They might be a bit late to the party but they’re here to stay. The ‘Social Seniors’ now make up Facebook’s second largest demographic this year.
Whilst younger audiences flock to Instagram in their droves the over 55s have cultivated a space of their own on Facebook. Becoming the playground for the Baby Boomers may present a huge change in the original dynamic of the channel but it also opens the doors for businesses and services to reach their audience in a whole new way.
This year alone there are around 7.8 million Facebook users aged 55+ in the UK. Whilst they spend a lot less time online than the rest of the population (just over 2 hours per day on average) there is also a strong argument that this time is more considered and that their attention is more easily gained than the habitual scrollings of the younger generation.
Targeted Facebook ads are the television and print ads of the day. Long gone are the days of watching advertisements between your favourite programmes and an estimated 86% of this audience are occupying this time doing something else. That something else is frequently perusing Facebook. Presenting a whole new opportunity for businesses and services to serve them with ads specifically formulated to cater to their needs. Health, financial, leisure and insurance companies haven’t been slow to recognise the opportunity in these forums to make sure their latest offerings are available to click through and enjoy instantaneously.
What’s most interesting is that in the UK it’s estimated that 80% of the wealth actually sits in this demographic. Offering a huge opportunity for advertisers to maximise their ROI by speaking to an audience who not only consider their time online, are more likely to click through on promotions but also have the money to spend. What a dream. It turns out you can turn silver into gold then.
Want to learn more about reaching this audience? Let’s get the conversation started…