Techno Go-Slow

Back on the subject (make that a rant) of technology and the over-50s…I think this is an issue that either wannabe or already-are PRs should be climbing all over the back of. I mean, when you’ve got a great story to tell or a neat product to sell – or even if you just want to rattle a few cages – it seems crazy to miss out on a whole sector of your potential market or audience.

But galloping technology has brought with it a new kind of social exclusion and ‘othered’ those of us who are quaint enough to just want to use a mobile to make a call, don’t care about the ring tones and feel no desire to take pics of each other’s asses with our natty little built in cameras, while waiting at the bus stop. Sadly, we lack the genetically modified texting thumb. And it would help if we could see the bloody keypads.

It’s great that society’s knee-deep in endless ways to ease speedy and global communication. But with few exceptions, Public Relations and Marketing efforts centre on the teens and twenties, with a vague nod in the general direction of the still-under-30 brigade.

If that's your target audience, cool. But if your message is meant for the rest of us – and you’ve factored us into your financials – then you need to know that the majority of viral emails, blogs and forums are written in a somewhat 'exclusive' fashion and provoke an active response from only a brave few silver surfers.

In the UK at least (and actually through most of Europe and North America) ours is an aging population. We’re part of an aging market. So I’d say that bringing us on board with bespoke technology and relevant websites which speak our language is the smart way to go. That’s if you want our vote, our buy-in, our attention, our permission, our agreement, our support… or our money? Mmmm – thought so.

A trawl through WARC (World Advertising Research Center) uncovered Robert Diamond, founder and MD of marketing consultancy group, Diametric. In the autumn of 2003, he gave the industry a heads-up regarding the punter power of the silver fox. His article 'Why fmcg marketers need to wake up to older consumers' in Market Leader, Issue 22 was revealing, as he reported that over-50s were the single largest demographic group online, visiting more sites more often and for longer.

Diamond stated that, within this group, usage varied greatly by demographic: 61% of ABs were online (averaging 10 hours usage/month), compared with 51% C1, 29% C2, 12% D. Email click-through for over-50s was also higher than average (8%10% vs. 3%5%).

Although they represented 25% of the UK online population, research showed older people were slower and less accurate in navigating the web. This is partly due to the physical deterioration that accompanies growing older; decline in short-term memory, failing eyesight and problems with precision movement. It doesn't help that many older people have spent most of their working lives without computers and the internet, resulting in a lack of direct experience and the instinctive understanding of how the technology works. Mindful of this, Diamond's forecast when he wrote the article was that by now, Europe was likely to have around eight million new internet users with sight and physical dexterity conditions

Diamond insisted that websites could be made much more user-friendly for this age group and much of the supporting research comes from academia and from those working to improve websites for people with disabilities. Neither of these groups has much visibility with commercial web designers, whose only concession toward over-50s is to use a bigger font size. He suggested that Marketers who are serious about attracting more mature surfers, should take note of the information contained in '50+ Interactive Marketing' by Dick Stroud, www.50plus.blogspot.com and concentrate on the following four areas:

1. Navigation structure...The website's navigation is the most important element to get right and is where most mistakes occur. Most older web users prefer using 'goal-centred' navigation, which anticipates the user's questions and provides a simple way for them to get the answers. All too often the navigation reflects the structure and priorities of the company, rather than its potential customers.

Other examples of poor navigation include:

• Making it difficult for the user to return to the home page
• Having multiple navigation styles throughout the site
• Forcing the user to scroll through long pages of text

2. Design elements

The text font, colour scheme and level of animation have a significant influence on a website's ease of use. They must make the site easy to see, fast to load and relaxing to use.

The use of animation can annoy and distract users, especially if it is slow to load and requires their PC to have a special software program. Above all, ensure the combination of the design elements works on the PC and internet configuration of the website user. Many over50s web users have the latest PCs and fastest broadband connections, but many do not.

Older web users prefer fast loading, simple and uncluttered websites.

3. Use of language and imagery

The site must assume the user has a minimal knowledge of the internet.

The language and imagery of the site must be suitable for an older person. For example, does the language of the website convey a 'value system' more appropriate to a younger generation?

The language of the website must be understandable and relevant.

Avoid:

• Words that are specific to the company/industry but mean nothing to the site's user
• Too many sales messages and too little factual information in the website copy
• Writing suited to the annual report but not a website

4. Functionality

'Search', 'shopping basket', 'registration', 'purchase product' are innocent and simple features that appear on countless websites. If they are badly implemented they will result in users 'clicking away' in frustration.

There is no substitute for having these features extensively tested - not by your web designers or people in your company, but by potential users of the site. Fortunately, there is a wealth of 'good practice' guidelines to help in the testing process. The trick is making sure they are used.From an edited version of '50+ Interactive Marketing' by Dick Stroud, www.50plus.blogspot.com

Wherever they are right now, I hope Dick Stroud and Robert Diamond are still banging on about the untapped potential of silver surfers because we need them in our corner. We may be a tad technophobic but we're on message...it just takes us a little longer to decode. Youthful PRs and marketers should please take note.