You can’t run an effective marketing campaign if you ignore social media—no matter what age group you’re targeting. The trick is knowing how and where to reach your audience. Let’s take a look at how we can reach each age group.
Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964)
Popular belief is that people in this age group can’t figure out technology well enough to use social media. Nothing could be further than the truth. Over 82% of boomers are on at least social media site. And believe it or not, they are on about 2 hours more a week than those ages 16-34.
Where are we going to find them?
Facebook is by far the most popular site used by this group, because it best suits their need to stay connected with friends and family. They tend to shy away from Twitter and Instagram, as compared to the younger set. However, LinkedIn is as popular with Baby Boomers as it is with the 18-29 age group.
How do we market online to this group?
As a whole, this is a group of readers. When you share information on Facebook, this is the group that will take time to read it. If what you write makes sense, they will take action. Women, especially, in this group are the ones who will share content if they believe in it. Stick to Facebook to reach this group. Create content that is slow enough to be read. (Video is not out of the question, as long as it’s not fast-paced.) Provide information that that is easily researched and tell them outright to share.
Generation X (born between 1965-1980)
This is the age group that spends the most time on social media sites. An average Gen Xer spends nearly 7 hours a week on their preferred networks, which is the most of any age group. So, if this is your target audience, you must have a presence on social media to get their attention.
Where are we going to find them?
So which sites are being used most by Gen Xers? Facebook is still the most predominant, being accessed mostly by phone. Not far behind Zuckerberg’s giant are Twitter and Instagram. Pinterest followed, leaving SnapChat as the least accessed site by this group.
How do we market online to this group?
Anything you do on social media will be seen by Gen Xers, especially on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you can appear in all of those places, you have that much more of a chance of being seen by your target. With this in mind, remember that this is a highly educated group, so you need your marketing to be pinpoint and accurate. Advertise on Facebook. Create a page there and use it regularly, because that’s the first place this group will go to look for you. Gen Xers are also the most devoted to video, so make sure you have attractive content that moves.
Millennials/Generation Y (born between 1981-1996)
Another surprise—this is the group of people that is starting to back off from social media. A study from December 2016 showed that Americans from 18 to 34 are turning away from social media while some of their older peers are running toward it. An even more recent study in 2018 confirms that more than half of users between the ages of 18 and 24 revealed they are deleting accounts.
Where are we going to find them?
The good news is that this is the group most likely to buy online rather than a brick and mortar store. They tend to go online first to buy whatever they are looking for. Think about marketing on Amazon first.
How do we market online to this group?
This group does not want to spend too much time researching products. They will skip through an ad at the first chance they get. Make your ads short and memorable. Stay away from Facebook if this is your target audience, as that seems to be the first app to go in this group. Even Instagram is starting to go. Keep your marketing ploys relevant to the lives of those in this age group and stick to SnapChat if anything. Your ads should be direct and short.
Generation Z (born between 1995-2015)
The youngest generation is using social media in different ways than previous generations. While previous generations used social media to keep up with friends and post status updates, Generation Z is more concerned with using social media to fill free time by consuming interesting content.While Gen Z’ers are on social media for about three hours each day, they access less platforms of social media, so your advertising needs to be aimed at the media they frequent.
Where are we going to find them?
Gen Z’s favorite social media platforms are Instagram and Snapchat. They like following actors and online personalities, so these are people that influence them.
How do we market online to this group?
Stay away from disruptive advertising. They will skip right over you or simply go ad-free. The best way to reach Gen Z is to feed them what they want. As previously mentioned, Gen Z uses social media for content consumption. So, you should create funny or interesting content to help market your product. Think Redbull and its extreme sports videos. This is the kind of thing that can reach Gen Z, and Redbull’s 7 million YouTube subscribers are proof that this method works.
All in all, social media is here to stay. Finding out where your target audience spends most of their time and how they interact with social media will give you the best chance of connecting with them. If we can help you reach your audience with regular social media marketing posts, just let us know. We’re here to help.
