In this social media snapshot, I
take a look at the social media marketing programs of AARP, the American
Association of Retired Persons. AARP boasts almost 350,000 Facebook fans,
nearly 45,000 followers on Twitter, over 7.6 million views on their dedicated
YouTube channel, and a growing audience on Pinterest, (with nearly 1,000
followers on their “AARP History” board alone).
Who is AARP?
Established in 1958, AARP is one of
America’s largest non-profit membership organizations with a national
membership of over 38 million people over the age of 50. The annual sixteen dollar membership fee
entitles members to exclusive discounts on insurance, travel, dining and
entertainment, utilities and more. Members also receive AARP’s monthly print
magazine, featuring articles and commentary on topics such as entertainment,
finance, health and other key issues relating to their age group. Additionally,
the AARP bulletin keeps members informed about politics and legislation.
Finally, a key component of AARP membership is that members feel a sense of
community through their association. This point is perhaps also why AARP has
experienced the success that they have in their social media marketing efforts.
AARP Knows Their Audience
To start with, AARP gets points for
recognizing that their audience, (people over the age of 50, mainly older
retirees), are actively online and social. While skeptics may consider
America’s aging baby boomer population to be less than computer savvy, and
doubt their online activity, the engagement level on AARP’s social media
platforms easily dispute these ideas. A recent poll on internet usage by the Pew Internet & American Life
Project shows that 77% of respondents between the ages of 50-64 use the
internet and/or email, and 76% go online on a typical day. Over 53% of respondents
aged 65 years or older are also active online. AARP built their social media
platforms on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and recently Pinterest, because they
recognized that their members were actively online and using social media, long
before such surveys proved such trends.
On Facebook and Pinterest, the
majority of AARP fans and followers are female. AARP’s marketing team
capitalizes on that by posting gender-specific content in these social spaces.
For example, they leveraged their feature article from the July issue of their
print magazine, “AARP’s Sexiest Men Over 50”, by bringing it to their social
community and promoting engagement. They asked their fans and followers to rate
their list of celebrities, let them know who they left out and who their
favorites were.
AARP Knows What
Their Audience Wants
AARP
understands their audience and what is most important to them, because they ask
them. Members are routinely surveyed on what is the most important benefit of
the association to them. Their response? Discounts. To grow their social
following, and demonstrate the value of AARP membership, marketing executives
at AARP decided to plug a different discount available to members across
Facebook and Twitter, every night of the week at 8 PM. Since members are
seeking this information, and are already on social anyway, it’s a win-win for
all.
AARP Makes It Fun
To date,
AARP’s most highly-engaged social campaign on Facebook is their “Mutt-Madness”
contest that they ran in March to coincide with NCAA March Madness basketball
tournament. For the contest, their Facebook fans were encouraged to upload an
image of their dog, share the AARP album with friends and get “likes” on their
pet to win the title of “Mutt-Madness Top Dog” for the year. Each week, dogs
with the least “likes” would be eliminated, much like teams in the basketball
tournament were dropped, from the Sweet 16, the Final Four, down to the Final
Two, and then the winner. This contest was fun for AARP fans who entered their
dogs, as well as the thousands that voted for their favorites each week and
followed the contest on Facebook and Twitter. This campaign was such a success
that it will be repeated next March, and the marketing team at AARP has plans
in the works for a cat contest as well.
The
success of this campaign, helped to build up their following across social
media platforms, and was not just due to the fact that it was fun, but also
because it once again related back to AARP knowing their audience, mainly women
who love their pets.
Finally
AARP’s social success also has to do with their use of an endless library of
fun, vivid images. Great images are crucial to growing interest and engagement
on social media, and AARP hasn’t missed that point. One look at their homepage
on Pinterest and a glance at their 26 boards demonstrate this. From movies and
music “for grown-ups,” to recipes, to 50+ style icons and celebrities, their
Pinterest page also again connects to their knowing their audience and what
they are interested in, but on this platform, in a fun and visual way.
Snapshot
Clearly AARP knows what they are doing
in terms of social media marketing. What can we learn from their social
success? The key to AARP’s social achievements stems from their knowing their
audience, understanding what they care about and making it fun.
