Don’t Ignore the Seniors
posted by Karen DavisThursday, October 9th, 2008
Every day, more and more seniors jump on the digital media bandwagon. Six months ago, I experienced this firsthand when a friend of mine forwarded me a Linkedin invitation she had just received…from my retired 67-year-old mother!
The lesson here: social networking is not just for the young. The reality is that there are 78 million boomers – roughly three times more than there are teenagers and 20-somethings – and most are regular Internet users. In fact, the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
A few of the latest senior-friendly sites include the MySpace-inspired Eons.com, an online community for boomers born between 1946 and 1964 which describes its members as those who are “lovin’ life on the flip side.” Even seniors looking to jump back into the dating pool have their own Match.com with SeniorFriendFinder.com, where more than 450,000 members can network, photo-share flirt, chat, even blog about the news of the day – 24/7.
Social networking is a critical component in every public relations plan. Seniors are online and active, and marketers who ignore them do so at their own peril.
Just ask my mom.
