) to share information and interact. Social media are variously defined and what’s included varies wildly, from blogs and YouTube to RSS feeds, instant messaging, microblogs like Twitter, networking sites like FaceBook and LinkedIn, and social bookmarking like del.icio.us and DIGG, just to name a few. What I’m going to talk about here are primarily the micro blogs and the networking sites.
Do Boomers Use Social Media? Yes. Baby boomers, particularly younger ones, are using the Internet and social media at increasing rates. Sarah Perez on ReadWriteWeb, references a report that shows over 60% of boomers are using social media, either as creators, consumers, critics, collectors, joiners, or spectators, although most of these people are spectators. Only 16% of younger boomers and 15% of older boomers are creators of content. Roughly one-third of boomers are not active in social media. But the trend is toward increasing use of social media, particularly blogs and video, by Baby Boomers.
Interacting with Millenials and Gen Xers through Social Media. Some of my best friends are 20-somethings and 30-somethings. In my years as a teacher, I’ve developed friendships with these people. They think differently than we Baby Boomers. They think nothing of sending text messages from Africa to let me know they arrived safely, or to text while driving (terrifying thought) as they are on their way to check out a business opportunity (both of which happened in the last 48 hours).
They are always sending me invitations to join them on LinkedIn and FaceBook. They love telling everyone what they are doing, no matter how inane (“My daughter just said her first bad word – where did she hear it from?”). They create videos and distribute them prolifically. They certainly are connected. My point in mentioning this demographic is that as Boomers interact with their children and grand-children, we’ll see increasing numbers getting into social media, if only out of desperation.
Reaching Baby Boomer Consumers and Business Owners. Unlike these younger generations, while Boomers consumer social media, they are not as adventurous or as prolific. That’s part of the reason I can’t find photos of Baby Boomers on the web; they aren’t on the web as much so there is no market for photos to attract them. But they can be. What would motivate a Baby Boomer to use Social Media?
- A “must know” kind of question – about their retirement savings, for example, or how to find health insurance.
- A need to connect with others to share experiences – like how to care for an aging parent, or how to find the best deals on cruises or bed and breakfasts.
- Because this is “where it’s at.” If you want to know about President Obama’s inauguration speech, you go to YouTube. If you want to find out who is writing about long-term-care insurance, you’ll find a blogger talking about it.
Image source: Newscom