The president and chief strategist of Wilson Relationship Marketing Services tells you who controls the money and how to connect with them online.
When the internet launched, it was a haven for the young, technologically advanced and first movers. Now that broadband internet connections are becoming the standard and PCs are in almost every U.S. home, it is time for online advertising to grow up as well.
Marketing to the 18- to 34-year-old online is becoming less important as the baby boomer generation, with more buying power -- 70 percent of U.S. wealth is controlled by people over 50 -- becomes increasingly more internet savvy. "Digital" does not necessarily equal "young," and marketers are increasingly targeting boomers online.
America's largest population sector is growing older and spending more time online, becoming more comfortable spending money there. According to JupiterResearch, baby boomers account for one-third of the 195.3 million U.S. web users and comScore Media Metrix reports that the number of online adults age 55 and older grew by 20 percent to more than 27 million in 2005. Nielsen/NetRatings reports that seniors -- those 65 and older -- make up almost 10 percent of the online population, or about 14 million people. Marketers need to be aware of this and learn to use this medium to target mature consumers for appropriate products and services. The key to this process is finding the right content sites and targeting your message to appeal to this segment, which still thinks young.
There has been a lot of development of websites targeting the baby boomer audience over the past few years. Some of the more well-known sites are the portals that have evolved along with the internet to facilitate use, like AOL. Others include Eons.com, a social network designed specifically to target the 50+ market; 50plusnow.com, an information and auction platform aimed at this generation; and the multitude of online video networks aimed specifically at this market including BoomersTV.com, SuccessTelevision.com and GrowingBolder.com. This generation is also remaining active, even as they enter retirement, and sites that target services for older workers like RetirementJobs.com have launched.
Offline establishments that target boomers and seniors are utilizing the internet to gain further entré with their primary audience. AARP has developed an interactive and informative website that should help to transfer its offline hold on this market segment online.
Websites like AARP.org are particularly useful for this older segment for doing research on health and wellness issues. A press release from the National Institutes of Health indicates that 66 percent of "wired" seniors surf for health and medical information when they go online. For example, when the new prescription drug plan Medicare Plan D was launched, one insurance company was surprised to find that more than 40 percent of new members who signed up for the plan registered through the carrier's online portal. This indicates that seniors are using the internet to research the best plans that meet their needs.
No matter the venue, the key when developing any marketing campaign is to target the audience using clear, concise messaging that has a compelling emotional appeal. For example, online bill pay and banking have become commonplace over the past few years. At the same time, fears and cases of identity theft have been on the rise. Baby boomers have spent their lives visiting the bank teller and mailing bill payments. Many see the advantage and time savings of banking online, but are concerned about security risks. It is important to address this up front, confirming the secure aspects of your banking system and conveying that it is easy to use.
Another point to keep in mind: While broadband has become readily available in most markets, not everyone in the boomer generation has it. Keep this in mind when designing ad content. Make sure it is quick to load and not too busy.
And finally, TEST. The most crucial component of your campaign is to test its viability while adjusting creative and ad text to increase the effectiveness.
Dave Wilson is president and chief strategist of Wilson RMS. Read full bio.