Superannuation funds should engage further with Australia's retirees, experts are urging, as a report reveals that more than more than half of 65 to 75 year olds used social media each week.
Deloitte partner consulting, online Katherine Milesi said that "no longer can we say that social media is not relevant to older people. It's that it's not relevant in the same way."
She cited recent Deloitte research ''Vox Populi: State of the Media Democracy Survey' which showed that 60 plus year olds spent 18.7 hours online each week, compared with 21.9 hours a week overall for all age groups.
There were now more mobile phones (4.8 billion) in the world than there were toothbrushes (4.2 billion), and 37 per cent of Australians use smartphones. Mobiles were becoming much more important than laptops.
At the same time, Panorama Synergy chair Aidan Montague said most Australian websites were fundamentally flawed because they had no capacity to generate new business or customers.
Misconceptions abounded about social media, both Milesi and Montague said.
"One of the misconceptions is that digital media is relevant to young people only," Milesi said.
And, while Deloitte was urging superannuation funds to embrace the digital future, the funds themselves were cautious.
An AustralianSuper spokesperson said the fund was using Facebook and Twitter in the Kick Start campaign for the Australian version of the reality talent show, The Voice.
Media Super general manager client relations Lisa Collins said the fund was "currently reviewing our website and methods of communicating to members which has involved significant research and surveying of members".
"As such, we are currently developing a policy on social media and its use in our industry over the next few months in conjunction with our website review/upgrade project," Collins said.
Milesi said using games-style applications would be one way in which funds engaged members.
"This 'gamification' approach has its biggest use inside organisations at present, but its use will spread," she said.
She gave the example of Bobber Interactive which provided financial institutions with customer engagement, and the ANZ's SmartyPig which "set goals for real-life rewards".
Companies did not spend enough time understanding their members and "their journeys", and then plotting in where digital interactions are used, Milesi said.
"The universal principles are that social media must be relevant, useful and real," she said.
"Digital increases brand loyalty: customers remember who you are; they feel positive; and they are reluctant to change," Milesi said.
Social media strategies' needed a digital strategy which understood the needs of the members, the employer base and people's channel habits and preferences, and which assessed internal capability and complemented digital partners.
Apathy about social media would have to shift, Milesi said, "due to competition and consolidation. All funds are competing for the same members. We need to find a way to differentiate".
