Engaging a Baby Boomer through Social Media

If you still think that social media is only for the millineals and Gen Yers, then you are missing the target on an influential market. Baby Boomers, born between 1946-1964, have begun to embrace social media. This generation, with their discerning tastes for luxury and style and who intend to defy old age, have made yet another boom in the social media stratosphere, 80 million strong.

Facebook-The Favorite
Emarketer reports have shown that by 2013, Facebook will have 152.1 million users. This surge will be brought about by the Boomers who will adopt the social networking site. As of 2009, Boomers comprised 46% of Facebook users. Despite apprehension on privacy issues, Boomers are on Facebook mainly to keep in touch with family and friends as well as to reconnect with friends who have fallen off the grid.

LinkedIn-The Professional Face
Although not as popular, Boomers make up 13% of the LinkedIn population. It serves as the Boomers' introduction into the world of social media because of its straightforward and simple approach. They utilize this network as a source of jobs or as a professional medium of connecting with colleagues.

The key to engaging a Boomer via social media (or anything else you're selling, for that matter) is to make them see its usefulness to them. Since Boomers are paying more attention to the web, it would be unwise to exclude them from the marketing plan. Although their use for social media is different from their younger counterparts, their presence makes no less of an impact.