Influencers have a baby boomer problem
Recent research reveals a significant generational divide in trust toward social media influencers, with baby boomers being markedly more skeptical and annoyed by influencer content than younger generations. Meanwhile, brands continue to underinvest in older demographics and older influencers.
Why it matters
It highlights a persistent blind spot in modern marketing, as brands ignore a wealthy demographic while disproportionately focusing on younger audiences.
Baby boomers, like this baby right here, often find influencers … annoying. Debrocke/ClassicStock/Getty Images A version of this post appears in CMO Insider. Sign up for Business Insider's marketing newsletter . Influencer marketing to baby boomers hits different — and not in the way brands intended. Research from Morning Consult , conducted exclusively for Business Insider, reveals a stark generational divide in attitudes toward influencers. Boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — are distrustful of influencers, skeptical of their recommendations, and more likely to find their content "annoying." In the survey of roughly 2,000 US adults conducted in September, 31% of boomers said they trust influencer recommendations at least somewhat, compared with 62% of Gen Z and 64% of millennials. Two in five (40%) boomers surveyed said they trust influencers less than they did a few years ago.
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