Legal Research

Boomers and Social Media

Don't ignore Boomers in your social media strategies.

"Joining social networks is also becoming a widely popular among the Younger Boomers. Today, almost one in four Younger Boomers are active in social networks, up from 15% in 2007."

A new report from Forrester Research shows that Boomers aren't technophobic. "In fact, more than 60 percent of those in this generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums. What's more, the percentage of those participating is on the rise."

Some insights from Read/Write/Web here or buy the report:

How To Reach Baby Boomers With Social Technologies
Create And Sponsor Social Content And Allow For Their Voices To Be Heard

by Jeremiah K. Owyang with Josh Bernoff, Shar VanBoskirk, Cynthia N. Pflaum, Angie Polanco

"Executive Summary: Baby Boomers aren't technology Luddites; in fact, more than 60% of them consume socially created content. You'll also find Boomers leaving their opinions on Web sites and even joining social networks. Yet this group isn't as active as younger generations, so to reach Boomers, start with sponsoring or creating social content since they're not as willing to create blogs, videos, or audio. We also recommend allowing Boomers to share their opinions with others by enabling comments, ratings, and rankings on Web sites."

Here's how it divides up:

Either way, this social web stuff is becoming the new normal.

Stephen

Full post as published by Stephen's Lighthouse on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).