4 Reasons Why Marketing To Baby Boomers Is A Must

We’ve been in healthcare marketing for a very long time, and after over 15 years in the industry there’s one thing we still hear that makes our blood boil.

“Our area has a much older population. Most of our patients are senior citizens, so we just know that using social media marketing won’t be effective.” 

via GIPHY

Tell that to my grandmother, the most active social media user I know. She likes all of her favorite companies on Facebook, she reviews every facility she’s ever been to, and she’s one of the only people I know who actively engages with her healthcare provider’s social media pages. My grandmother is a Baby Boomer, and because of this she’s subjected to the most ridiculous stereotypes, often from people in our own industry.

Healthcare marketers love to talk about who they’re marketing to. It’s just what we do. We talk about marketing to millennials, about how we reach our Generation X’s and our Generation Y’s, but we never talk about the Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers are the most under-appreciated segment of consumers in healthcare marketing, a reality that seems ridiculous when you take into account just how vital they are to our industry. People have lots of excuses for why they don’t market to Baby Boomers, particular through more “modern” channels like social media. It’s time to set those excuses aside, though. Here are four key reasons why everyone in our industry should take the Boomers more seriously:

1.     They’re the second largest group of consumers out there.

There are over 76.4 million Baby Boomers in the United States, making them the generation that up until 2015 made up the majority of the population. Even though they’ve finally been overtaken by the millennials, Baby Boomers still make up the large majority of consumers. More importantly though, Baby Boomers are the generation that is most likely to spend money. They’ve far outspent previous generations and continue to spend more than people from younger generations. They know what they want, and they’re not opposed to paying for it.

2.     They already have a strong personal investment in your product.

One of the biggest draws Baby Boomers have for healthcare marketers is the fact that, generally speaking, they’re already personally invested in the product you’re trying to sell them. Unlike younger generations, Baby Boomers have a profound understanding about the value of good health. While Generation X-ers are more likely to go out of their way to avoid paying for any medical costs, whether they’re injury/illness related or even something as simple as paying for health insurance, Baby Boomers understand the importance of taking care of yourself and know that the costs associated with healthcare are undoubtedly worth it. You don’t have to sell them on the importance of good healthcare, you just have to provide them with the right combination of information, access, and affordability when it comes to marketing your product.

3.     Their online presence is ridiculous.

No longer can we hide behind the outdated stereotype that Baby Boomers are clueless when it comes to technology, that they’re sitting around on their dial-up modems waiting to send an email.  Todays Baby Boomers are more active and tech-savvy than ever. They’re using search engines, social media, smartphones, and tons of other digital devices to search for information and stay in touch with family, friends, providers, etc. More than that, a shocking 82% of Baby Boomers are active members on at least one social media site. That’s a huge percentage of the senior citizen population who’s using social media on an everyday basis, so why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that and use those platforms to market to them?

4.     They’re actively searching for information about your product.

Not only do Baby Boomers have an incredibly strong online presence, they’re also one of the generations that’s the most likely search for healthcare information online. Over 57% of Baby Boomers have searched for healthcare information online, and the majority of those online shoppers also regularly engage with their healthcare practice’s social media pages. DMN3 has also discovered that more than half of Boomers will actually visit a company’s website or continue their search on a search engine after seeing something on a social networking site.  

Pretty cool, huh. So what does this information mean for healthcare marketers? To put it bluntly, Baby Boomers are one of the most crucial yet somehow under-appreciated group of consumers in the healthcare industry. We know that they care about the services we’re marketing, and we know that they’re regularly utilizing social media platforms and search engines to find information about healthcare and search for providers. We know that they make up the second largest portion of the American population, that they as a generation almost singlehandedly defined modern day consumerism, and that they’re willing to spend money on the things that they value. We also happen to know that their health is one of the things that they value the most.

We know all of these things, and it’s time to start acting on them. The old stereotypes about the Baby Boomers have been shattered. We can’t hide behind those excuses anymore. If you’re in healthcare marketing and you’re not devoting a significant amount of your time, money, and efforts into marketing specifically to Baby Boomers (and yes, this marketing should 100% include social media), then you’re making a huge mistake. It’s time to embrace the Baby Boomers. 

Fangirl Friday: Healthcare Marketing Campaign Spotlight

Healthcare marketing is one of the most under-appreciated branches of marketing in existence. We know this, you know this, and everyone else in the industry knows this. It’s hard to get people excited about healthcare, it’s hard to make what is stereotypically a “boring industry” exciting, and it’s hard to market in an industry where there’s very little previous marketing history to go off of.  

That’s why when we see healthcare marketing campaigns that are truly original, we can’t help but to have a fan-girl moment. We’re so proud of what we’re seeing in the industry today, of healthcare marketing campaigns that impress and inspire and push the rest of us to do better, that bring our industry to the forefront of conversation and get patients excited and engaged. That’s why we like to showcase some of our favorite healthcare marketing campaigns from time to time, to share the ideas with other people in the industry and recognize the campaigns that are making a name for healthcare marketing. So, without further ado, here’s the campaign we think deserves spotlighting this week:

“Ask The ICD” by Medtronic

Medtronic won the 2015 Internet Advertising Competition award for their web-based campaign, “Ask The ICD”. The concept of “Ask The ICD” is awesome. Medtronic created a website where people who had questions about ICD’s (implantable cardioverter defribilators) could, quite simply, get the answers to everything.

The team at Medtronic understood that patients who are told they’ll need heart implants often find themselves flooded with questions. How will it affect the different aspects of their lives? Are they safe? Will they still be able to run marathons? Can they eat their favorite foods? The need to ask and find answers to these questions is totally understandable, but for whatever reason they noticed that many patients refrained from ever asking the questions on their minds, whether it was because they were embarrassed by them or they felt like they were bothering their doctor by doing so.

That’s why Medtronic came up with “Ask The ICD”, a website where patients who were afraid to go to their doctor could go to find the answers to whatever questions they had, regardless of how silly they might seem. Patients simply go to the website and are prompted to type in their questions. They can ask absolutely anything, from scientific questions about the technical aspects of ICD’s to questions about specific lifestyle changes that might result from getting an ICD.

It’s vaguely reminiscent of Burger King’s Subservient Chicken, which would respond to whatever users typed into the screen, no matter how ridiculous the request was. The best part, though? Even though the website certainly has an entertainment value, it’s primary purpose is to educate people on every aspect of ICD’s and to serve as an invaluable resource for patients. It does what we as physicians unfortunately don’t have the time to do: answer each and every question posed by all of our patients, regardless of the time of day or seriousness of the question. “Ask The ICD” essentially acts as a 24-hour support system and resource for people who have ICD’s, may be getting one, or simply want to learn more. It’s a genius idea, and kudos to Medtronic for thinking of it. 

Health Care Social Media Mythbusters

There are a lot of opinions about the use and effectiveness of social media in health care. Plenty of naysayers have voiced their thoughts on the lack of social media’s impact on patients, but the time has come to put these myths to rest. Social media is a powerful tool for healthcare marketing professionals to use and it works to drive patients in a number of ways.

Let’s explore a few of the common health care social media myths and misconceptions and bust them wide open. (Feel free to read this article while listening to Lil Kee’s “Buss It Wide Open”)

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Myth #1 – Patients will only leave feedback or reviews on your Facebook business page or Yelp listing if they have a negative experience at your practice, so it’s best not to promote your social media pages to patients.

BUSTED: First of all, if you don’t take ownership of your business’ page, that doesn’t mean people won’t still be able to review your business and leave comments. It’s better to be in control and merge your Business Page with any relevant location listing pages. Secondly, we’ve found that patients are just as likely to share a positive experience as a review as they are to leave a negative review. People aren’t as likely to share their experience if nothing in particular stands out to them, but if you go above and beyond even in little ways you’ll be surprised by the reaction. At an imaging center on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, the staff hands out cards with their Facebook page and Yelp URL with a message of appreciation which they give to any patients who compliment the practice, their staff or service. More often than not, those patients take the extra step to review the radiology practice.

Myth #2 -  Most of our patients are elderly and the older populations don’t use social media.

BUSTED: 82% of the 65 million baby boomers and seniors, in the 50+ age group go online for health and wellness information. This demographic is also a part of the fastest growing online community. (Immersion Active, 2015) Older populations are very loyal to the brands and businesses that treat them well. They are most influenced by word-of-mouth style marketing and social media in itself is modern-day word-of-mouth. One multi-modality imaging center in The Villages in Florida, which is a 55+ community has a very active Facebook page on which patients and referring physician staff members engage regularly.

Myth #3 – My small town isn’t into social media; no one will engage with our Facebook page or tweets.

BUSTED: Of all Internet users in rural communities, approximately 67% use Facebook as compared to 72% in suburban communities and 74% in urban communities. (Pew Research Center, 2015) So while it is true, that patients in metropolitan areas are more active on social media, rural community users are still almost as active on Facebook as those in rural and suburban cities.

More myth-busters to follow next week! Read more: 15 Facebook Topics For Healthcare Marketers

Social Media in Health Care

In light of our recent focus on social media in health care, we thought we might share this hilarious, yet oddly succinct, breakdown of social media into terms we all know and understand. DONUTS.

Now we will break it down into other terms, not quite as yummy, but still understandable. MRI.

Twitter: Check out our discounted #MRI services, today only! http:linktoyourwebsiteaboutMRIs

Faceebook: We love MRIs and our patient feedback! Like Us and Our MRIs!

Foursquare: This is where we go for cheap MRIs and great patient care!

Instagram: Here’s a vintage photo of our staff at our MRI facility!

YouTube: Check out this video about our **NEW** MRI technology and the story of a woman whose life was saved because of it.

LinkedIn:All of our MRI technicians are a part of this indsutry group MRI Techs and their skills include the following…

Pinterest:Here are unique ways to decorate your MRI facility!

Last FM: Currently listening to songs about… MRIs… wait. This one doesn’t really apply.

Google+: Here is a circle of our Radiologists, here’s a circle of our referring physicians, here’s a circle of our top patients, here’s a circle of our techs, here’s a circle of our competitors… now I’m dizzy.

SaveOnMedical: Here is where you can shop for your MRI!