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Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 5/21/12

Monday, May 21st, 2012

“The learned is happy, nature to explore; The fool is happy, that he knows no more.” – Alexander Pope (born on this day, May 21, in 1688)

The Creating Results team is happy to each week explore and deliver to our friends/followers those resources which help us all learn more about our targets: mature consumers. Now, time to learn what links “clicked” last week with those who share our passion for baby boomers and beyond.

1. MOST SHARED: 5 reasons email is ideal for creating loyalty with baby boomers and seniors: http://bit.ly/KrqOQq

2. MOST CLICKED: That terrifying moment you realize: You are old. – http://bit.ly/LtWREf Insights from Dr. Carol Orsborn, writing for the new Next Avenue.

3. MOST IMPORTANT: Marketers should be aware of a new “generation gap:” Debt.

The average American carries $78,030 in debt, reports Experian. Last week they shared details on who owes what by generation. The news isn’t good for Gen X, which has the highest amount of debt and low credit scores. Baby Boomers “tend to be equal to or under the national average in nearly every category with the exception of their second mortgages, which is proportionally 23 percent higher than the national average,” the study found.

It was especially interesting to see the breakdown by age group and debt type. I was surprised to see that what Experian calls the Greatest Generation (which seems to be anyone older than a boomer, which would include the Silent Generation as well) had the highest percentage of bank card debt – 43% above the national average.

Read the whole article at: http://bit.ly/KrrEwm

Debt and aging. Which do you think your 50+ prospective customers fear most? Does your marketing reference these fears or challenges in any way? Please share your thoughts using the comments tool below.

Tags: Carol Orsborn, debt, Experian
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Gen X, Marketing, Mature Consumers, Millennials/Gen Y, Silent Generation | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 5/14/12

Monday, May 14th, 2012

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend honoring the mothers in their lives. (Or being honored; that’s nice, too!)

Two quick stats on moms:

My mother, Patricia Read, was an "older mom"-trendsetter. She had me at 38. Today she supports an adult child & several grandchildren financially.

1) Mothers today are older and better educated, compared with mothers a decade ago. Roughly 7,500 women gave birth at age 45 or over in 2008 and an increasing number of those women who have their first child after 35 don’t stop with just one.

2) MetLife found that nearly 80% of women of all generations have the desire to be able to give more financially to children or grandchildren. More than half of boomer moms are supporting adult kids financially today.

Marketing take-away: Check your assumptions about 50+ women being “empty nesters” with newly liberated wallets at the door. Be sure you really listen to your prospect and understand their personal situation.

Now, on to our weekly round-up of top baby boomer and seniors marketing links, resources and articles.

1. MOST SHARED: Our post on “Re-Thinking Retirement – 6 Lessons for Marketers” was re-tweeted and shared widely last week. Those lessons aren’t unique to retirement communities. We’d love your thoughts on how your organization is responding to the re-invention of that lifestage called retirement.

Read the post/add your comments: http://bit.ly/IR6PtO

Related post with a senior consumer perspective, courtesy of North Hill retirement communities: http://blog.northhill.org/?p=1480

2. MOST CLICKED: Baby boomers appear to be sacrificing their own retirements for the sake of their (adult) children. As the Wall Street Journal reports,

Ameriprise Financial in 2007 surveyed three generations—boomers, their children and their parents—and learned that less than half of boomers (44%) were trying to save for retirement while also providing support for their children and parents.

Fast forward to December 2011: The portion of boomers saving for their own retirement has fallen to one in four (24%)—but they’re still helping out their families. More than half (58%) are assisting their aging parents, including helping them pay for groceries (22%), medical expenses (15%) or utility bills (14%).

“It’s disturbing that people are still providing the same, intense level of support, up or down, and they’re five years closer to retirement,” says Suzanna de Baca, Ameriprise’s vice president of wealth strategies. “This is not registering with boomers.”

Read the full article: http://on.wsj.com/J4l8Pm

Chart from OptiRate based on Harris Interactive survey data:

Also re-tweeted repeatedly, two quotes that seem to have struck a chord with followers and blog readers:

- “A tweet is like toothpaste – once it’s out, you can’t put it back in the tube.” ~ www.scrambls.com via the Social Media Insider (Twitter “handle” @socialmedia411 and worthy of a follow)

- “Plan your life like you’ll live to 100. Live your life like you’ll die tomorrow.” Jim Firman of the National Council on Aging

Tags: MetLife, North Hill, Social Media insider, work in retirement
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Marketing, Retirement | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 4/9/12

Monday, April 9th, 2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, celebrating Passover, Easter or the spring sunshine with family and friends! Now that I’ve overdosed on Peeps, it is, appropriately, time for the tweets of the week – last week’s top resources and insights for those marketing to baby boomers and beyond.

1. MOST CLICKED: You never know what will catch the attention of Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ followers! We were sharing about the True North Documentary Film Series, an exciting event that one of our CCRC clients – North Hill – is presenting this week in the Boston area, and one of the films mentioned racked up the clicks. “My Name is Julius” will be shown tomorrow in Needham at 10a. It’s a short film about a 100 year old man who despite a profound hearing loss is completely engaged in his community and staying young while getting older.

6 films will be shown in all at the True North Festival. Details and RSVP at http://truenorthevolution.org/documentary. Hope to see some Boston-area friends there!

2. MOST SHARED: Chief Economist Dave Crowe discusses this month’s Improving Market Index in a video from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). 101 metropolitan areas are said to be improving. 101 metros means about 25% of all metros in the US are “showing consistent improvement for over six months in three items: in house prices, in building permits, in prices,” said Crowe. This is 7 straight months of improvement for this index which makes Crowe and the NAHB feel encouraged. See the whole video at http://bit.ly/HX1DVn

3. This interactive chart (via Jamie Carracher) shows what percentage of people have used social media to get health info, by age: ow.ly/a5xJM

4. What marketing channel can engender baby boomer loyalty? Email expert Beth Rand tells us “It’s Elementary, My Dear Marketer:” http://ow.ly/a4Xxh

5. 50 (mostly) free tools for social media management, research, curation and more: ow.ly/a4xCJ

Pair that link with this one – 50 ideas for social media content ow.ly/a1nQq – and you’ve got 100 reasons to recommend this blog to a colleague, client or friend.

Tags: Jamie Carracher, National Association of Home Builders
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Email marketing, Housing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 4/2/12

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Welcome, April! And welcome, readers, to our round-up of the most popular tweets/links of the past week.

1. MOST CLICKED: “Instant America” is holding people’s attention. This infographic with stats on how long people are willing to wait for a website to load (among other things) was the most clicked link this week. See the infographic: http://ow.ly/9Ke41

2. MOST SHARED: A study of Canadian Zoomer (baby boomer) caregivers determined that “in a context where governments are expecting more and more from family caregivers, baby-boomer caregivers are telling researchers that they have a new concept of care.” Small sample but very interesting insights. Read the summary on Oxford University Press’s blog: http://ow.ly/9UDi0

Also receiving clicks, retweets and shares this week:

3. Institutional investors are highly interested in seniors housing, ahead of hotels and office projects. As shown on the chart below (via Senior Housing News), the attractiveness of seniors housing has been consistent for four years. Read more: http://ow.ly/9UTc4

4. Do people over 50 exist? Does entertainment have an age limit? http://ow.ly/9VGrB

5. Which of three generations – the Baby Boom, Gen X and Gen Y/Millennials – spent the most while in their 20s? Interesting data via AdAge, which summarizes

“If the timing of one’s birth is an event of major consequence, then clearly Millennials drew the short straw. For those ages 25 to 34 in 2010 their real median household income was not materially higher than that of Boomers in 1990 and a full 11% below than Generation X in 2000, according to Census Bureau annual surveys.”

See the charts/read more: http://ow.ly/9UEu0

Last week we welcomed more than 20 new followers of Creating Results on Twitter. It’s always exciting to meet – even virtually – people who share our passion for marketing to 50+ers.

Our clients also welcomed some gorgeous new design work by our creative team, in anticipation of Facebook’s switch to the new Timeline design. Looking for inspiration? Click on any link below:

* 55+ active adult community: http://www.facebook.com/TraditionsOfAmerica
* Continuing care retirement community: http://www.facebook.com/northhill.org
* New hybrid 55+ retirement community: http://www.facebook.com/FairingWay
* Travel destination: http://www.facebook.com/pwcmanassas
* 50+ marketing experts: http://www.facebook.com/CreatingResultsMarketing

These new designs carry out offline creative and are very dynamic. I love how Creative Director Mike Stakem added eye-catching calls to action for email sign-up and paid special attention to how the brand Facebook icons could stand out in a news feed.

What do you think of the new designs, or the links in this week’s round-up?

Tags: caregivers, Facebook cover photos, Oxford University Press, seniors housing
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Gen X, Housing, Internet, Mature Consumers, Millennials/Gen Y | No Comments »

The Facebook Times Are A Changing

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

What the New Facebook Timeline Means for Brands (Hint, it’s all good)

During their first annual conference for marketers, Facebook announced the upcoming launch of the new Facebook Timeline for businesses and organizations. While individual users with personal pages within this social networking giant have been growing comfortable with the new look and feel for sometime, this is a whole new world for brands.

So what does this mean for your existing page? In a nutshell- more flexibility and features that help create a richer experience for prospects visiting your Facebook page. Currently you can preview what your page will look like with the new Timeline format with the official transition slated to take place for all pages on March 30 so now is the time to begin thinking about how to effectively navigate the change.

Below I’ve included an overview of the new features as well as an action plan for how you can best convert to the new appearance. According to the Facebook Marketing Solutions page the new Timeline features include:

1. Cover Photo: highlight an image that is compelling to those who will see your page–a new home model, a photo of a recent event, etc.

2. Pins: position timely news and information to the top of your page for up to 7 days to help motivate followers to action.

3. Private Messaging: quickly view and respond to activity on your page in a personal way- especially important to Boomers and beyond.

4. Timeline: new followers can easily get to know you better by accessing posts and images from previous months or years (without having to scroll down for a lifetime).

Preparing to Launch Your Timeline

Use this checklist of things to complete before you transition your Facebook page to help ensure you are getting the most out of the new look.

Identify key dates in your corporate history: I especially like Lennar’s approach on their timeline- they track dates and images back to their inception in 1950. The use of imagery and captions are a great way to drive awareness of your history with followers.

Create a cover photo that highlights your best assets: There are some new restrictions to the types of images you can incorporate (nothing with pricing, incentives, etc) but the size of the image provides the perfect canvas for highlighting your greatest asset or component of your unique selling proposition. Coca-Cola’s ® timeline is a great example of how you can excite and speak directly to your target market with your cover photo

Create a “Pin Plan”: This is such a great way to encourage people to visit other tabs of your page- photo galleries, email sign up forms, exclusive news, etc. Unsolicited testimonials are great to highlight when targeting boomers and seniors as these are viewed as authentic, trustworthy sources. You can pin things for up to a week so make sure your most timely information is highlighted here.

Spread the word: encourage your existing prospects to check out your new look and share the news with friends to help generate more followers. Highlight the switch in blog posts, emails and tweets and include a image and link on your website to help convert traffic to followers.

Resources: Learn from others through these great resources about how to leverage the new Timeline

Mashable Guide

Lost Remote

Facebook Marketing

Have questions or interested in boosting your social networking presence through Facebook? Click here to see how Creating Results can help drive results and motivate your target consumers.

Tags: Branding, Marketing, Social Networking
Posted in 40+, 50+, Advertising, Boomers, Branding, Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 3/5/12

Monday, March 5th, 2012

What resources for marketing to baby boomers and beyond caught the attention of our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook followers last week? Read on for top links.

1. MOST SHARED/MOST CLICKED: From the San Francisco Chronicle, how the retirement attitudes of baby boomers differ from those of Gen X. In short, older baby boomers have the most saved but they also are withdrawing more from their retirement savings plans and adding less. Gen Xers are most willing to take risks with their investments, not surprising since retirement is further off for this cohort. Get all the stats at http://bit.ly/zqIbju.

Also gaining clicks and shares this week:

2. What kinds of emails are shared most often? A new survey from Emailvision shows emails with discounts are shared more than any others. Humorous marketing emails rank 2nd in terms of viral shares.

The survey also found that the #1 goal of email marketers was to extend the brand reach. #2 was to build loyalty – retaining customers, building support. As eMarketer notes,

“email marketers are hoping that passed-along emails and other content shared through social channels will help build awareness or reputation, and, conveniently, the messages most likely to accomplish these goals are the ones with deals and promotions that should also help marketers increase sales and gain new customers.”

Read the full article on eMarketer at http://bit.ly/AqAKgN

As we’ve said frequently, email marketing is a very effective tool for reaching baby boomers and seniors. What goals have you set for your email program? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

3. 88% of Internet users will research products online in 2012. Check out this infographic with Internet usage projections http://bit.ly/Anoi1V

4. An iPad class at continuing care retirement community North Hill is giving seniors new ways to connect with friends, family and the world. http://bit.ly/xBJBx2

5. Todd Harff blogs about blogs. (It’s not as meta as it appears.) This week, Todd shared stats on blog use by baby boomers and seniors and tips for starting/maintaining a blog directed at this audience. While the post was in response to an S.O.S. from a real estate marketer, the tips apply to any organization hoping to use a blog as part of its 50+ marketing program. http://knowledge.creatingresults.com/2012/03/01/blogging-and-the-baby-boomer-home-buyer/

As always, please let us know your thoughts on this blog below. Have a great week!

Tags: advice for bloggers, Emailvision
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Email marketing, Gen X, Internet, Retirement, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week 2.20.12

Monday, February 20th, 2012

Happy President’s Day Monday. The following are the mature marketing links and resources of note for the past week. Enjoy!

1. MOST CLICKED: Love was in the air with Three Not-So-Silly Statistics for Valentine’s Day, examining fun facts about 55+ consumers from the National Health Statistics Reports.

Marriage does a heart good: Findings included that Boomers and Beyond who were married had less difficulty with social and physical activities than those who were formerly married- reminding us that connections are important and should be encouraged within active adult housing and CCRCs to keep ALL motivated and moving. Click here to read more insights and implications.

2. Florida faces fight to lure retiring boomers: this insightful piece from the Sun Sentinel received a high number of clicks for the week, and with good reason. http://ow.ly/8WEHM

The wants and needs of boomers on the cusp of retiring is changing and in order to continue to draw retirees a recent report shows that Florida may have some re-thinking to do. 96% of respondents surveyed within a Consumer Federation of the Southeast survey placed the highest emphasis on top notch health care (above climate and taxes). The article examines the strengths of Florida and other areas when it comes to attracting this Boomer market and things they will have to think about when marketing to this target if they want to capitalize on the potential revenue of even a small percentage of the Boomer population looking to relocate.

3. What Google’s Privacy Policies and what they mean for Seniors: The ever changing and expanding world of Google and recent privacy policies put in place were examined in an article on Aging In Place Technology Watch.

Creating Results is honored to be a nominee for SeniorHomes.com’s Best of the Web 2012. Please vote for our blog as top senior living industry resource. Click here to vote for Mature Marketing Matters and thank you in advance for letting us share news and insights for marketing to the 55+ market.

Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Advertising, Boomers, Internet, Marketing, Mature Consumers, Retirement, Silent Generation, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 2/13/12

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Happy Monday! Following are the links and resources that were most shared, clicked on and commented on via Twitter and LinkedIn last week.

1. MOST CLICKED: Good internal communications are critical for the success of your external marketing http://ow.ly/8RcI0

“Make sure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing,” writes UK blogger Kevin Baughen. Kevin specializes (that’s specialises for our British readers) in helping non-profits with their communications. His post points out that without good internal comms and team work, your brand can’t achieve its marketing goals.

2. A handful of links tied for the “MOST SHARED” title last week.

- If your image of retirees is old people in Florida, think again. The state is now fighting to lure baby boomers. ow.ly/8WEHM

- New post: Is 50+ Housing Declining or Thriving? Stats on household income growth among baby boomers and seniors offer context; excerpts from Todd Haff’s panel presentation at the International Builders’ Show. ow.ly/8Y7dE

- Big thinker (& older innovator) Joseph Coughlin of the MIT Age Lab addressed the idea of age & innovation. I confess a quote Coughlin included from venture capitalist Vinod Khosla set my teeth on edge: “People under 35 are the people who make change happen…People over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas.” Read the full post at ow.ly/8Vlgu

3. Also of interest:

- Laurie Orlov (@AgingTech) explains what Google’s new privacy policies mean for seniors – and for you. ow.ly/8V9xk

- Marketing to the 50+ Home Buyer: Social Media and Much More. Excerpts from Beth Rand’s presentation at the International Builders’ Show. http://t.co/stZPHWPn

- Pinning the future of communications on visuals. http://t.co/FJBvb7aB

As the author, Sarah Skerik, writes: “[C]ommunicators have to redouble their efforts when it comes to visuals. Visuals carry extra weight on Facebook and Google+, they’re rendered on Twitter (drawing more attention to the tweet) and are what makes services like Flipboard and Pinterest so compelling and useful.

Was there a link or resource you felt was of importance to mature marketers but it was overlooked in this round-up? Please share it in the comments, below.

Tags: baby boomers, international builders show, Joseph Coughlin, Kevin Baughen, pinterest, Sarah Skerik
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Housing, Internet, Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

Facebook, Internet Users More Similar to Offline Population Ages Than Ever

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

With all the excitement over the Facebook IPO, Heather Dougherty at Experian Hitwise today rounded up 10 stats about the social network that are key to understanding its reach and impact. We focused in on Stat #5 – a demographic breakdown of Facebook users, which include 19% younger Baby Boomers aged 49-54 and 20% older Boomers or seniors aged 55+.

The chart (below) shows the visit share by age for the big four social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus. And the age breakdown of the (US?) online population.

As eMarketer has noted, “The average age of Internet users is rising in tandem with that of the general population.” It appears so far Facebook is the online social network that most closely mirrors the age diversity of our offline world. Twitter continues to appeal to GenX and GenY. And LinkedIn continues to be an excellent if underappreciated network for reaching 55+ adults – 57% of users are baby boomers or beyond!

I was surprised to see Google+ have a larger audience over the age of 55 than Twitter, but on second thought its design and functionality is so similar to Facebook, it might feel more comfortable to older users.

Stat #8 wasn’t a surprise to us. As Dougherty writes, “Facebook” is the most searched term in the US and Facebook-related terms account for 14% of the top search clicks.” We shared that insight with a team of social media marketing ambassadors from a leading continuing care retirement community just two days ago. It was terrific to see their excitement for how the network could promote deeper relationships with their senior prospects and adult children.

If your organization needs help turning social media stats into social media strategies, please check out these related posts (or give us a call – we’d love to help).

Tags: Facebook, Google+, HitWise, LinkedIn, twitter
Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Gen X, Internet, Marketing, Silent Generation, Social Networking, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Tweets of the Week- 1/30/2012

Monday, January 30th, 2012

It’s a new week and once again time to explore Creating Results’ top Tweets of the Week. Enjoy!

MOST CLICKED:

1. Does Google accurately guess age and gender: Fun article that explores Google’s privacy announcements by testing if this internet search giant can accurately guess your age. An informal survey within the article of the author’s colleagues found some interesting results in the age category, however the ISP was more able to effectively identify interests was fairly accurate. Here are few of the age misses the article shares:

Women aged 24, 25, and 28 were estimated to be men aged 25-34.

Men aged 30, 41, and 29, plus a 39-year-old woman, were all found to be boomer or seniors aged 65 or older

Try it for yourself

2. Great Ad Age article that explores the recent disclosures from Paula Deen regarding her health and the impact to her credibility as a brand. As marketers this piece presents a reminder of how personal a brand is to boomers and seniors and the inability to distinguish (in this case) the person from the brand.

WORTH REPEATING:

A beautiful story in the Huffington Post of caring for senior parents with Alzheimer’s and the grief experienced by all it touches. Experience a glimpse into the story of one woman as she helps her senior mom deal with a beloved father suffering from this disease.

OVERHEARD (and too funny not to share):

Woman: “I noticed you limping, is anything wrong?” Gentleman: ” It’s a degenerative issue with my joints that is just too hard to pronounce. The initials are O.L.D.”

Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Marketing, Mature Consumers, Retirement | No Comments »

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Archive for the ‘40+’ Category

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 5/21/12

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 4/2/12

Mature Marketing Tweets of the Week- 1/30/2012

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