- Tension: Social media was expected to be a youth trend, yet its core user base now includes older, mainstream audiences with distinct engagement needs.
- Noise: Marketers still design for stereotypes of social users, overlooking real behavioral shifts and demographic adoption patterns.
- Direct Message: Social media is no longer a niche playground—it’s the social infrastructure of modern communication, and marketing must evolve to match.
Read more about our approach → The Direct Message Methodology
Once upon a time, social media was a cultural sideshow—quirky, youth-driven, and mostly ignored by the C-suite. That era is over. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even newer players like TikTok have become embedded in how society communicates, shares, and shops.
Yet marketers are still playing catch-up. Not in terms of tools—they’ve got those. But in terms of mindset.
Social media is no longer just about early adopters, nor is it only about Gen Z and millennial behavior. The real shift—the one we still fail to fully acknowledge—is that social media now belongs to the mainstream. And with that comes new expectations, behaviors, and norms.
According to a Forrester Research study, even in the early 2010s, 70% of online adults aged 55 and up were already tapping into social media at least once a month. That percentage has only grown.
During my work advising growth teams at a Fortune 500 tech brand, we saw unexpected spikes in campaign engagement among older adults—especially when the messaging tapped into shared purpose, nostalgia, or community.
Social media hasn’t simply been adopted by the masses. It’s been reshaped by them.
Where the old assumptions break down
There’s a persistent belief in marketing circles that social media is best used for targeting young, digitally native consumers who crave novelty, memes, and short attention spans. That belief has become a strategic liability.
Older consumers aren’t just passive observers—they’re deeply active, especially when it comes to using social to foster community, support causes, and engage in interest-based groups. The idea that older demographics are “less digital” is not only outdated—it’s dangerous.
Take the example of Brisas Hotels & Resorts. When they launched the bilingual Facebook campaign “Chicas y Margaritas” back in 2009, they narrowed their audience to women aged 21 to 40—but what made the campaign effective wasn’t just the demographic—it was the design: peer-driven interaction, emotional storytelling, and purpose-led incentives.
The strategy worked because it understood how people use social today: as a space for social proof, group alignment, and values-driven participation.
So why do so many campaigns still rely on clickbait giveaways or generic content calendars? Because the myth of the universal social media user—young, impulsive, hype-driven—still dominates.
But the real story? People across all age groups now use social to build identity, not just kill time. That requires a shift from impression volume to connection depth.
Social channels have matured—but strategies haven’t. There’s a gap between what the data shows us (that people want meaningful, participatory engagement) and what marketers continue to deliver (templated posts and hollow promotions).
Brands need to understand that users are no longer following just for perks; they’re following for alignment, shared values, and dialogue.
What we continue to miss
Here’s where the gap widens:
1. Stereotypes still dominate strategy.
Marketers too often segment by age without considering digital behavior. The 60-year-old posting in a cancer survivor group is more digitally fluent than the 25-year-old passively scrolling TikTok.
2. Algorithms have outpaced assumptions.
Most platforms now serve content based on behavior, not demographics. Campaigns built on outdated personas miss the opportunity to meet users where they actually are.
3. Niche doesn’t mean small.
Social isn’t about mass reach—it’s about trust at scale. Micro-communities thrive because they speak to specific values, not because they appeal to everyone.
The conventional wisdom that social campaigns need to be broad, flashy, and youth-oriented is holding brands back from the real opportunity: relevance.
The clarity that changes everything
When you acknowledge how fully social media has become woven into everyday life, one insight becomes clear:
Social media is no longer a niche playground—it’s the shared infrastructure of modern life, and marketing must adapt to its new architecture.
Designing for depth, not just reach
Once you stop chasing scale for its own sake, you can begin to design campaigns that resonate. Here are four principles that have emerged from data-backed campaigns I’ve helped design or analyze:
1. Design for intent-based discovery.
Instead of trying to intercept a feed with promotional noise, meet users in moments of active search and decision-making. This means optimizing for Facebook Groups, Reddit threads, and YouTube search—not just Reels or Stories.
2. Build around identity and belonging.
The best social campaigns don’t shout—they mirror. They reflect users’ values, communities, and sense of self. That’s why campaigns like “Chicas y Margaritas” worked: they activated peer dynamics, not just incentives.
3. Leverage platform-specific trust mechanics.
User-generated content, comment engagement, and in-platform customer service all drive credibility. Don’t outsource these to automation or treat them as afterthoughts.
4. Stop aging out the mainstream.
Older users aren’t fringe. They’re core. And they’re driving more purchasing power, more time-on-platform, and more value-based interaction than marketers realize.
This also means reconsidering how influencer marketing is handled. While younger influencers dominate the narrative, there is untapped power in partnering with creators who speak authentically to midlife and senior audiences.
These aren’t micro-influencers—they’re trust brokers in communities that have been ignored for too long.
Conclusion: The platform has changed, but so have we
Social media isn’t just for selling things. It’s where people build public identities, find belonging, and decide what matters. Marketers who treat it like a sandbox for the under-30 crowd will increasingly be drowned out by brands that actually understand how social operates today.
It’s not just about keeping pace with social media. It’s about keeping pace with what it now represents: society itself.
Social isn’t a trend anymore. It’s the terrain.
