Think Boomers Aren’t Using Social Media? Think Again (Especially in Health)

Oct 28th, 2009 by Fard Johnmar

Update: Learn what Boomers want from health organizations using social media to communicate here.

I saw an interesting tweet winging its way around the health marketing twitosphere this morning focusing Young adult happy couple working on the laptopon whether Boomers are using social media.  The tweet was generated by Dan Dunlop who wrote a post earlier today titled “Social Media to Reach Boomers: Hold Everything.”  In his post he cites a Media Post article written by Matt Thornhill who says: “We don’t share in the excitement that Boomers and older adults are truly smitten with social networking sites for three reasons — one based on experience to date, one based on psychology and one based on the math.”  At the end of the post, Thornhill concludes: “Let’s agree social networking is simply not as widely accepted among Boomers and older adults as it is among today’s young adults.”

The issue of whether Boomers are engaging with social networks (and social media as a whole) is an especially important question for health marketers.  After all, many of the conditions we communicate about such as high blood pressure, some types of cancers, etc., hit older adults harder.  If it’s true that Boomers aren’t enthused about social technologies, then should those of us urging the health industry to embrace these tools pack up our toys and go home?  No.  When it comes to reaching Boomers via social media, playtime is far from over – especially when it comes to health.

Let’s Look At the Data (Thanks Pew)

Earlier this month, the Pew Internet and American Life’s Project’s Amanda Lenhart released a fantastic 5-year analysis on  the demographics of social network users.  At the end of her presentation, she addresses the age issue directly, saying: the data do not “mean that more older adults aren’t flocking to SNS [social network sites] – they are – but younger adults are ALSO flocking to the sites, so the overall representation of the age cohorts in the SNS user population has actually gotten younger, even as the SNS use overall has grown.” Translation: Over the past five years, ever larger numbers of older adults have begun to use social networks.

Okay, so what’s happening in health? Earlier this year, Susannah Fox at Pew, released a widely-cited report focusing on “e-patients,” or adults who look online for health information.  Pew found that 59% of this group are between the ages of 50-64.  In addition, while two-thirds of e-patients between the ages of 18 and 49 have used social technologies, 50% of online health information seekers older than 50 have also utilized social tools.

These data indicate that the excitement over Boomers’ use of social technologies is appropriate and justified – especially when it comes to health.

How the Path of the Blue Eye Project Will Help You Make Better Decisions

A major goal of the Path of the Blue Eye project is to help health marketers get the information they need to make sound decisions.  We are fulfilling this promise via this blog and our Twitter stream. We plan to continue this work in our online community, which will be unveiled later this year.  At launch, the site will feature more than 460 articles, case studies and data summaries for your perusal.

In addition, we will publish a premium bi-monthly newsletter titled unNiche.  Subscribers will have exclusive access to  research focusing on media consumption patterns, public health campaign evaluation and more – at a very attractive monthly price.

Stay tuned to this blog for more information about about unNiche and our content-packed online community.

Get More: Learn what Boomers want from health organizations using social media to communicate here.

Join us at unNiched 2010, a unique collaborative online and offline boot camp for health marketing communications professionals. Learn more by clicking here.
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Read More from Walking the Path:

  1. Older E-Patients Crave Information, Not Friendship from Health Organizations Communicating Via Social Media
  2. H1N1 Communications: Is HHS Winning the Social Media Game, But Failing Where it Counts the Most?
  3. Google SideWiki & 5 Ways Health Organizations Can Anchor Themselves in the Social Media Storm

Posted in Data First, Health Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

20 Responses to “Think Boomers Aren’t Using Social Media? Think Again (Especially in Health)”

  1. Tweets that mention Walking the Path » Blog Archive » Think Boomers Aren’t Using Social Media? Think Again (Especially in Health) -- Topsy.com says:
    October 28, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Shwen Gwee, Path of the Blue Eye. Path of the Blue Eye said: @Green_Guerrilla @dandunlop @chrisboyer @Healthcare3dot0 see our take on the Boomer + social media issue http://twurl.nl/6o08gf #hcmktg [...]

  2. Dan Dunlop says:
    November 4, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    Great post. You took the conversation to a new level. The most important point that Thornhill made in his article is that Boomers aren’t this homogeneous group that are looking to commune with other Boomers. The best way to reach them through social networks, and they do use social networks, is through their interests and passions. One of the obvious interest that has driven them to the Internet is health. Many Boomers are on a path of self-actualization (even questing), and that means being active and healthy. Therefore, online communities that address health and wellness should hit the sweet spot for many Boomers.

  3. Fard Johnmar says:
    November 5, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    Dan:

    Thanks so much for coming over and continuing the conversation. We’re currently looking at the issue of what health searchers (including Boomers) want from health social media communications. So, we should have more info on what types of content will motivate them soon. A post will go up once some of this data is available.

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