Ever wondered how to reach the more senior audience within your digital marketing plan? Well, data suggests that you should be, as Baby Boomers hold a huge amount of the UK's wealth. This is because of various factors, including benefiting from inflation and the housing boom of the 1990's. This is a short piece on how you can find, target and engage with the emerging "InstaGran" audience across social - namely Facebook and Instagram. Here are some of our top tips to get you on the right track:
1). People over 55 DO use the internet and they do use smartphones
We’re not saying you should necessarily focus specifically on this demographic, but you definitely shouldn’t be excluding them. Around 8% of the World’s population is over 65 (in the UK it's over 18%), equating to around 650 million people worldwide, with roughly 42% having a smartphone, that leaves a huge audience to target. And the chances are, going off what my grandparents get up to on Facebook, they are probably better stalkers than you!
2). Simplify your content
Get to the point: give them the information you want them to know through a simple straightforward message. It is a given that this generation probably don’t want to see your new favourite Urban Dictionary word or the latest trending hashtags and abbreviations. You will need to adapt your content further than this in order to better suit this audience – think much more personal, complete with a story and lots of images. You want them to feel connected to your brand, so ensure you keep your posts and ads engaging (maybe even add some special “Senior Citizen” offers!).
3). Facebook is your friend
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Facebook is the most used social channel by baby boomers, most likely due to the nature of its posts and layout, with no character limit and the possibility to have your own photo albums. With over 56% of online users aged 65+ using Facebook), this is a huge potential target audience.
4). Follow-up
Keep in touch with them after they’ve reached out or engaged with you on social to make that extra connection that this audience wants with a brand – you want to show that you personally care about them as a customer. Using these tips as a rough guide to form your ‘senior’ focused marketing plan, you will be well on your way to gaining a following from those loyal Instagrans! If you want help finding your target demographic then get in touch with #TeamCrowd and together we'll hone in on your perfect audience.
