8 Content Marketing Strategies That Appeal To Senior Citizens

As per 2018 records, the senior population comprised 16% of the total United States population? The older generation is not a large percentage of the population, but they are a growing segment. This segment also has 12% more purchasing power than the general population, and, with their basics taken care of, they have more freedom to consume. 

Brands tend to focus their content marketing strategies on the younger generation, ignoring this market segment. There is a huge potential and market gap that brands can exploit in this segment. If you look around, content marketing strategy examples reign supreme.

Typically, seniors are not a priority in most content marketing strategies. Most forget that older customers drive growth and present a huge opportunity. Companies must understand the older customers to serve this growing segment when designing content for their content marketing strategy. 

Before we deep dive into the senior market, let’s know how the seniors can broadly be divided further into subgroups.

• Retirees: This group includes seniors who are 65+ years and, have no active income, and live on fixed savings.
• Early Retirees: This group of 50+ age is ready to enjoy their life after years of working. They are financially stable as they choose to retire early.
• Late Retirees: This segment includes people between 65 and 75 years but still working.
• Grandparents: This senior group is an important segment for products bought for gifting to grandchildren.

Understanding the Consumer Behavior of Senior Citizens 

Source

Age affects consumer behavior. With age, the needs change, and so do their buying decisions. As the needs and tastes of seniors are different, the focus should be on effective content marketing strategy when designing content as part of your content marketing strategy for seniors.

Although this segment has not grown up with the Internet, they have caught up. Seniors are said to spend more than 20 hours on online content per week. Their online activity alone makes them an ideal content marketing audience. Elderly consumers rely more on relationships the brands create. They will always prefer brands that offer personalized attention.

The senior segment stays away from impulse buying and is more cautious. They think before investing in a new product. Hence, content marketing strategies for seniors should focus on the same.

Eight Content Marketing Strategies that Appeal to Seniors

When designing content marketing strategies for seniors, keep these eight critical factors in mind:

1. Simple language

One of the most significant factors for content marketing strategies for seniors is using the language they understand. Even though clarity is a relative term, some things, or technology the millennials have grown up with, might be confusing for an older person. Therefore, you need to use language, examples, and references that older individuals can relate to if you want to design an effective content marketing strategy for them.

Source

2. Personalized

When designing content as part of your content marketing strategy, identify the different needs and send them as personalized communication. Seniors are used to person-to-person customer support. Today, one of the keys, personalization, can go missing with automation. Using their name while sending out an email or direct mailer, or having a person respond to inquiries with a simple phone call, might be good options.

3. Build trust

One of the advantages of working with this generation is that you can have a customer for life if you earn their trust. Seniors take their time while making a buying decision. Use content marketing strategies like written and video testimonials to make it easier for them. While asking for personal data, ensure you explain why you require it. 

Source

4. Educate them

The seniors may, at times, require added explanation and general guidance. They might have some apprehension about the change safety of the internet. Having offline conversations and guiding and educating them about new technology, trends, or prices can help decision-making. For seniors, integrating online and offline content marketing strategies can help.

5. Respect the generation gap

Seniors may not always look at a product and want the same things as millennials. It is important to understand the values and interests of seniors before you plan your content marketing strategies. The marketing strategy should focus on engagement for seniors to align with the brand. Don’t sell products to these seniors; instead, sell them the product’s utility.

6. Simplify the sales process

The more straightforward your process, the easier it is for seniors to go for it, especially if the content is online. Navigating your website must be easy, as most seniors might not be tech-savvy. In case of any inquiries, they should be able to reach out to you quickly. An interactive content marketing strategy might be a good option when designing content as part of your content marketing strategy. 

7. Use multi-channel

For seniors, it is best to leverage the best of both worlds, a mix of online and offline content marketing strategies. These might include social media marketing, blogs, catalogs, newspaper ads, TV, radio segments, etc. In fact, for seniors, offline content marketing strategies may be more effective as seniors are familiar with it and have lived more in the offline world. Using a multichannel content marketing strategy can be the key while focusing on senior consumers.

Source

8. Include CTA

The best content marketing strategy for seniors includes a clear call-to-action for senior consumers to take a specific action. Having the option of responding to your call-to-action in multiple ways also helps. Your content marketing strategy should give easy access for seniors to move from one channel to another, like customer service phone number, web address, email address, chats, etc., when interacting with your brand. 

Senior consumers are an untapped and underutilized market. Simple contact marketing strategies that connect to them and meet their needs can generate long-term consumers by providing a clear and honest content marketing strategy and straightforward guidance.

FAQs