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Marketing to Baby Boomers Essays

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Consisting of 77.2 million people, baby boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — represent a prized, yet often misunderstood, demographic for online marketers. In fact, they represent the largest group within the U.S. Internet population at 56.7 million users, a full 29.4 percent of all Internet users. So why is there such confusion about how to effectively market to them? A recent report from the online market research firm eMarketer, Boomers Online: Attitude Is Everything, addresses this issue.
The first hurdle for online marketers targeting boomers is the disparity in age that can exist within the group. This has led many marketers to divide the group into two distinct segments: older boomers (those born between 1946 and 1954) and …show more content…

Individuals 65 and older still make up less than 10 percent of the active Internet universe. However, their numbers are on the rise. In the last five years, the number of seniors actively using the Internet has increased by more than 55 percent, from 11.3 million active users in November 2004 to 17.5 million in November 2009. Among people 65+, the growth of women online in the last five years has outpaced the growth of men by 6 percentage points.
The largest percentage increase in Internet use since 2005 has been in the 70-to-75 age group, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The survey found that 45 percent of that age bracket is online, compared with 26 percent in 2005. Researching health information is the third most popular online activity with the most senior age group, after email and online search.
What’s more, many seniors find social networking exciting and enjoy finding online community. They’re creating their own blogs and, more often, connecting with family and friends by joining Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
“Social media are giving seniors a voice, and for a generation that has sometimes felt isolated and overlooked, that’s no small feat,” said Sarah Hoit, chief executive of My Way Village, which designs online social networks for older adults.
The No. 1 online destination for people over 65 in November 2009 was

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