"Senior citizens!" "What?" "Are you kidding me?" "What do older people have to do with Social Media Marketing," you might ask, after reading that title above. The answer is: Plenty.

Take my mother-in-law, who lives with us, and is 96 years old. I can remember, when I first met her, she spent hours leafing through magazines, and looking at ads on the old black-and-white. And you know what? She bought, too. She bought all sorts of things that attracted her attention, because they seemed to fulfill her wants or her needs. Things have changed.

Now? She’s a case study on the power of social media marketing. Yes, at age 90 or so, we got her a computer and taught her how to use it. From then 'til now, at 96 years of age and still ticking, she spends hours on end scrolling through all sorts of things on the web; but her favorite activity, and the one that she now most currently visits, is Facebook.

Well, you might say, she's an exception, a freak. How many older people are engaging in social media? Perhaps your skepticism is justified; perhaps it is not. You may be surprised to learn some facts and figures.

According to a recent Mashable article, 22% of all grandparents are using a social network.

At the same time, a study by Wedbush Securities presented by

e-marketer.com, reveals that the number of people age 55+ who not only use Facebook, but employ its "like" utility for what they see there, has grown from 24% in September, 2010, to 43% in April of 2011.

If the trend continues, there is a phenomenal opportunity for growth in this medium, and particularly among this cadre of users. With growth will come social media marketing opportunities.

Keep in mind that this cadre of 55+-year-olds encompasses the Baby Boomers -- the largest increase in newborns, since the end of the Second World War. A group that is experienced, savvy, and, as they get older, increasingly less mobile, and, therefore, increasingly more likely to turn to social media for their needs.

Yes, you say, you already have a website. How do you get people to find it? An excellent way is to use social media marketing to drive customers, and particularly this 55+ segment of the market to your business.

Keep in mind that these older folks, like all social media users, post personal profiles on social media channels, including their interests, their hobbies, their needs, their likes and dislikes. Armed with this information, social media marketers will target your ad to those individuals whose needs seem most closely to match to the products or services your ad offers, and, from there, your ad can link them to you: it can direct them to your website, to an e-mail address, or to a phone number, where they can find out more about you and the products you offer, and where they can make that all important "buy" decision.

At the same time, when they click the "like" button, they are, in essence, recommending your product or service to all who visit their page. Sure, they will visit the page of their kids and their grandkids; but most of their "friends" are likely to be of their own age, have similar needs, similar interests. What better referral could you ask for than your customers' click on that "like" button?

The great advantage to you from a marketing basis is that you can designate the demographic that your social media efforts will address: such things as

age, gender, interests -- information garnered from members' personal profiles, and matched to your ad's focus.

But, in addition to this, you can designate geographic reach, also.

We, at The Website Marketing Agency are ready to help you develop and integrate a social media marketing plan with your overall website marketing strategy, A plan which will drive business to you, and help you achieve your business goals.

http://www.thewebsitemarketingagency.com