Highlights from AARP’s Social Media Research

* 47% of Boomers and seniors originally heard about social networking from a family member other than their spouse. 

* 70 percent of 50+ers first heard about social media from a child or grandchild.

* 24% of Boomers and seniors who are active in social networks were introduced to it by friends.

* Women were more likely than men to be introduced by family members (60% to 29%).

* Among adults 50+ who use social media websites, 73 percent are connected to relatives other than children and grandchildren.  62% are connected to their children.  36 percent are connected to grandchildren.

* Facebook was most popular among AARP’s respondents – 23% of their 50+ social networkers used this site.  LinkedIn was #3, with 4% and Twitter clocked in at #4, with 3% of respondents using or visiting the microblogging service.  Interestingly (and most likely driven by grandchildren) 4% had MySpace accounts.

We note that 73% of the 1360 older adults contacted reported they do not use social networks at all.

For tips and more insights about social media marketing and Boomers and seniors, here are some related articles:

- The Age of Social Networks? Mature
- From Social Media Socialites to the Socially Awkward (why one size doesn’t fit all for marketing)
- Untangling the Web: Social Media and Boomer, Senior Homebuyers
- Marketing to Gen X and Baby boomers via LinkedIn
- The Face(book) in the Mirror is Getting Older

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Despite tremendous growth in the numbers of Baby Boomers and matures actively participating in social networks, Pew Research Center found that “Only 30% of all Boomers and 6% of members of the Silent generation have created their own profile on a social networking site.”

 Now, 30% of all Baby Boomers is a sizable group, but the research reminds mature marketers it’s good to be choosy about how much and where to invest in social media marketing.

Nearly 1 in 5 (19%) Gen Xers and fewer than 1 in 10 (11%) Boomers told Pew they visit social networking sites multiple times a day.  More Boomers (26%) than Gen X (19%) go on once a day.  14% Millennials, 10% Gen X, 6% of Baby Boomers and 1% of Silent Generation members say they have ever used Twitter.

Learn more about social media and Boomers/seniors.  Please check out our other posts on this subject or download our complimentary “Top 10 Take-aways” from the 2010 Builders Show.  Or, email social [at] creatingresults.com to request our Social Media Cheat Sheet (with descriptions, data on popular social networking sites) and the Social Media Survival Guide (lays out a five-step plan for getting your brand socially engaged).