Baby Boomers, why are you on Social Media?

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August 12, 2012 by 6 Comments

Baby Boomers, why are you on Social Media?

This question has been building in the back of my mind for a while.

I started in June by writing 14 posts on Baby Boomers and Social Media. I spent time discussing baby boomers and how to manage your brand on social media.

Lots of good comments on various forums and I wanted to say Thank You!

I spent the last two weeks writing about connecting:

There are have been several good articles in the last several weeks that bring generational issues into the picture:

nextGen Journal – Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25

Inc. Magazine Article – 11 Reasons a 23-Year-Old Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media

Mashable – Not on Facebook? Employers, Psychiatrists May Think You’re a Psychopath

Forbes – Facebook Can Tell You If A Person Is Worth Hiring

All of these have led me to ask the following question:

Baby Boomers why are you on Social Media?

Are you on it for social reasons?

I started on Facebook because I wanted to know what was going on with my 20 something year old son. Little did I know he uses very little anymore.

Are you on it because of your career?

LinkedIn has become the defacto place where recruiters and hiring managers look for people. They do not care whether you are looking for a job! I started with LinkedIn in January of 2006 after I left teaching high school math and was really lost.

Are you on it because of your business?

You may be looking for clients. You may be promoting products. Social media and content marketing are some of the best ways to promote products and services for small businesses. I have several small business clients that have told me the only reason they are on Social Media is because of their business.

Is there another reason?

Baby Boomers why are you on Social Media? Let me know what you think!

If you are on there for your career or business, what is your strategy? More on that in my next post.

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Filed Under: Baby Boomer, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Comments

  1. Oliver Brown says:
    August 13, 2012 at 3:30 pm

    I returned to school a few years ago after the economic collapse and the job search went dry, and finally graduating at the end of the month. I had very little free time, and rarely had any use for social media and had a Facebook page for years, but rarely used it and finally deleted it. Now since college classes are done, and the retail job I was working with while attending classes has laid me off I now have free time.

    I decided to try the social networks to enhance my job search understanding and find all the expert advice I can, and hopefully land a job via social networking tools such as; Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, and a blog.

    Reply
  2. Jerry Dunham says:
    August 13, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    I’m on LinkedIn to connect with past co-workers and to connect with potential future employers. I like LinkedIn in general and think it’s pretty well structured. My overall experience has been positive.

    I’m on Facebook, in spite of hating the interface and the constant unannounced changes, because in my other life I do companion animal rescue. Facebook has turned out to be a great place to meet potential adopters, and even folks willing to donate to good causes. I just wish it were structured half as well as LinkedIn. I get on, post dogs in need, answer a few questions, and get off as quickly as I can. I rarely even visit my own page.

    As for other social sites, who has time for more?

    Reply
    • Marc Miller says:
      August 13, 2012 at 3:48 pm

      Jerry,
      What I heard is you use LinkedIn for your professional life and Facebook for your volunteer efforts. You might consider creating a Facebook “page” for posting your animal rescue mission. I would be happy to chat with you on this.

      Reply
      • Jerry Dunham says:
        August 13, 2012 at 4:35 pm

        You heard correctly.

        We have a Facebook page. In fact, we have two. I am a co-founder of Coonhound Companions (see: http://www.CoonhoundCompanions.com/). We have set up a Facebook page specific to Coonhound Companions that is intended for people to post interesting things about their companion hounds. We have set up another page, Coonhound Rescue Network Page, that is for the posting of hounds in need of rescue, and for discussions of how to get them to safety. The CRNP is very active (1500 members). The member of our team who set it up (Jean, from North Bay) tries to keep track of the hounds posted to see how many are actually saved, and has recorded nearly 400 so far this year.

        In spite of our success, none of us like the Facebook interface, particularly the Timeline, and it drives us crazy that they regularly make unannounced changes. It’s definitely a love-hate relationship.

        I suspect that we’re digressing from the original topic.

        Reply
  3. Mark Sutton says:
    August 14, 2012 at 8:11 pm

    I am on social media (both LinkedIn and Twitter @mrmarksutton) to build my networks and learn about others. I use LinkedIn to grow my professional network and be found by people that need my services. I use Twitter so people can learn more about me by seeing my interests and consistency over time. Twitter helps me learn more about current local events, all types of news by searching on hashtags #, also sharing insights and conversations when I attend networking events. I believe am seen as more relevant by the younger generations because I am active on Twitter. I have a Facebook page to stay connected with old friends but rarely signon or use it.

    Reply
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