Why Over-40 and Over-50 Influencers Are a Win for Your Campaigns

1. A first overview of the target groups
2. Over-40 and over-50 influencer marketing: These goals and KPIs should not be missing
3. Authentic and approachable - leveraging hidden potential
4. Credibility through long-term collaborations
5. The influencer search: Which platforms are relevant?
6. How to find suitable over-40 and best-ager influencers
7. Conclusion

“Influencer Marketing - is it only for reaching Millennials and Gen Z?” - Not quite. Influencer Marketing has always been closely tied to the evolution of social media platforms and their user demographics. While Millennials and Gen Z are still the strongest user groups today as they were back in the days, there are also other groups that are important for advertisers: specifically the user groups over 40 years old - target groups with a lot of consumer experience and brand loyalty.

That Influencer Marketing offers exciting and important connections here is often surprising to many marketers. So: The stage is set for the over-40 and over-50 influencer marketing.

A first overview of the target groups

People over 40 are exciting target groups for marketing - they make up a large part of the population and are characterized by their buying power, demands (e.g. quality over quantity) and brand loyalty.

The question arises: Do people over 40 even belong to the social media users and followers of influencers? The short answer: Yes. The special publication agof facts & figures from 2021 shows that these target groups are present there and also interact with influencers: "Over a third of the social media users and the influencer followers are found among the 40 to 59 year olds and a fifth of these user groups is over 60 years old." (Influencer Marketing 3/2021).

There is no official number of how many over-40 or over-50 influencers there are in Germany. However, even the search for over-40 and over-50 influencers (the latter are often also referred to as Best-Ager influencers) shows that all kinds of content are offered here: So there are over-40 or over-50 influencers for all common topics such as fashion, travel, beauty or even food.

This also matches the results of various studies, which show that all these subject areas have strong affinities for the target groups from 40 years onwards. According to the above mentioned agof study, there is an increased affinity in travel as well as in household and mobility for making the most purchases inspired by influencers.

Over-40 and over-50 influencer marketing: These goals and KPIs should not be missing

As in Gen-Z and millennial-focused Influencer marketing campaigns all Influencer campaign goalscan be covered with over-40 and over-50 influencers. Which are there? A recap:

More about relevant campaign goals can be found on OMR Reviews in our article about KPIs for Influencer Marketing.

The greatest potential is certainly in the areas of reach and interaction, although it must be added that there are fewer Instagram mega influencers in the over-40 age groups (influencers with over 1 million Instagram followers) and primarily nano and macro influencers. But this doesn't affect the impact: The additional use of over-40 and over-50 influencers in awareness campaigns can be just as worthwhile as in traffic campaigns.

Depending on the product, good results can also be achieved in sales, especially if there is an incentive to activate the target group. These can range from special sets to sweepstakes. Depending on the pricing policy, the use of discount codes can also be worth it. It is important to ensure from the beginning that the success can be measured. This means the traceability of the codes on the website or also the tracking of the traffic that influencers bring to the website, for example via UTM parameters.

Regardless of which goal is in focus: A good influencer selection combined with authentic content forms the basis for success. The same rules apply to KPIs as usual: The goal defines which KPI for your influencer marketing will be used. Reach campaigns should focus on the number of impressions and unique reach as well as the CPM.

Authentic and approachable - leveraging hidden potential

Many over-40 and best-ager influencers cover a wide range of topics on their accounts, such as beauty, travel, fashion, food, or interior. This offers exciting starting points for marketers. They also stand out due to their high level of authenticity and closeness to their communities. The latter in particular is reflected in high interaction numbers.

These interactions do not only take place under the Instagram and/or Facebook posts, but also in the direct messages on Instagram. Therefore, it is all the more important to determine before the beginning of a campaign whether these interactions in the direct messages for the later campaign and success evaluation are important.

Credibility through long-term collaborations

In general, as in influencer marketing in general, it is recommended to enter into long-term collaborations. The target groups over 40 years old are often much more selective and critical towards social media content. Credibility and authenticity thus gain an even higher value. The Advantage of long-term influencer collaborations is clear: Credibility - also in the communities. In addition, long-term collaborations make influencers credible brand ambassadors, who are loyal to the brand and products - usually beyond the collaboration.

Speaking of brand ambassadors: There are also a variety of options in the applications of over-40 and over-50 influencers. This can range from classic collaborations with product mailing and/or event participation to use as a testimonial. Influencer editions developed together with the brand are also a possibility for successful collaborations - although this has been less used so far.

Especially during events, taking over the brand channel can offer an exciting opportunity to bring reach to your own channel. In addition, the extension or exclusive booking of influencer content for performance marketing campaigns can open up further fields of application. Here it is essential to secure the buyouts right from the start of the campaign.

The influencer search: Which platforms are relevant?

One of the most relevant platforms in the over-40 and best-ager influencer marketing is certainly Instagram. Here it is possible to meet the 40+ target group accurately thanks to selected influencers. Many over-40 and over-50 influencers also have well-maintained and active Facebook Pages - these are usually booked as an add-on to Instagram campaigns.

One channel that will gain importance in the over-40 and over-50 influencer marketing is TikTok. The user structure has changed significantly in the last year alone and this trend is likely to continue.

How to find suitable over-40 and best-ager influencers

You can either search for suitable influencers manually (be careful, very time-consuming!) or you can make it easy and use handy Influencer marketing tools. Examples are CreatorIQ, IROIN® Influencer Marketing Suite, EQOLOT, and also woomio.

If your goal is to address people over 40 years old, you can filter by age of followers in almost all tools. This way you avoid scattering losses from the start and ensure that the desired target group is addressed in the end. The same applies, for example, to the TikTok Creator Marketplace, where you can also work with various filters (including age).

If there is no budget for tools available or if you want to approach the topic of influencer marketing slowly, you will have to do manual research. This usually starts with a Google search (e.g. “Best-age influencers in Germany”) and usually leads to Instagram, where you can search for further influencers using profile suggestions.

Conclusion

Your product is aimed at the target group 40+? In this case, too, you should definitely consider influencer marketing. As shown in this article, there are many interesting fields of application suitable for the goal. The various Influencer Marketing tools or the manual search help to find suitable over-40 and over-50 Influencers. In the end, both ways lead to the goal.

Whenever possible, long-term collaborations should also be considered in the over-40 and over-50 influencer marketing - including continuous success measurement and evaluation. This leads to higher credibility of the planned influencer marketing measures and thus to a better output.

To sum up, over-40 influencers are a win for your campaigns because they:

• bring high brand loyalty
• have a very loyal, interactive followership
• cover a wide range of topics
• and can fulfill all influencer marketing goals

So perhaps your brand can also benefit from working with over-40 and best-ager influencers.