In my Engage:Boomers eblast today from MediaPost the focus was on social media and Boomers – as expected. And the interesting thing is that the post by Matt Thornhill challenges conventional wisdom that social media is now the way to reach boomers. According to the author, “We don’t share in the excitement that Boomers and older adults are truly smitten with social networking sites for three reasons — one based on experience to date, one based on psychology and one based on the math.” (Source: MediaPost eNewsletter, Engage:Boomers, October 26, 2009) To view the article online go to http://tinyurl.com/yzxzwbk.
Specifically, Thornhill mentions how despite the number of Boomer focused social media sites that have sprung up over the last few years, Boomers just haven’t shown an interest in them. In short, it appears that Boomers don’t have an interest in sites about Boomers. As Thornhill points out, they aren’t an affinity group! They are a “generational cohort.” They seek out the information that interests them online, and that is topical rather than Boomer-focused.
This is a really interesting article. Thornhill goes on to talk about the psycho-social reasons many boomers don’t seek out social networks. He quickly touches on “socio-emotional selectivity theory” – which basically says that as the end of life nears, we become more selective in how we use our time socially. We only invest in relationships that are emotionally rewarding. He sees this as another reason some Boomers may avoid Facebook.
To view the article online go to http://tinyurl.com/yzxzwbk.
The eBlast from MediaPost also contained an advertisement for a new book by David Weigelt and Jonathan Boehman titled Dot Boom. Evidently the text is about how to reach the Boomer market online. You can check it out online at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ccc3cb. Of course, there are a number of books out about marketing to Boomers. A few that I’ve seen include:
1. Boomer Consumer: Ten New Rules for Marketing to America’s Largest, Wealthiest and Most Influential Group by Matt Thornhill and John Martin
2. Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace, by Mary Furlong
3. BOOM: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer — The Baby-Boomer Woman by Mary Brown and Carol Orsborn Ph.D.
4. Ageless Marketing by David Wolfe – this is an old favorite of mine.
5. Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices & Predictions by Brent Green – This is another text that has been around for a few years
Post by Dan Dunlop, The Healthcare Marketer
Dan, to your excellent list of Boomer marketing resources I’d add a series of blog posts Creating Results did in September.
These looked at each of the dominant social networking sites from the perspective of “will it drive sales or interest” with older consumers.
http://bit.ly/WG0XF
Opportunities for reaching Baby Boomers and Silent Generation members via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all addressed.
Good stats, all in one place, for your readers.
Great article! I agree, the boomers are an interesting demographic. They want to see what they want to see, but will only go where they need to go to see that.
The co-founders of GrandCare are both boomers and often joke that boomers have always (throughout their lives) laid the foundation for their own fates. boomers will not settle for how their parents aged. They will create new roads, new processes – the world will change based on the boomers’ needs and wants…
studying these results and reading articles like this are so interesting to me.
Thanks!
Laura Mitchell
GrandCare Systems
http://www.grandcare.com
A sensor-based “Wise Home” technology that marries social connectivity, wellness assessment, ADL monitoring and cognitive assists into one easy-to-use Technology.
Laura, great comment! I’ll check out GrandCare. Have a good weekend.
Dan
I’ve addressed the subject of boomers and social media in my soon-to-be-published book on use of social media in healthcare. I think boomers and social media extends far beyond Marketing and networking for the sake of connecting.
Boomers will use social networking media tools for healthcare decisions and organizations also need to prepare to market to the generations that follow the boomers.
Thanks Christina. I can’t wait to read you new book! I devour social media and marketing texts. Please let me know when it is released. I will be happy to blog about it – help spread the word! And thanks for your insights on Boomers. I agree.
Dan