We have been poking each other and transforming friends into vampires for awhile now, all thanks to Facebook. Facebook has proven to be very dynamic, continually evolving as the number of users keeps growing. From its roots as a university networking site, Facebook has targeted an older demographic than most other social networking sites, most notably women in their 30’s (45% of users are over 26 and only 12% of users are teenagers, according to Inside Facebook. I like to think that Facebook offers these women the chance to maintain their social lives as they start families and spend more and more time with their children; they can share pictures, baby pictures of course, faster than ever. And for those women who are not yet married, Facebook provides the perfect means to find the love of their lives…
But this week we learnt something even more surprising: the fastest-growing crowd on Facebook is completely different than we would have expected. Women over the age of 55 have grown by 175% in the past 4 months alone.
Why is that? Why are women 55+ all of a sudden attracted to Facebook? A few reasons that I see are:
- to keep in touch with their children and grandchildren (just ask my mom!)
- to reach out to friends now that they have more time to themselves with their children out of the home
- to reconnect with old friends who have moved away or taken a completely different direction in life
- to play games and watch videos, behaviours that have always been strong with this demographic online
- with the Loft Stories and Survivors of this world losing their edge, Facebook lets everyone play Big Brother and participate in the lives (i.e. by checking pictures, spreading gossip, sharing holiday stories, etc…)
This shift opens up yet another opportunity for digital marketers. Looking closely at this demographic: do they live in the city or country? Do they shop online? Do they get actively involved in product reviews? Properly answered, these questions can provide valuable insight into the target, and more importantly, into how to connect with them through Facebook. So what’s the best way to reach out to them? Why not come over to CloudRaker for a coffee; we’ll point you in the right direction.
Please feel free to comment :)
Post by Isabelle Quevilly, Mar 10th
