Declining Community Participation
In Bowling Alone, Robert D. Putnam cites numerous statistics to illustrate the drop-off in Americans’ civic engagement and community participation since Baby Boomers’ parents were middle-aged (c. 1950s).
In light of such information, and the overarching question Putnam posits about changes in community, there are myriad theories one could substantiate about the replacement of physical communal interaction with modern online, redefined communities. I will focus on connecting one area: Middle-aged to older adults, (in their 50s and 60s) have traditionally been more likely than young adults to vote and to engage in various forms of community (from bowling leagues to garden clubs to signing petitions to campaign participation).
Americans are less active today in such activities than ever before.
Social media use among Baby Boomers 55-64 rose from 9% in Dec. 2008 to 43% in Dec. 2010 (from Marketingcharts.com via David Erickson via Keith Privette).
Correlation or causation? Are 60 year-olds hashtagging #gardening tips instead of heading to a neighbor’s backyard club meeting? Probably (although most Boomers are on Facebook (73%) and not Twitter (only 13%). For analysis on the implications of the overall implications of these shifts in community definition involvement, read Bowling Alone.
Immediate marketing application:
Remember that with longer life expectancy and lower savings rates than previous seniors, Boomers are projected to spend an additional $50 billion over the next decade (via market-research firm SymphonyIRI). If your brand’s target audience is between 50-70 years old, maximize your use of Facebook and minimize your reliance on old ideas about 50-70 year old consumers. Avoid yellows and blues in ads. Be Kimberly Clark-like, (maker of Depends)- they’ve spent two years overhauling the incontinence brand to appeal to the anticipated higher demands of Boomers. By 2020, Kimberly-Clark expects 45 million boomers will need incontinence products, up from 38 million currently. Depends advertising: “We’re very subtle in that we don’t have to explain the problem and solution in the ads. Boomers like seeing the confidence part of it.”
When crafting the Facebook page, remember your customer’s main reason for participating in Facebook: “Creating and renewing personal connections online is the biggest draw for boomers. About 47% of online boomers maintain a profile on at least one social network.” Boomers don’t want to bowl alone too much, though they have readily accepted the Facebook era. Whereas Generation Me (babies of the ’80s) isn’t on Facebook with the organic, unadulterated goal of staying connected with friends sharing pictures of children and grandchildren; we’re on Facebook because the alternative is unthinkable and we know no other way. Connecting with friends is one appeal, but our culturally endemic narcissism is the real impetus for updating one’s Profile. Thus, marketing to twenty-somethings is completely different than to Boomers.
9 second attention span, 140 character limit
It’s no shock that Twitter appeals to younger people. We have a tiny ADD attention span of roughly 9 seconds (via Sally Hogshead and Fascinate‘s memorable goldfish book jacket). One hundred years ago, attention span averaged twenty minutes. This is no accident: People increasingly lacked the patience to sit through PTA meetings over the last five decades. The communal connections or friendships potentially garnered there were hit-or-miss depending on attendance and likeability of one’s neighbors. Online communities that are targeted or niche present no risk that you’ll struggle to connect with like-minded comrades. If the relationship is based on Twitter and never even leads to a real life meeting, it will still suffice nowadays to quench that community thirst. Although, Boomers might still need a bit more Facebook love. But the proliferation and massive success of Twitter, especially amongst those who will increasingly make up the majority of the population as decades pass, means one day marketers may fondly recall enjoying the 30 second attention span of a Facebook user.
Think of a brand to which you are loyal, or better yet, for which you are an advocate. Toilet paper, automobile make, shampoo, yogurt… etc. Why are you fascinated by this brand’s advertising or image?
I just listened to Wayne Hurlbert’s Blog Business Success May 7, 2010 podcast, in which he interviewed Ms. Sally Hogshead. It only took about twenty minutes of listening for me to be not only fascinated by her work, but eager to share the revelations with others. Hogshead’s book, Fascinate, is based on three years of researching thousands of people to find out what makes a person or a brand fascinating. People who work in marketing will find her ideas useful in this modern age where consumers have what Hogshead accurately pegs “the attention span of a goldfish.”
The premise of the F Score Test is that you are fascinating, but how? Hogshead has identified seven universal Triggers of fascination:
- Power- Why we focus on people and things that control us
- Lust- Why we’re seduced by the anticipation of pleasure
- Mystique- Why we are intrigued by unanswered questions
- Prestige- Why we fixate on rank and respect
- Alarm- Why we take action at the threat of negative consequences
- Vice- Why we’re tempted by “forbidden fruit”
- Trust- Why we’re loyal to reliable options
Note: Fascination is not synonymous with respect, popularity, reverence, or even liking. Fascination is just about captivation and not being able to ignore the subject. We each have a primary, secondary, and dormant trigger we project to the world everyday.
What fascinates Chris Brogan?
Hogshead gives corporate brand examples in her interview with Zane Safrit:
Brand: Godiva
Primary trigger: Lust
Godiva. We developed a drink called Chocolixier. There was a whole sensory experience that lets the consumer relate.
Apple does this as well. You are able to be a part of the brand. It is about an openness and availability. You create a space where people want to draw closer. Brands are incorporating more of the Lust trigger.
I took the test and so enjoyed reading my results… incredibly accurate. I recommend at least taking the free 28 question online test on her site. Very quick and so useful. The results identify how you fascinate others (when you do fascinate them) and what you might do to round out your fascinating self (I.e., activating your dormant trigger. Mine happens to be mystique- so I would do well to hold back some information now and again.)
About Hogshead: Sally’s work and insights have been profiled by The New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and MSNBC. She’s been described by the press as “intrepid” and an “advertising mastermind…” And I love this: “When not writing and speaking, Sally campaigns to bring back the ‘hogshead’ as a unit of popular measurement in the U.S.” (A hogshead is a barrel that holds 62 gallons.)
