It seems like a lot of the marketing world is hyper-focused on the younger demographic with the increased use of platforms like Tik Tok and Twitch. But the fact is there are no less than 47.8 million senior citizens currently living in the US alone. With that in mind, you may ask yourself, why aren’t marketers tapping into that demographic? It is a huge market with a lot of potential. Could it be that we don’t know how to market effectively to seniors? Well, we think it’s time to change that…
Use Relatable Language
As a marketing professional, one of the first things that you learn is; if you want to successfully market a product or service to someone, you must first learn how to use their language. By using the language your target audience uses and understands, you can more easily reach them on their own level and convey a clear meaning.
When it comes to seniors, this might mean using less internet slang, fewer modern words that might not have existed when they were younger, and more straightforward, everyday language. Seniors tend to want to know what a product does and how it will make their lives better. They’re less interested in hyperbole and drama than say the teenage demographic. So, in many ways, this makes your job of marketing to them a bit easier.
Give Them Agency
Where some marketers go wrong is assuming that seniors do not have agency over their own lives. They market things like the aegis living communities not directly to the seniors who will be living there, by telling them the things they want to know like the activities on offer or the opportunities for socializing, but to their children or other adults who they assume will be making decisions on their behalf by emphasizing costs, safety aspects and how much support the family will be offered. This is a HUGE mistake because you know what? Seniors might be older, but they are also wiser and they very often do still make the ultimate decisions over their own lives. No one likes to be patronized!
Make It Easy
Seniors weren’t born with access to the internet and an iPhone ready and waiting for them the second they were able to use it, so they don’t always find the use of technology as easy as younger people do. That means you need to tailor your online marketing to their needs. One way to accomplish this is by using bigger, clearer fonts, using very simple instructions so they know where to click and which boxes to tick, and basically just making the whole process as simple as possible. If you don’t do that, you may find that they give up in frustration and your marketing efforts will be all for naught.
Take It Offline
Although more seniors than ever are using the internet and social media sites like Facebook, than ever before, there are still many who’ve never owned a smartphone or computer. Bear this in mind and consider taking a multi-channel approach and creating physical campaigns alongside digital ones is probably the best way to ensure your marketing efforts are a success.
Seniors can be a hard nut to crack, but the market is so big it’s worth making the extra effort to grab a slice of it.
