Influencer marketing has been gaining recognition as a tool to reach out to the tech-savvy Gen Zs and Millennials. After all, these demographic groups are active on social media, and influencers are a great way to engage them.
However, can influencer marketing be used for the other age groups? Today’s article shows how influencer marketing can be very helpful not only with regards to younger consumers like the Millennials but also for older consumers like the baby boomers.
This is especially so with the increase in internet penetration rates among age groups. As of 2019, 68% of baby boomers from the US are on Facebook. This percentage is likely to have increased with quarantine and lockdown measures. Many have adapted to social media as a platform for connectivity and entertainment – the baby boomers are no exception. Therefore, social media marketing is a great strategy to reach out to this group of consumers.
Baby Boomers are on social media? | Baby Boomer influencer marketing
Like their younger counterparts, baby boomers are active on social media. In fact, an increasing proportion of them has been using Facebook even prior to the global pandemic. Past surveys conducted have shown that 84% of baby boomers indicated that social media is likely to improve their lives.
This is not only due to social media’s feature of connecting them to their loved ones but also due to the many other offerings of social media. From keeping them updated about trends to e-commerce, it is no wonder why baby boomers are increasingly active on social media.
Therefore, push away your misconceptions of baby boomers being slow to adapt to technology and social media. Like the other demographic groups, there are many baby boomers that are active on social media.
In fact, many of them are retirees, who have taken on social media as their new hobby. There are baby boomers who have become influencers on social media platforms like TikTok. From sharing their unique hobbies to giving life advice, baby boomers certainly bring something refreshing to these social media platforms. Therefore, jettison all stereotypes of baby boomers. They are a demographic group just like any other and have proven to adapt well to the trends of social media.
In fact, with more time and money to spend on products and services, baby boomers can be the ideal target group for your marketing campaign. This is especially so as an increasing number of people are looking for enriching retirement life. From holidays to learning new skills, baby boomers participate in numerous activities. Therefore, do not underestimate the spending power and the varied consumption habits of baby boomers.
Tips for Baby Boomer influencer marketing | Marketing 2021
Now that we have established that baby boomers are active users of social media, how then can we reach out to them? Well, influencer marketing can be a great way to communicate with your target audience on social media.
Getting an influencer’s stamp of endorsement can be much more impactful than a traditional advertisement created by your brand. This is because influencers have built a reputation for themselves online, and are often seen as mini experts in their field of expertise. Therefore, here are some tips for influencer marketing with regards to baby boomers.
Baby Boomer influencer marketing: #1. The social media platform
Firstly, the social media platform you based your marketing campaign is important. It might be intuitive to start with a platform where most baby boomers are active on. This would likely be Facebook, where a majority of baby boomers can be found on the social media platform.
Apart from Facebook, YouTube is also one of the most used social media platforms for baby boomers. In fact, according to Statistica, up to 70% of baby boomers in the USA are active users on YouTube.
Therefore, starting off with Facebook and YouTube could be a good marketing strategy. Facebook, with its 2.33 billion users would probably need little introduction. However, there are some things to take note of in a Facebook influencer marketing campaign.
For starters, Facebook’s influencer marketing often taps into storytelling. While storytelling is also used on other platforms, Facebook and its many features are ideal for storytelling. Therefore, do consider getting your influencers to use anecdotal stories to promote your brands and their products.
In the case of YouTube, its primary form of content is its videos. Informative and entertaining videos are often what goes viral on the platform. Therefore, YouTube and its video option allow your influencer marketing campaign to go more in-depth in explaining your product or service. This means that you can get your influencers to do a review, or even to conduct interesting experiments on your product.
Baby Boomer influencer marketing: #2. The influencers
Many of us would think of young influencers posing in luxury goods when the word influencer comes into mind. However, that is not the case. There are many types of influencers. Influencers of different ages, influencers who have interest, and influencers who post varied content.
When it comes to influencer marketing for baby boomers, the influencer is important. You need not necessarily get someone of the same age. However, it is important to work with an influencer who is relatable or have some sort of connection to the target group.
Therefore, apart from getting older influencers to advocate about your product, you can try working with their family members or caregivers. After all, these are the people who have a good understanding of the needs and wants of this demographic group.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, baby boomer influencer marketing is a promising marketing strategy. However, before you embark on any campaign, do remember that baby boomers are like any other consumer. Therefore, try to avoid stereotyping this demographic group as they are no less active than the others on social media.
Sources
Forbes, sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/07/15/reaching-baby-boomers-with-influencer-marketing-during-the-pandemic/?sh=41ade4156684
www.pixlee, blog/does-influencer-marketing-work-with-baby-boomers/
