If your business needs to reach older generations, your marketing strategy should reflect how they actually consume—and trust—information.
Older adults are online, but their digital habits look very different from those of younger generations. According to 2025 data from Pew Research Center, 19% of adults 65+ use Instagram and just 12% use TikTok, compared with 80% and 63% of adults ages 18–29, respectively. And when it comes to daily use, only 5% of adults 65+ use TikTok each day, compared with 47% of adults ages 18–29.
That doesn't mean digital marketing doesn't work for older audiences. But if older adults are an important part of your customer base, it makes sense to include a channel that's already familiar to them: the mailbox.
And the data backs that up.
Trust is one of direct mail's biggest advantages, particularly among older consumers.
MarketingSherpa asked consumers which advertising channels they trust when making purchase decisions and found that 83% of the Silent Generation said they trust ads and catalogs they receive in the mail. In fact, they were the generation most likely to trust direct mail in the study.
USPS research shows similarly strong engagement among Baby Boomers. 96% of Boomers engaged with promotional mail from locally owned businesses, compared with 85% who engaged with promotional emails from those businesses. The study also found that Boomers were the generation most likely to read direct mail across most of the categories studied.
For businesses serving an older customer base, that's an important distinction. You're not simply trying to get in front of your audience. You're trying to reach them somewhere they're comfortable paying attention.
For Complete Concierge Care, the decision to use direct mail came down to a simple question: Who are we trying to reach?
The practice primarily serves an older demographic, with many of its ideal patients age 60 and above. Annie Newcomer, Marketing Associate at Complete Concierge Care, says that made direct mail a natural fit.
“The reason we decided to use direct mail is because of the demographic of patients who tend to need concierge medical care—60-plus. They’re the type of people who will look at every piece of mail, and there’s a level of trust that comes with receiving something in the mail.”
Rather than choosing a marketing channel simply because it's popular, Complete Concierge Care chose one that matched the habits of the people they actually wanted to reach.
For a practice built around personal, concierge-level care, that familiarity and trust can be especially valuable.
Complete Concierge Care isn't the only business that sees an opportunity to reach older audiences through the mailbox.
Patrick O'Brien, Executive Director at Heartfelt Recovery Centers, points to New Hampshire's older population as one reason direct mail has been particularly effective for their organization.
“New Hampshire is one of the oldest states in the country, and people here open and trust their mail. Direct mail is super effective for us because of that.”
Heartfelt combines direct mail with other local channels, including TV, radio and billboards, to build awareness within the specific communities it serves. But Patrick's experience with direct mail reinforces the same idea as Annie's: when you understand your audience, you can choose marketing channels that align with how they prefer to receive information.
Two different organizations. Two different audiences and services. But both point to the same advantage: direct mail gives them a familiar, trusted way to reach older consumers.
Older consumers are online, too. In fact, Pew's 2025 research found that 64% of adults 65+ use YouTube and 57% use Facebook. However, usage drops substantially on several other major platforms: only 19% use Instagram, 12% use TikTok, 10% use X and 6% use Reddit.
The takeaway isn't to replace digital marketing with direct mail. It's to recognize that different channels can play different roles.
A postcard can introduce your business and build familiarity. From there, a recipient can call, visit your website, scan a QR code or encounter your business again through digital advertising.
That combination gives businesses the best of both worlds: the familiarity and tangibility of direct mail paired with the convenience of digital.
It's easy for marketers to gravitate toward the channels they personally use most. But the newest platform isn't automatically the best platform for every customer.
If your ideal customers are older adults, consider where they're most likely to notice your message, spend time with it and trust what they're seeing.
For healthcare providers, senior services, financial and estate services, home service businesses, insurance companies and other organizations targeting older demographics, direct mail remains an important way to get your message directly into their hands.
Heartfelt Recovery Centers and Complete Concierge Care aren't using direct mail simply because it's traditional.
They're using it because it fits the people they're trying to reach.
And sometimes, the most effective marketing strategy isn't about finding a newer channel. It's about choosing the one your audience already knows and trusts.
With Taradel, businesses can target the neighborhoods and households that matter most, launch direct mail campaigns, and pair them with digital advertising to create multiple touchpoints with their ideal customers.
Start building your next direct mail campaign today.