Questions

How can I effectively market my online business to baby boomers / senior citizens?

I have an online platform designed for use by baby booms & senior citizens. However since (I think?) they don't typically spend as much time online as the younger generations, then how or where can I go to effectively market to this audience online? Offline marketing suggestions are less relevant at this time, but always valued/appreciated!

11answers

You have a lot of options to market to boomers and seniors. That age group is facebook's fastest growing segment. Build ads that target that age group and think about having a facebook page to supplement your efforts there.

Older people search just like the rest of us as well, so build an adwords campaign around keywords that might align with your product.

Contact me if you'd like to chat about some options or need some help building your campaigns. Good luck!


Answered 10 years ago

You may be surprised to find that Baby Boomers and Senior Citizens are fairly active in online communities and social media because this is how they stay connected to family and friends. I wouldn't ignore it entirely.

Two things I would do: First, If your online business lends itself to creating content of some kind that is educational, look to content marketing. Create a blog and write content that answers questions your target audience wants answered. Share that content on social media. Facebook and YouTube are great places. You've probably heard that younger people are turning away from places like Facebook because that's where their parents and grandparents hang out online. Well, there you go. That's where your audience is. Become an authority in your space. Your audience wants to know they can trust you if they decide to part with their money and spend it with you.

Second, and this is for offline marketing because it shouldn't be overlooked, look to your local area and find associations or organizations that cater to your target audience. Many of these organizations host meetings or group outings. Could you perhaps take your same educational content and present it to these people in person? Start small and you'll be surprised that word will get around about your product or service if you do a good job presenting it and demonstrating its value.

I know my answer is somewhat ambiguous because I don't know much about what you are selling or your online platform, but look to content marketing. If you can skillfully craft your pitch in an educational format, your audience will likely respond accordingly.


Answered 10 years ago

Your target audience is definitely a challenging one to connect with online but it's far from impossible. The first thing you'll want to do is study your audience and truly get a better understanding of where they are spending time online. While they may not be spending as much time online as younger audiences, they've embraced technology and are most certainly consuming content from their social channels and on their favourite websites.

One strategy that would likely make the most sense for this audience is built on the idea of creating and distributing quality content that links to their motivations, challenges and wants. To do this, I would consider what topics are the most relevant to this audience and gather this insight by spending time on the channels they use. Similar to the way Entrepreneurs spend time reading answers on Clarity, these people likely spend time on another website. What is it? What do they talk about? Go there and find out the hot topics. If there's a connection between those topics and your product, you've found a great story that can be leveraged and shared to drive awareness and potential leads to your product.

Identifying these stories and possible messages will then arm you with the ability to craft content that can drive earned media. For example, let's say you crafted an Infographic titled: "How Savvy Baby Boomers Are Navigating The Web" -- You then take this content and share it with a few journalists at outlets that your audience would read and see if they would be interested in posting it. If the content is good, they'll likely consider it and allow you to be placed in front of a highly relevant and targeted audience.

This is just one of the many tactics that could work. If you'd like to discuss ideas in more detail - Line up a call to chat!


Answered 9 years ago

"Baby boomers and senior citizens" are not a homogenous group, but AARP is a relatively trusted source of information for seniors. Have you considered advertising with "AARP The Magazine?" AARP has about 40 million members.
Something else to keep in mind is that seniors usually have Medicare, approximately 60 million members over 65 years old.

Not sure if that is helpful. If You share more about your model, perhaps I can offer more valuable insight.

Happy planning,

Gregg Michael Kennelly


Answered 9 years ago

I'd make your No. 1 priority growing an email list. It's almost *always* important for growing communities, but for this particular target market that might not be on social as much as the rest of us, it's even more important. Create a valuable freebie to encourage them to opt in, and then you can go to them where you know they're already hanging out: their inbox.


Answered 10 years ago

An innovative way to reach boomers and gen Xers is to collaborate with builders of Active Living (50+) communities. Host modest events at community launches and sign up many participants at a time in a fun atmosphere. Facebook is the retirement community of social media, so hosting a group and page that explains your product/ service should be implemented.


Answered 6 years ago

You would be pleasantly surprised to see some of the data on how boomers, and separately, senior citizens use digital platforms today.

My first question is, what is your platform exactly and are you selling a service, a commodity, or any other type of product?

Understanding these fundamentals can help initially weed out unnecessary market channels and help you focus on those that are more relevant to your audience.

Furthermore, and beyond this, you can get down to micro details on how to properly target market your business to your audience.

Please reach out with any questions!


Answered 6 years ago

I would say use more antiquated methods like rotary and chamber of commerce meetings.


Answered 5 years ago

Let us look at baby boomers, for online marketing this category of people we must look at the following points because strategies cannot be described they always needs to be framed:
1. Baby boomers are a big audience: Baby boomers make up one of the largest sectors of consumers, so every marketer should be paying attention to effective marketing strategies for baby boomers. Generational studies show that about 70 million people fall into the category of baby boomers. The baby boomer generation is the largest segment of consumers, comprising about 40% of the market share.
2. Baby boomers are an affluent generation: Employers who seek hard-working candidates will still find them among the baby boomer generation. Baby boomers hold a strong reputation for being diligent, hard workers who have saved and spent wisely. Studies show that the baby boomer generation controls about 70% of all disposable income in the U.S. The baby boomers are also nicely situated to gain even more wealth. As their parents pass on, studies predict that baby boomers will inherit about $13 trillion to enjoy during their retirement or pass on to their own children.
3. Baby boomers are more tech-savvy than you think: Baby boomers remember the introduction of the first black-and-white and colour televisions. It is important for marketers targeting this generation to remember that baby boomers have grown up with technology over recent decades. They are more accustomed to technology than you might think, and they use it in different ways than millennials. During my years of marketing to baby boomers, I have learned that the baby boomer generation spends as much time online as they do watch television. It might surprise you to learn that 96% of baby boomers use search engines, 95% use email, and 92% shop for products and services online rather than shopping in stores and shopping malls. About 60% of baby boomers spend time reading blogs and online articles as a source of information and intrigue, and about 70% enjoy watching videos about products and services. If you are looking to market via social media platforms, you will find an active audience of baby boomers on Facebook, where they are happy to post news and photos of their grandchildren and latest vacations.
4. Baby boomers are the “me generation.”: Baby boomers are considered the “me generation” for their self-centred, individualistic attitudes. In marketing to people looking for in-home senior healthcare, I know that seniors want to enjoy their independence as much as possible. In-home senior care lets them have as much freedom as possible while maintaining their dignity. Adult child caregivers and guardians want to be able to care for their parents and still be able to work, enjoy their own families and have some well-earned fun. In-home senior care allows them to take care of their responsibilities and take care of themselves, too.
5. Baby boomers are healthy and active: A large majority of baby boomers are in the pre-retirement stage of life. They are still working full- or part-time and looking forward to life as empty-nesters. They are working hard to pay off mortgages and other debts and maximize their returns on investments. It is prudent to pay attention to these baby boomers’ characteristics in marketing. They are looking for senior care that is reliable, trustworthy and offers a reasonable cost. Baby boomers have been more health-conscious than their own parents. Medical technology makes it possible for them to live healthier and longer. Unlike their parents, who desired to relax during retirement, the baby boomer generation wants to get out and do all the things they have always dreamed of doing. Many seniors can remain active with some help from an in-home caregiver.

Many people are starting to think of the age of 50 as the new 40. Baby boomers are not yet thinking of themselves as an aging population. Terms like aging and elderly are a big turnoff, although they do not mind the terms "seniors" and "senior citizens" as much. While baby boomers are healthier and more active than their parents, their eyesight is starting to deteriorate. When marketing to this population, I stay mindful of the size and colour of fonts. If my target audience cannot easily read our ads and blogs, they are likely to click on a competitor’s ad quickly. Because of the size of the baby boomer population, nearly every industry has an audience in this marketing sector. When marketing to baby boomers, it is important to understand who they are, where they come from, and where they hope to be in the future when getting their attention for your business.
Based on the above facts following strategies can be framed:
1. Use Relatable Language
2. Do not Assume Other People Make Their Buying Decisions
3. Understand Their Criteria is Different Than Younger Generations
4. Make Things Easy for Them
5. Use Multi-Channel Marketing (like catalogues)
6. Give Them Something Familiar
7. Personalize Their Experience

Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath


Answered 3 years ago

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