This webinar discussed social media marketing to older generations. Angela Williamson, a scholar researching social media use among seniors, presented on where older adults engage online, their purchasing power, and how to reach them through social media. Some key points: - Older adults commonly use tablets and engage with health/nutrition sites and online dating platforms. - The senior population has significant buying power and uses social media to learn about health topics. - To market effectively to seniors, focus on active users, provide easy navigation, hire community managers experienced with seniors, and promote a sense of community through content.

1. AWC PRESENTS:
Host
Judy Asman, Member,
AWC Professional
Development Committee
Speaker
Angela Williamson,
Scholar, Social Media
Marketing to Older
Generations

2. Why this webinar?
• The topic of generational
communications came up in one of
our committee meetings.
• We agreed that this is an extremely
important topic. As marketers who
are responsible for messaging, our
first task is always to look at our
audience.
• My original intent was to host a
webinar focusing on multiple
generations.
• My mind was ablaze with ideas. Judy Asman

3. Enter Angela…
• Judy met Angela at an Orange Chamber
of Commerce Lunch n’ Learn, where
Angela offered best practices for
marketing through social media.
• I learned about her work. As a doctoral
candidate in Human Services,
specializing in Management of Nonprofit
Agencies, at Capella University, Angela
is researching how seniors engage with
social media and the medium’s impact
on their buying decisions.

4. About Angela…
• She is a Southern California native with
more than 15 years’ experience in TV and
marketing.
• A former producer for the Orange County
NewsChannel, communications specialist at
Experian Information Systems and a sales
marketing producer at Fox 11 Television.
• A multiple Telly awards recipient, Angela
currently teaches courses in social media,
public relations, public speaking and
intercultural communication as an adjunct
communications professor at Concordia
University in Irvine.
Angela Williamson

5. Welcome Angela…
Angela Williamson
Today, we’ll talk about:
•Where do older adults “hang out”
online?
•What is the buying power of these
audiences?
•The burgeoning influence of digital
marketing among this group.
•How to reach them through social
media.

6. Angela’s Research
• As companies utilize social media as a
platform, one specific audience may be
abandoned during this organizational shift,
older adults.
• Older adults still face challenges in
understanding how to effectively use social
media.
• Older adults are slowest generation to
integrate social media networking into their
daily lives.
• Face-to-face surveys explore if there is a
correlational relationship between
technological anxiety and efficacy in learning
social media.

7. REALITY BYTES
Do older adults really
hang out online?
Yes. Without question.

8. Online Dating
Recently, Discovery Fitness & Health published the
Top 5 Dating Sites for Active Older Adults.
•It reported SeniorMatch.com as the second highest on
the list. It is one of the top-ranked sites for boomers and
older adults, according to SeniorDating.org, with
500,000 members.
•The article also notes that OurTime.com has more than
1 million members. Launched in May 2011, this website
is the world's largest dating community for older adults.

9. Health and Nutrition

10. How Digital Improves Lifestyle
• The physical and mental health status scores of
SilverSneakers members are consistently higher than
those reported for this age group nationally on the
Medicare Health Outcomes survey.
• Sixty-nine percent of members report that their overall
health has improved since joining SilverSneakers, 48%
say their diet is healthier, and 39% say they
participate in social activities more often.

11. THE TECHNOLOGY
What devices do seniors
use to receive information
and engage with others
online?

12. Tablets Rule
• Tablet computers are most popular
among older adults and are
gaining on laptops.
• Tablets are cheaper than most
desktops and laptops.
• Tablet ownership is growing
among seniors, Pew reports.
• In 2012 alone, the proportion of the
65-plus population with a tablet
climbed to 15 percent from 8
percent.
• Among those older than 77, tablet
ownership jumped to 12 percent
from 3 percent.
wow!

13. SENIORS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Why should we care?

14. Buying power!
• Older adults and social media is an
untapped billion dollar market.
• This generation is the most likely
group to frequent social media
websites specializing in healthcare
and wellness.
• My current research suggests that
this generation will follow blogs and
participate in online health
discussions.
• Many older adults use social media
to learn about chronic diseases,
medication, etc. They also want to
form relationships that will
decrease their loneliness.

15. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
5 Tips + 2 Bonuses

16. #5 Know your audience.
There are four levels of older
adults according to the Pew
Institute and it’s important to
know how these groups differ
from one another.
1.Younger boomers are born
between 1955-1964.
2.Older boomers are born
between 1946-1954.
3.The silent generation was
born between 1937-1945.
4.The GI generation was born
before 1936.

17. #4 Hire the Right Talent
• Choose a social media
community manager that is
strong in “building
relationships” on your social
media platform.
• 20% of Americans will be over
the age of 65 by the year
2020 and understanding how
to build relationships with
older adults may strengthen
“stickiness” with this particular
group.

18. #3 Provide Easy Navigation
• Understand that although more
older adults are using social
media, there are still major
challenges for older adults is
learning a new technical
platform due to technological
anxiety, psychological barriers,
and cognitive learning abilities.
• Your social media marketing
should include simple content
and easy navigation.

19. #2 Focus on Active Users
• For organizations to
successfully integrate
social media as a tool to
reach older adults, it must
have an audience of active
users.
• Understand that there are
generational differences in
social media usage and if
you write content that do
not address “senior”
issues, older adults will not
participate.

20. #1 Have Patience
Social media strategy
targeting older adults
requires creativity and
patience, especially when
exploring how to provide
products and services to
older adults through social
media.

21. Bonus Tips
• Older adults use social media for
two main reasons: To decrease
loneliness and to enhance a sense
of community.
• All content targeting older adults
should have a call to action to
answer these two basic needs.
• The biggest frustration with older
adults using social media is the
inability to reach out to a “live”
person if they have
questions/issues about the social
media website.
• Social media activities targeting
older adults should include some
type of personal interaction.

22. WHAT CAN WE DO TODAY?
Start now…

23. Two Things
1. Choose at least 2-3
social media channels
targeting older adults
(suggestions are blogs,
YouTube and Facebook
included in an email
campaign).
2. Create a content plan
that will generate
discussion and
engagement (remember
research shows that
engagement drives this
audience).

24. QUESTIONS?
Don’t be shy.

25. CONNECT WITH ANGELA
@ProfAngelaSW
/angela.s.williamson
/in/williamsonangela
/aswilliamson21
Angela Williamson

26. THANK YOU!