It may lack some of the glitz of last night’s big Awards program, but each week on this blog we dramatically reveal the very best resources in our industry, as judged by an Academy of 50+ marketing fans on Twitter, LinkedIn, et al. And we do it in far fewer than 4 hours …
The gold envelopes, please!
* BEST TWEET IN A LEADING ROLE: 52% of baby boomers ages 50-64 who use the Internet also use social networking sites (Pew) http://ow.ly/hLbG8
* BEST SUPPORTING TWEET: How do Millennials, GenX & Baby Boomers differ in seeking retirement advice? MIT AgeLab guru Joseph Coughlin writes in Bank Investment Consultant about understanding the needs and expectations of financial services clients, from the individualistic Xers to the Gen Ys who cannot count on pensions or even Social Security to the Boomers who have seen their savings crushed in recent years. How to work with these cohorts?
“There has been considerable discussion about the technology differences between older and younger clients. Older baby boomers demanding face-to-face interaction versus the younger mobile generation that conducts business online and live by text message. While younger clients do tend to be more tech-savvy, successful engagement may be less about understanding technology use than generational learning styles …
All three generations are online and see technology as critical to their daily lives. What’s different is how each generation uses technology to seek advice.”
Coughlin says Boomers use the web to educate themselves then get validation and deeper counsel from financial advisors. Gen X uses the web to do it themselves. And Gen Y will use the web for research, and then to seek the advice, opinions and experiences of others online.
Read the post: http://bit.ly/125GgyQ
* BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Steve Garfield’s documentation of the Today Show’s visit to Boston is a case study in using moving pictures and stills to tell a story. He used Storify, and then combined photography with video of varying lengths, including the new 6-second Twitter Vine. You may think that 6-seconds could never be enough for marketing, but Garfield demonstrates that you can convey enthusiasm, share an experience and inform your audience.
See the story: http://bit.ly/YvYYaw
* BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Christopher S. Penn reveals the single enduring rule of SEO (search engine optimization.) All 7 words of it.
Read the post: http://bit.ly/ZuLO0u
Time to walk the red carpet back to the challenges — and fun! — of marketing to mature consumers with the rest of the Creating Results cast. In the words of Ben Affleck, as he accepted the Best Picture award last night, “It’s good. It is work but it’s the best kind of work and there’s no one I’d rather work with.”