Boom! Shake the Room. Seniors Are Engaging in Online Activities

Did you get a sneak peak at that early bird buffet? There was a run on pigs in a blanket. What they’re not running out on, though, is customized web sites for the older set. For example, witness the new launch of Personal Life Media, which is a site that focuses on issues related to baby boomers, “ranging from life coaching to green living to sex.” Oh wow. I didn’t just say that. Take a moment to recover.

The question we’re focusing on here in part two of the very exciting three part series - I have a friend who insists that the best things come in fours, but I can’t please him on this one – is not whether or not the boomers represent an important demographic for marketers (they do) but where to find them. What are these folks up to?

See here for a handy chart, provided by eMarketer, about online activities of seniors.

We find that first and foremost they’re going online to conduct research to make purchasing decisions. Advertisers seem to think that seniors are still referring to the 1955 World Book Encyclopedia when in fact they are going online. Of course, I can’t imagine my grandmother checking out CNET product reviews of a new cell phone before buying it. (My argument is somewhat damaged by the fact that she doesn’t currently own a cell phone, and if she was going to buy one, she would just get whatever her kids told her to, or, in her hipper moments, go for whatever comes in hot pink.)

Recommendations are dictating much of their buying decisions. Second on the tier of how seniors spend their time online is to purchase products or services recommended by others, and I’m not talking about their kids. Anyone who has ever witnessed a group of elderly women kickin’ it on a park bench off of Flatbush Avenue knows that there is nothing passive about their communication. It’s all, “Mabel, you simply have to try this new dish soap.” or “When are you going to introduce your Jimmy to my Kathryn? They’d be so perfect together.” It’s the former that we’re interested in. According to the study by Weber Shandwick, the majority of baby boomers get asked for recommendations on products and services about 90 times every year, and nearly all (89%) of those “trusted sources of information” bestowed the advice to their peers.

"When it comes to word-of-mouth recommendations, boomers have both unrivaled influence and rich networks of peer advisors," said Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross. Seeing as how most boomers are not 100% comfortable or savvy with online networks, most of it is being done in person, or on the phone. So, maybe the key is to provide enough information online to fuel an offline word-of-mouth campaign.

Though I said that the seniors are not exactly taking over MySpace, there is a movement now towards online communities. So says Mary Furlong, president and CEO of a baby-boomer-centric firm, who founded SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media. "A lot of the dissonances of aging aren't fun," she notes, which is why faceless discussions of potentially embarrassing topics are becoming popular. "Nobody wants to talk about a prostate condition at lunch.”

Agreed.

Another fact of life is that as the senior generation gets older, they’re going to experience more limitations on their physical abilities and personal interactions that many of them enjoy now. I think that those who have begun to embrace the Internet and the amount of activities they can engage in – just think! you can do crossword puzzles, check the weather, and even check what your son-in-law is doing on Twitter, all at the same time! and it’s free! – are going to be more and more enthusiastic about the Internet. And then maybe they’ll tell all their friends, and their friends' friends, and next thing you know, you’ll have a revolution on your hands. Seniors unite!

Comments

[Ryan Carson]

Hi Ana,

Brilliant point. I've been amazed at seeing my Mom really take advantage of the Web (she's 60 years old). She even uses Zillow.com to check out house prices!

Best,
Ryan