There’s a new report out today by Pew that shows a considerable growth in the number of people aged 50+ who are using social media. Statistics have been trending upward for a while, but it appears that the growth is accelerating.
Naturally there is an interest in understanding what this means for people working in marketing. How can this trend be used to benefit brands?
Before we can answer that question, it’s important to know exactly how this older userbase is using social media. The study has some interesting data:
- One in five (20%) online adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up from 10% one year ago.
- Among adults ages 65 and older, 13% log on to social networking sites on a typical day, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.
Not big numbers, but for those companies operating in industries of interest to this age group, this growth represents an opportunity to further invest in social media and online community development.
Initially the 50-64 age group joined Facebook to keep up with family members. Not it seems that they are joining to do more than that. This is certainly a trend to keep an eye on.
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