There is a fundamental problem that copywriters face in writing copy or content aimed at the over 50s demographic.

They need to find a new word for describing this age group, because the words in common use are starting to sound overworked and in some cases they even cause real irritation.Is anybody a Senior?For instance, the word “Senior” will cause anybody in their 50s, 60s or 70s to shy away from the product or service you are promoting.

These age groups do not see themselves as Seniors and yet the word is quite commonly used to describe them.

It is not uncommon to find the word Senior across all types of advertising – print, digital and electronic, although print is probably the guiltiest.

In an informal experiment we offered a free copy of a publication to 100 or so adults who seemed to fall into the 50 to 80 age group by appearance.

The publication had the word Senior in its title.

They notice the little things, the big things, and the colossal errors.They’ll find that one typo, and then they’ll tell you about it.We have fallen prey to their proofreading mastery before, and it got us thinking “our readers are our best proofreaders”.In one of our own books aimed at the over 50s market, we recently ran an article about how caravans are a great way to see Australia, with this picture of a caravan.

Our readers noticed, their children and grandchildren did not.Fallout From Typos Can Be DisastrousThis error is minor compared to some other blunders that have occurred in the last decade.

The Pasta Bible’s recipe for tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto called for “salt and freshly ground black pepper”.

However, the typo that went to print was “salt and freshly ground black people”.

An urgent recall was put into effect, and thousands of PR dollars were spent on trying to fix the damage.

However, the error floats around the Internet to this day – forever immortal.Your Readers Could Be The AnswerAs comforting as it is to know that even majors such as Penguin Publishing are prone to errors like the rest of us, it would be better to know that there may be a way to get ahead of the game.

Measuring ROI From PrintMeasuring the impact of your advertising in print media has always been a problem.

It’s the same challenge whether your advertisement is in a newspaper, magazine, guidebook, pamphlet or even on an outdoor billboard.

Here are some techniques that work particularly well for non-branding advertising that is directed at the Over 50s market.Provide unique webpages in your advertisement.This will enable you to determine how much attention and traffic your advertisement is generating.

Easily linked to your existing website, a subdomain allows you to advertise in print and welcome those unfamiliar with technology, while still easily monitoring your results.Use Unique phone numbersUse advertisement specific response telephone numbers.

They are a clear call to action, and you can use special codes to track the response.

Ask whilst at the cash register or following the completion of a service.

The objective of content marketing is to establish your company as a major source of credible information and guidance for your customers.

Therefore, the content you write needs to focus on the needs or desires of your target readers and not on your own company or other aspects that are not customer centric.For instance, if you are a real estate agent and your target market is the 60+ demographic, then one good content idea for them could be along the lines of, “Is rental property a good investment once you have your superannuation?” The topic is something this age group thinks about and they would welcome some discussion and insight from an insider of the rental property market – a perfect content marketing opportunity.Unfortunately, many content marketers will sabotage the opportunity by starting off their article or blog post by describing their own company.

This a typical introduction: “Rental & Co has been helping our customers for the last 20 years, when our principal established the business from her garage …now with 50 staff, we can ….”  Honestly, very few readers will get even halfway through an introduction like this and all the good guidance and thought leadership wisdom that may appear later in the article will never be read.There is an argument to say that you need to quickly establish your credibility before providing advice.

However, given that you also have to grab attention and interest in the first line of an article, it is probably better to rely on the author bi-line to establish credibility.Perhaps the second most common way that people sabotage their content marketing efforts is to try to sell in the content.

Thinly veiled sales messages are very easily identified by readers and the result is that the reader becomes suspicious of the rest of the good words in the article or blog.

Instead of building credibility, by giving in to the temptation to sell in content, you could well damage your credibility.Successful content marketing focuses on what the customer is actually interested in, as opposed to talking about your company and what you sell.

  Popular platformsWhile youth have been flocking to image-sharing websites like Snapchat and Instagram, Facebook has experienced a massive change, and is now seen as preferred by older generations, being the Over 50s, over 60s and over 70s.

Facebook is therefore a social channel you won’t want to exclude when targeting the older demographic.Another platform to use is LinkedIn, especially for B2B.

Advertisements here are more targeted and relevant.

Although currently Over 50s don’t use it as much as their younger counterparts, a few years will see a shift as the 30 to 49 age bracket take their place.Surprisingly, Pinterest is also very popular with older generation females.

It is very visual, and is quick and easy to use.MessagingWhatsapp is popular in the Over 50s market because of its ease of use, video facility and the fact that you have relatively more control over who your message is seen by than other platforms.

Last but not least, is that Whatsapp seems to be devoid of confusing terminology, which is universally hated by this demographic.VideoBaby boomers may not have grown up with abundant video and social media, but that hasn’t stopped them from joining in now.

Certainly, it lost substantial ground to digital in terms of corporate spending, but print advertising is managing to revive and refresh itself so that it continues to be a very effective and relevant advertising pathway, both in its own right and as a boost to digital and television campaigns.Print has better return on spend than TVConsider this ‘amazing fact’ from the 2016/17 Magazine Media Factbook, published by the US based Magazine Publishers Association.

According to the Factbook, magazines show the highest return on advertising spend by far.

Advertising on high demand websites or facebook pages can be expensive and is seldom as targeted as print advertising in specialty and niche print magazines.Print may not be as portable as online media, but it is more personable – and that makes a world of difference.

Online media can lack the flexibility of reaching specific demographics.

Certain people visit certain places, and these places are easily accessed by print media targeting, such as commuter advertising on trains and buses, school holiday deals on billboards near large schools, business cards for health and beauty in gyms and organic grocers, over 50s magazines in pharmacies…the list goes on.When it is done right, print advertising can also enhance online media and it can be used as a complementary system to reinforce digital and electronic forms of advertising.

It has become a revived dynamic that lends credibility to brands and products.