Optometry Social Media Marketing
Baby Boomers are increasingly using social media.
According to iStrategy Labs, there was an 80% surge in the number of users 55 years of age and up, between 2011-2014.
We know that Baby Boomers need Optometry. And we need them. In general, they are our most valuable patients.
So where can you find your Baby Boomers on Social Media?
Lets ask them!
First, lets lookup some aggregate data, to help guide our questions.
Sensis and Deloitte surveyed 800 and 2000 Australians, respectively. This included 160 and 400 boomers, respectively. Pew Internet surveyed 1907 Americans. I’ve also included Facebook Audience Insights data from Australian users, with over 2,000,000 active users between 50-64 years of age.
Lets dive into the survey, and some discussion questions afterwards.
Survey
1) Do you use the internet?
- Yes/No
Discussion:
According to Sensis, the number of Australians using the internet more than once per week was 94%, and up to 79% of Australians use the internet daily.
2) Which devices do you own?
- Laptop
- Smartphone
- Tablet
- Desktop
Discussion:
For Facebook Users, Boomers were significantly over-represented for “Desktop Only” or “iPad”. (As an aside, Apple Computers most valuable customers are 65-plus males).
3) How often do you use social media?
- Daily
- Few times per week
- Weekly
- Monthly
Discussion:
For baby boomers, the number of people using of social networks more than once per week was 55% (Deloitte) and 56% (Sensis).
4) What is your favourite time to use social media?
- First thing in the morning
- After work/evening
- Before going to bed
Discussion:
According to Sensis, Baby Boomers use social media at similar times to the general population. That is, first thing in the morning (46%), after work/evening (35%) and before going to bed (34%).
5) Please tell me if you prefer to use the following to access Social Media:
- Smartphone
- Tablet
- Laptop
Discussion:
For baby boomers, Sensis rated laptop first (60%), smartphone (56%), tablet (40%), desktop (34%).
6) Do you use Facebook:
- Daily
- Few times per week
- Weekly
- Monthly
Discussion:
According to Sensis, 87% of boomers use Facebook, and access it twice per day on average. Interestingly, boomers are the second most likely group to have seen Facebook friends face-to-face recently. The implication here is that they have deeper connections.
7) Other social networks that I use often include:
- Instagram (Pew: 11%, Sensis: 12%)
- Pinterest (Pew: 24%, Sensis: 14%)
- Twitter (Pew: 13%, Sensis: 10%)
- LinkedIn (Pew: 26%, Sensis: 33%)
- Google+ (Pew: n/a, Sensis: 20%)
Discussion:
The percentages above are given for baby boomers.
According to Pew, 52% of online adults use more than one social network in 2014, up from 42% in 2013.
8) What activities do you most like to do on Social Media?
- Keep up with friends/family
- Entertainment value
- Sharing photos/videos
- As a distraction from routine
Discussion:
Boomers top four activities:
Deloitte: Keep up with friends/family (91%), Entertainment value (37%), Sharing photos/videos (37%), As a distraction from routine (37%).
Sensis: Keep up with family/friends (86%), Share photos/videos (34%), Research holiday destinations (18%), Play games 17%)
9) Who are your top three people or companies or causes to follow online?
Discussion:
According to Facebook Audience Insights, boomers were over six times more likely than the general population to like bands, such as
- Rod Stewart
- Neil Diamond
- Bee Gees
- Roy Orbison
- Eagles
For non-music pages, they also liked Millers (clothing), Princess Cruises (travel) and casino pages. Interestingly, boomers were 4.4x more likely to like Clearly Contacts (total over 158k likes). However, most recent reviews state that the glasses were inexpensive, but that the customer service was poor. One customer spent many hours trying to resolve their issue, and gave a poor review.
What are the standout features of baby boomers on Social Media?
From the Aggregate Data, Boomers are on the rise with Social Media.
- They regularly use desktops and ipads.
- Over half use social networks more than once per week.
- Facebook dominates social media usage
- However, the number of multi-network users is significantly increasing
- LinkedIn is the second most popular social network for boomers
- Boomers mainly use social media to keep up with friends/family, but also to share photos/videos with their network
- Boomers love following ‘golden oldies’ bands on Facebook
Want to use this survey for your practice?
Now over to you…what do your survey results say?
I hope that this gives you some food for thought in framing your social media strategy.
