What is the definition of “conversion”? In a nutshell, it’s when a random user gets interested in your product and becomes a lead to later make a purchase and turn into a client. This action revolves around the person. Just like most things in marketing, conversion is tied to studying and understanding your target audience.
Today we would like to introduce you to a very special slice of the audience — the seniors. This is not a homogeneous group since old age can be categorized into different segments. So, in this article we will touch upon the customers in their “Third” and “Fourth age” and discover their specific needs. We will also take a look at the most popular niches in the Seniors offer vertical and find out the best ways to promote them.
Table of Contents
What does it mean to be a Senior?
As mentioned above, seniors are a wide-spanning age group which approximately starts at the age of 50. Within this group, scientists tend to distinguish several sub-categories — the so-called “Ages”.
The Third Age (3rd Age) includes those who are roughly from 55 to 80 y.o. Basically, the entry point is when a person retires and becomes a pensioner, becomes less productive, and focuses more on personal fulfillment.
The Fourth Age (4th Age) starts approximately around 80 years of age and goes on from there. This age is marked with a greater dependency on others and a bigger need for different medical products. Moreover, there is a universal tendency that the female share of the 4th Age is much bigger than male and more people from this age group spend their lives in medical institutions rather than at home.
These two age groups have very different needs if we put aside a common growing dependency on medication. This explains why there is a wide range of verticals that may appeal to elderly customers. However, make sure that you consider whether your audience is in the 3rd or 4th Age, as to better devise your promotional approaches.
Popular products
Of course, elderly people do go on purchasing the usual items such as clothes, household appliances, or cars. However, this slice of audience has special needs that are in most cases not applicable to younger people. The product niches that relate to Seniors vertical are:
- Medicine: healthcare services, doctor appointments, counseling
- E-commerce: different kinds of aids (hearing, vision, mobility)
- Nutra: medicinal products, food supplements, organic treatments (anti-age, CBD, arthritis)
- Home improvement: special needs bathroom (walk-in-tub) or shower (douche senior), stair lift
- Travel: holidays, sightseeing tours (mostly all-inclusive)
- Insurance: health and life/death insurance
Campaign flow
The campaign flow depends on the vertical: driving leads to an insurance offer may differ greatly from a campaign funnel of an e-comm offer. In this article, we will take a hearing aid offer as an example in order to put things in perspective.
- Users notice paid ads on social networks such as Facebook or TikTok. Despite still being seen as a meme-machine for teenagers, the latter has long become a popular entertainment outlet for users from 10 to 50 y.o. (with more than 40% of users aged 30-49). While at first seeming counterintuitive, this is relevant for the promotion of products aimed at the elderly. This is because very often the choice to purchase an aid-tool or improve living conditions of a senior lies with their younger relatives. Other traffic sources include email newsletters or native websites. In all cases, the point of contact is the same — the user clicks on the banner.
- There is usually no pre-lander, the landing page is designed to be informative, and the tone of voice should be official and reassuring. The main point is to show the solution to the problem of hearing loss and to reframe this problem as a temporary obstacle that will evaporate as soon as the user applies for the product. This is what a landing page for this niche could look like:
This lander contains information about unpleasant situations and difficulties that are caused by hearing loss. The main selling point is a free appointment with an experienced medical specialist who will run hearing diagnostics and help the patient choose a suitable hearing aid. Another important piece of information is this passage about state subsidies that partly cover the cost of the device.
- The conversion (under the CPL payout model) happens when a user fills out the application and provides personal information such as name, address, phone number, and email.
Most Seniors offers that you can find in Reflex Affiliates are in-house products which means that marketers have access to all the necessary information and promo materials, as well as can request alterations to existing landing pages for better compatibility with their traffic source.
Creative approaches
Traditionally, older people have an even smaller attention span than today’s youth and tend to favor static images over fast-paced video. This is why regular banners will be the best option for Seniors offers.
Content-wise, creatives must show an improved quality of life after the purchase. Saving on expenses is another strong value proposition for this vertical. For example:
It is also wise to use advertorials that feature a medical expert or describe the results of a study related to the product and its benefits. Since this is a white-hat niche that targets life-savvy and potentially cautious people, you should also include user testimonials and full contact details of the advertiser to provide more credibility.
Profitability of this niche
As usual, the numbers depend on the offer and its terms, the GEO, and your traffic source. Moreover, some offers in the Seniors vertical (Insurance offers, for instance) have no CAP, so the potential for scaling is infinite. A likely obstacle you may encounter is the difficulty of finding the right approach; considering the peculiarities of the target audience, converting a user into a lead is no mean fit. This explains the generous payout rates versus the traffic volume that may seem rather underwhelming (approximately 15 high-quality leads per day). Nevertheless, the products in this vertical meet high demand since they are aimed at increasing users’ quality of life, so with the right approach you will be able to monetize this niche to the maximum. If you need guidance, do not hesitate to reach out to the Reflex Affiliates team.
Summary
In popular culture, the autumn years are often seen as a time of frugality and decline (financial ruin as well). In reality, however, the elderly range from 50 to 90 and can afford a wide range of products from a hearing aid to a holiday tour to Venice. Sure, this audience is not easy to reach online and is even harder to convince to make a purchase. But if you manage to find a key to their hearts with the right creative, understand their needs, and know what products to promote — you will be able to monetize Seniors offers with great success. Our team has vast expertise in driving quality leads and devising efficient campaign flows, and we are happy to guide you on your way to profit.
Yours, the Reflex Affiliates team