Baby Boomers are serious online shoppers and social media users; solely focusing on the younger audience means missing out an important part of the prosperous +55 market.

1. The Three Major Demographics for Online Marketers
(Part 2): Marketing to Baby Boomers
In the first part of our three series study, we focused on how teens and young adults are increasingly
using the web for more than just „casual browsing‟ and what this means for online marketers. While
we agree that the youth will continue to be one of the heaviest users of social media, our second
part highlights how older users or the baby boomers are rapidly becoming web-savvy. Going by
eMarketer‟s recent study, we know that today‟s 60-year-olds do more than just stay home in their
slippers, sipping a mug of hot cocoa and surfing different television channels. According to the
report:
At 78.2%, baby boomers spend more time and money online than any other generation; this percentage is
likely to stay the same through 2015.
Of this, the 56-65 age group spends approximately
36.5 hours a month online.
Contrary to the belief that older consumers shy away
from mobile phones, it has been found that 86.9% of
Baby Boomers will have a mobile phone in 2011.
Internet will be accessed via mobile browsers or
installed apps by almost one quarter of this
demographic.
By 2015, 40% of the Baby Boomers will use the
internet via mobile.
For brands and advertisers, the message is obvious; there is a
need to broaden their marketing strategy to include this
demographic too, keeping in mind the fact that this segment
uses mobiles for more than just making calls. Now that we
know how important this demographic is to online marketers
in general, we are curious to see if the older audience is just
as enthusiastic about social media. The 2010 Pew Internet &
American Life Project report shows that:
Social networking use among Internet users ages +50
almost doubled to 42% in May 2010 from 22% in the
previous year.
During the same period, the +65 age bracket‟s social media usage increased from 13% to 26%.
Although the older audience is not as quick to catch on to the concept of social networking, they
nevertheless, are showing increased ’stickiness’ to social media sites.
Although email is still the preferred channel of communication among older users, the above statistics suggest that
social media is fast catching on. Baby Boomers are jumping on the social media bandwagon; yet, not many brands
cater to this demographic. We believe this could be because:
The stereotypical image of avid social media users involves tech-savvy 20-somethings; therefore the general
tendency is to design marketing campaigns and messages keeping a younger audience in mind.
Older people are expected to use social media for casual browsing or catching up with old friends. While this
is not entirely incorrect, baby boomers (with their large disposable income) are set to become one of the most
powerful consumer groups online.
Boomers are believed to be too old to embrace technology and depend on traditional sources for
information, news etc. A study by Forrester indicates just the opposite; 60% of Baby Boomers throng various
social networking channels and we have every reason to believe this number will only grow in the years ahead.
With the growing number of older adults taking advantage of social media right now, brands and online marketers
need to keep this key demographic in mind while designing their marketing campaigns. Baby Boomers are serious
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2. online shoppers and social media users; solely focusing on the younger audience means missing out an important part
of the prosperous +55 market.
The Big Spenders
Unlike their predecessors, the older consumers of today have more disposable income and therefore are open to
trying new brands and products online. According to eMarketer, the 116 million Baby Boomers in the USA (as of 2011)
are a valuable target audience to marketers and represent tremendous potential to those who know how to reach
them. Here are some reasons why we think brands should invest their online marketing dollars towards reaching the
‘big spenders’:
eMarketer‟s recent study indicates that Boomers spend over $2.9 trillion annually, and a significant amount of
their time online is spent shopping.
In 2010, an average of about $650 was spent online over a three-month period; this was much higher than the
$581 spent online by Generation X (ages 35 to 46) internet users and the $429 spent by millennials (ages 18 to
34).
Most people who fall under this bracket are either beginning to retire or have already retired; with time and
disposable income in hand, this demographic is more than willing to give brick-and-mortar stores a pass and
shop online instead.
Boomers are less critical about shopping online, says a recent study by Experian Simmons. According to the
study, 49% of boomers thought making online purchases was safe, compared to 47% of total internet users.
While the aging population is willing to loosen its purse strings, they are still „old fashioned„ and are likely to
look for the best deals and offers on sites such as Groupon, LivingSocial and Facebook. For social media
marketers, this translates into an opportunity to build their customer data base and design campaigns
accordingly.
Their financial independence enables baby boomers to indulge in purchasing luxury products such as luxury
cars, health products and expensive cosmetics, both online as well as offline.
The older population does not just view the internet as a place to find the lowest bargains. Research by Position²
indicates that the possibility of selecting from a wide array products and services, without having to leave the comfort
of their homes is a major attraction for this demographic. This, in addition to the fact that baby boomers are one of
the wealthiest and the largest segments in the USA, is making brands gradually take notice of this segment. Yahoo! is
one such brand. Extensive research by Yahoo! showed how this demographic, while largely unnoticed, spent
considerable amount of their time and money online. In a smart move, Yahoo! went on to launch its „Vitality‟ website,
which featured everything, from vitality blogs to healthcare tips
and post-retirement vacation planners. All we can say is that
Yahoo!‟s pursuit of those Baby Boomer dollars has definitely paid
off.
Baby Boomers; the New Facebook Users
It‟s a well known fact that Facebook initially targeted the college
crowd and then moved on to older social networkers. A few years
ago it would have been difficult to imagine people in the +55 age
bracket adding „friends‟, „liking‟ pages and posting comments;
after all, this behavioral pattern typically pertains to the younger
generation right? Well, not anymore. A recent study by eMarketer
shows how more and more Baby Boomers „like‟ various brands on
Facebook. According to Forbes, the fastest growing age segment in
Facebook includes 55-64 and +65 year olds. Then who are these
„users‟ that are leaving Facebook? It‟s the teens and 20-
somethings, says eMarketer; which makes baby boomers, the new
Facebook users. Online marketers looking to target this age
bracket want to know what their senior audience is doing on
Facebook:
Studies conducted in 2010 show that:
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3. o 40% of the seniors use Facebook to connect with family and old friends.
o 30% use it to share photos, while 20% like to play social games.
o 10% look for contests and promotional offers.
The attraction to online communities: With little time
restraints, this generation of the Facebook audience
spends time joining online communities, engaging in
discussions etc. This often gives them a sense of
„belonging‟.
For professional connections and business connections:
That‟s right; baby boomers prefer Facebook to LinkedIn
for professional networking. Deloitte data indicates that
LinkedIn has only 13% older users when compared to
Facebook, which boasts 73% aging users.
Although the younger crowd is increasingly experimenting with
other networking channels besides Facebook, online marketers
have no reason to worry. Companies and brands on Facebook,
which until now simply designed their marketing strategies for the
youth, can now cater to baby boomers, who are embracing this
site with gusto. Besides looking for contests and promotions, this
demographic also appears to be participating in community
discussions on Facebook. For brands that have a heavy Facebook
presence, understanding their target market will not just enable
them to capture and retain their customers, but will also help build customer-specific campaigns.
Does your Online Campaign Target Baby Boomers?
Before designing digital campaigns for older consumers, what marketers need to understand is that they are targeting
a generation and not an age bracket. The current +55 generation does not „think old‟ anymore. They are tech-savvy,
eager to experiment with new products, willing to make online purchases and have the money to spend. Nevertheless,
like their younger counterparts, reaching out to this demographic online involves extensive understanding of what
drives them, why they prefer certain social channels over others, what makes them buy a product online etc. Before
designing a social media or digital campaign for Baby Boomers, here are some things marketers need to know:
Keep it Positive: The concept of the „grey‟ customer no longer holds good. With their kids having flown the
nest, their mortgages paid off, today‟s older consumers are an optimistic lot. Creating social media campaigns
which are dark and gloomy will only drive this segment
further away.
Using Older Faces in your Ads is Okay: What we mean by
this is „keeping it real‟. A great example of this would be
the Dove Pro-aging campaign. While designing the adverts,
which were aimed at women over 50, Unilever‟s
marketing team wisely decided to use regular women in
the +50 age bracket instead of going for young
professional models. Although the TV adverts faced some
trouble for showing too much skin, the ads aired on
YouTube were a huge hit and were commended for
showing aging as something that was normal.
The importance of a good design: Ultra conservative and
bland is passé; be fun and creative, at the same time keep
your webpage simple and easy to navigate. A clean interface, uncluttered text, use of professional graphics
will ensure repeat visitors to your page.
Getting Down to the Details: If you are advertising a certain product online, including the relevant details on
a single page, where it is easy to find, is a good idea. Older consumers who have to dig for details such as the
price or the best-by-date of a product may switch over to another site that has the required information in
one place.
Building a Relationship: The aging population will not buy a product because it‟s „cool‟. This demographic
views trust as the key to establishing a genuine relationship. Timely response to their tweets, being
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4. transparent while communicating, responding to customer complaints increases your „personality quotient‟
and shows that you care.
Here’s a tip: While marketing to older customers, we suggest you focus on the aspects of high quality and value for
money, which will help you build a loyal customer base. Baby boomers may have the money and will spend it no
doubt…but not unless they know they are getting their money‟s worth.
Conclusion
Just like traditional marketing, each target group in unique; the secret to generating traffic and increasing ROI is to
understand how and where they spend time online, what social sites they prefer and what drives them to make
certain purchases. In the case of baby boomers, the recent jump in social media activity indicates the emergence of a
fast-growing target market that is set to grow further in the next few years. If we go by eMarketer‟s study, then over
one-half (56.8%) of 55-to-64-year-old Internet users will visit social networks regularly by 2014, up from 34.3% in 2009.
In fact, even the +65 age group will reach a 37.9% penetration rate in 2014; now that‟s something.
The key to reaching out and retaining this target market is to design appropriate digital campaigns that appeal to
them. Perhaps this is why older consumers prefer Facebook to other networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn etc.
Facebook‟s clean, user-friendly layout enables social media marketers to design adverts specific to this demographic.
However, with the entry of Google+ in the networking space we are eager to see if the older audience embraces
Google‟s new social media tool with just as much enthusiasm. With Baby Boomers spending more time and money
online than any other generation in the US, social media sites have expanded beyond just channels of social
interactions and have become a viable platform for brands looking to reach older consumers. Earlier, marketers
believed social media was all about Gen Y; this notion is gradually changing. With more and more boomers beginning
to use social media, we expect to see a shift in the ROI realized from social media campaigns. As Owyang and
Forrester Research have shown, “the baby boomer market is a fertile playground for marketers looking to easily reach
an engaged audience.”
While we conclude the second part of our series, watch out for the third and final installment where we study another
key demographic for online marketers; women, with a special focus on web-savvy mothers.
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5. About Position2
Position2 is a Search and Social Media Marketing firm that delivers continuous growth for our clients using our
proprietary “Surround and Intent” Marketing Methodology, delivered by our products. Our proprietary methodology is
a result of years of experience in working with diverse clients to deliver customer acquisition goals through search
engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and Pay Per Click (PPC) and online media advertising.
Position2 was founded in 2006 with funding from Accel Venture Partners, and has offices in Palo Alto, Bangalore and
Mumbai. Position2 is a certified agency with Google, Yahoo, Bing and is also part of the Google Adwords advisory
council.
Position2's flagship product is Position2 Brand MonitorTM, a platform that allows users to listen, discover and engage
with social media conversations in real time. With a team of over 100 professionals, Position 2 also provides expertise
in online marketing solutions: SEO, PPC, Media and Advertising.
Position2 works with leading global brands:
This article is also available on the Position2 Blog: http://blog.position2.com.
For more information, visit http://brandmonitor.position2.com or email info@position2.com.
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