Medical advances made in recent times mean that individuals live longer, especially in first world countries. In fact, According to the United Nations, the number of individuals aged 60 years or older is anticipated to double by 2050, reaching over 2 billion worldwide.
Adapting to this shifting demographic requires digital marketing agencies to make use of appropriate strategies to have interaction an increasingly older audience. This is very true in light of the undeniable fact that seniors are inclined to have more expendable income in the event that they have been saving for much of their lives and their mortgages have already been paid off.
This wealth concentration amongst older people is referred to as ‘The Silver Dollar’ – and here we’re going to look at strategies to market goods and services to senior residents to draw a few of that spending power.
Delving into the demographic
For the needs of study, let’s assume that we’re talking here about people aged 60 and above. At the younger end of this market segment, some individuals are still within the workforce; whereas those retirees of their 80s and even beyond are more concerned with healthcare spend and associated support services. Understanding seniors’ attitudes to digital-adoption, their diverse preferences and spending patterns is crucial for creating effective digital marketing campaigns.
Relevant revelations
Older adults are inclined to query things greater than children, who often consider every little thing they see on social media just because it’s there. Mature audiences, nonetheless, value authenticity and relevance when reacting to marketing content. Perhaps age and experience create cynicism, but when an older person thinks that something is just too good to be true, their experience teaches them that it probably is.
Accordingly, when marketing services related to health, financial savings, retirement travel, and hobbies corresponding to crafting, marketers should create content that’s informative, relevant, accurate and above all trustworthy. There’s an old saying that you could’t teach an old dog recent tricks – but that might be that they simply don’t feel the necessity to learn them. Older people are inclined to be set of their ways, so fairly than trying to alter what younger people think that seniors ought to be buying, the most effective strategy is to seek out out exactly what seniors want and make it easy for them to acquire those services.
Appropriate vocabulary
The tone and language utilized in marketing to older adults ought to be respectful and considerate. Avoid acronyms that young people only would understand, and particularly make sure that stereotypes about aging are avoided.
Empowering and positive messages that appeal to seniors’ experiences and aspirations are vital to advertise. For example, stories of lively aging and private achievements, corresponding to an arthritis sufferer using a specific food complement or medication reaching the summit of a mountain within the Rocky Mountains with their dog or whatever.
Dialogues centering on community involvement will be particularly effective; many older people exit in groups for walking and photography or to view historic buildings etc. In short, telling stories concerning the achievements of older people and the worth of their experience is a very good solution to engage them.
Technical tribulations
It’s extremely vital to keep in mind that web sites and apps have to be accessible to older adults, a lot of whom could have visual, auditory, or mobility impairment issues. Using features like larger fonts, high-contrast colours, and voice search options can enhance usability, as long as those voice assistants are efficient. There’s nothing more annoying to an older person than a stack of technology that doesn’t work; in any case, seniors are sometimes already cynical concerning the march of technology for its own sake.
Going back to basics and remembering that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides guidelines for making web content accessible is usually a priceless resource for digital marketers. Accessibility and responsiveness for web sites and apps can so often be ignored amongst those that don’t need glasses or who can text at super-fast speeds.
Also, AI powered voice search optimization might help in engaging older people, as many find it easier to make use of voice commands than typing. Likewise, obtaining permission for data sourced by wearables that monitor health will be priceless for firms selling wellness products, but opted-in permission is a legal necessity under privacy laws each in Europe and the USA.
Don’t knock ‘the great old days’
When older folks speak about ‘the great old days’ before the web, it’s vital to keep in mind that some things WERE higher – less fake news, fewer scams, the power to give you the chance to go right into a high street bank and check with an actual person about negotiating a loan or applying for a mortgage. All this stuff nowadays are decided by faceless AI and hidden technology – so older folks have some extent after they find the usage of tech for its own sake to be counter-productive.
Seniors’ socials
Nostalgia marketing—using content that evokes memories and emotions from people’s younger days can appeal very effectively to older people.
So in that regard, while a younger audience may possibly populate platforms such Instagram and TikTok, older folks are inclined to be increasingly lively on Facebook (FB) and even LinkedIn (LI). LI is very suitable for those retired business people still looking for the family firm after they’ve perhaps handed the corporate all the way down to their children. And let’s not forget that many LI users could well be retired information technology professionals who aren’t apprehensive of digital transformation.
It goes without saying that marketing strategists should concentrate their efforts towards seniors on FB and LI, with the concept of ‘keeping in touch with family’ squarely in the previous audience. For example, enabling gift ideas for grandparents to purchase for teenage grandchildren makes perfect sense on FB.
More business-like marketing campaigns for financial products, part-time post retirement work and cruise vacations would appeal to any retired C-Suite execs and retired successful entrepreneurs on LI.
In Summary
As mentioned further above, the ‘Silver Dollar’ is a strong spending pool to not be underestimated. It will be tapped into effectively by digital marketers, but without bearing in mind the relevancy, content, language and removal of technical barriers – marketers’ efforts can fall on stony ground.
Only by understanding the unique needs and preferences of older adults can agencies aim their strategies to have interaction this growing market. Authenticity, honesty and valuing older people’s skills are crucial. Just because someone could have difficulty expressing themselves resulting from age-related impairment doesn’t mean that the person’s intelligence and experience is devalued, nor their ability to alter the best way they appear on the world.
Respecting seniors for the things they once achieved is vital to appealing to their sense of price. In the ultimate evaluation, many societies revere older people for his or her wisdom and experience. Ignoring such respect and assuming that older peoples’ opinions are less priceless than those of kids might be a really expensive mistake for digital marketers.
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