Something I get a lot when consulting or holding workshops are raised eyebrows as to the target audience for Social Media. Lots of people think that either only Teens or Twens or geeks with heaps of time to waste are using Facebook et. al. Well, that’s simply not true – something I try to show with numbers and reports, like this latest one by Forrester. From their blog:
We all know that young consumers, both in Europe and the US, have adopted social media avidly. But what about their parents’ generation – the Baby Boomers (those aged 43 to 63)? How are they using social media? Well, I’ve just finished a piece that looks at the Baby Boomer generation in Europe and their social media activity, and found that this audience are also starting to integrate social media into their daily lives.
For example, more than one-third of European online consumers ages 43 to 63 already read social media such as blogs and forums on a regular basis, and around one-tenth are already uploading their own content — such as videos and music — onto the Web. Overall, 47% of Younger Boomers (online adults ages 43 to 52) now engage with social media on a regular basis, and 41% of Older Boomers (those ages 53 to 63) do. Boomers in the different European countries exhibit different behaviors, just as their younger compatriots do – for example, 69% of Dutch 43- to 52-year-olds (and 60% of 53- 63-year-olds) use social media on a regular basis, whilst only around a third of German Boomers do.
What this means for filmmakers is that contrary to popular opinion, utilizing Social Media to engage your audience is not just something that works for animated and geek movies that are overwhelmingly watched by a younger audience. You can also reach Baby Boomers with a variety of interests via Social Media. Give it a shot!
