Midlife Baby Boomer Bloggers Talk at BlogHer13

Four years ago when I last attended BlogHer with my then 19 year old daughter, there was no mention of midlife or Baby Boomer anything. We did, however, get to meet Tim Gunn. This is one is a series of BlogHer13 posts.

So this year when my friend Lori Moreno told me I really needed to get to know the women in the Generation Fabulous community, I was excited. I showed up late for their Thursday night gathering, but wound up bumping into them all along the way at the conference. We reconvened, for the most part, at the Midlife Blogger roundtable session.

What can I say? They ARE fabulous!

And it’s not just me saying it. The Midlife Blogger roundtable session was the most tweeted about panel in the entire BlogHer conference. Check out the infographic for more BlogHer stats.

I must say I felt quite at home and at ease in a group of women who’ve raised their kids, have emptying nests and a history to gaze back on.

[Disclosure: Our family includes a 23 year old daughter who is a music business manager; a 21 year old son who is starting his marketing career and is a sponsored skateboarder; and an 18 year old  son who will be a college freshman.]

Midlife Baby Boomer Bloggers Talk at BlogHer13

My session notes are on the light side. You’ll find a complete Midlife Blogger Roundtable session recap here.

Jen Lee Reeves, AARP social media trainer and blogger at JenLeeReeves.com moderated a panel with Chloe Jeffries, blogger at CholeoftheMountain.com; Sharon Greenthal, blogger at EmptyHouseFullMind.com and; Anne Parris, blogger at NotaSuperMom.com.

Society views women in stages.

Traditionally, there is the young maiden with no point of view.

Next, is the mother who is nurturing.

And then there is the crone.

The truth is there are long years between us and Betty White who is 91 years old. [When I heard the word “crone,” I thought of Strega Nona and her pasta pot, a story my kids loved when they were little.]

Sharon Greenthal talked about the four C’s of blogging.

Content: We all need to write. When we’re writing, we should write from our hearts and souls and not write what we think other people want to read. Think about serving your blog in bites of 300-500 works per post. It’s important to keep your message to the point so people feel they have something to share on social media.

Comments: Comments are what make a blog succeed. Go out and find other blogs to comment on. Think of social media as a big, huge coffee klatch.

Curate: Look for blogs that you connect with. When you share a post on Facebook, give a brief description and tag the blogger to let them know you appreciate their work. Create a blog roll of your favorites.

Connect: Go beyond your blog to connect with readers. Email them, Facebook friend them and let them know that they’ve made a difference in your community.

Even though you’re not a young mom, you don’t have to apologize. Brands are lookiang for a strong voice; show your point of view on your about page.

Blogging is a friend business, so make friends to see and be seen. Being likable is a  good way to get connections.

The two most important places for bloggers to be are on twitter and LinkedIn

Allow yourself to evolve, you won’t be great at the beginning.

Chole said, “If the jeans don’t fit, try another pair. It’s not you, it’s the jeans.” This quote applies to so much in life, doesn’t it?

In the session, Jen showed Plugged In: Boomers Online Video from AARP.

Connecting with Other Midlife Baby Boomer Bloggers

After this session, I made more connections at the BoomBoxNetwork party. Kudos to Anne-Marie Kovacs, Audrey van Petegem and Chris Bradshaw on a very successful event! Full disclosure and thanks to all of the companies who contributed to a primo swag bag. Here’s a pic. I love Chloe’s dress with the sweetheart neckline, don’t you?

Baby Boomer Social Media and Buying Stats

In the session someone asked about where to find stats; here are a few I came across.

Did you know that Baby Boomers make up half of the population in the United States?

Smart marketers will want to take note of these stats about Baby Boomers: Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation from Neilsen. By 2017, adults over 50 will control a full 70% of all disposable cash.

Check out this infographic with Baby Boomer social media stats.

For even more numbers, check out She-conomy’s “Facts on Women” Baby Boomer stats like these: Women age 50 and older control net worth of $19 trillion and own more than three-fourths of the nation’s financial wealth. – MassMutual Financial Group

How about you – do you diversify marketing to reach different demographics?