For the Valero sisters, their adventure on social media began one night in August 2023. “We were on vacation and my niece told me that she was going to create a TikTok account for me. I didn't even know what she was at that time, but she explained to me that she would just have to say where what she was carrying was from,” says Marian. Her sister Majo also joined the video. "I remember saying: 'I hope no one sees this,'" and my daughter responded: 'Mommy, don't worry, you wouldn't even be famous,'" adds Majo. That first video reached more than a million views.
Since then, the Valero sisters have been well-known faces and style references on the platform. Despite having published less than fifty videos, they have almost 250,000 followers and all their TikToks range between 500,000 and 6 million views. The success of Marian and Majo among the app's users has also caught the attention of brands: they have collaborated with Nivea, Primark and Vichy Laboratories, and have received gifts from Prada or the Just-Ene shoe atelier. “Our family and friends support us a lot, we have a great time making videos and receiving comments of love and admiration is priceless,” explains Marian.
But the Valero sisters are not the only silver influencers on social networks. Chef Rafa Antonín or creator Núria Pajares have also made a name for themselves on the platforms and have almost 100,000 and more than 2.5 million followers on TikTok, respectively. Thus, the phenomenon of creators is not limited to the younger generations, and also extends among those of older age. The same happens with content consumers: although centennials reign in the app – 41% of users are under 25 years old, according to Statista data –, 32% are over 45 years old.
What has led to the entry of the silvers as creators on social networks? “The breaking of many taboos that surround people aged 50-60,” says Paco Lorente, professor at ESIC University and innovation consultant at Wannathink. "The cliché of boring, decaffeinated and unattractive lives has changed with the new generation of seniors, who do not want to do 'grown-up things', because they have vitality, health and desire to continue learning and teaching the world," he continues. .
In general, the silver generation is not very familiar with technology and that has allowed it to preserve a quality coveted by brands and users: naturalness. “We rarely see a senior creator be an expert in editing software or a machine when it comes to generating professional content. The change in trend towards the natural, the spontaneous and the authentic has favored the incursion of this new generation of creators,” says Carlos García, Country Manager in Spain of Cosmic.tech, the short vertical video company partner of TikTok.
Their entry into social networks also develops naturally: if success came to Marian and Majo Valero thanks to a TikTok showing their outfits, something similar happened to Bibi Buch. “It was a coincidence,” she says. Her daughter Carla Clavera is an influencer and content creator in Catalan. One Saturday, Carla encouraged Bibi to record her outfit on camera; Bibi refused, but she ended up giving in. “I remember she was preparing the food and Carla told me: 'It's going viral.'”
After that first Saturday, where her look of the day reached almost 75,000 views, Bibi continued recording her outfits and dared to appear on screen in conversations with Carla or showing recipes. Bibi's videos have been some of the most popular on her daughter's channel, exceeding 50,000 views. With that impulse in mind, Bibi Buch decided to turn her Instagram account, dedicated to family photos or photos of her pets, into a portal to publish what her daughter had already started sharing on TikTok.
“It's hard for me to put my phone where it belongs, and the most elaborate videos are still created by Carla,” Bibi confesses. Despite having recently started creating content on her Instagram account, she has already gained 4,500 followers, and is even congratulated and recognized on the street. “At my age, I'm doing something that 20 years ago I wouldn't have done. From 50 onwards you say, and why not? It's five minutes a day, it's a hobby," says the creator. An entertainment that has also strengthened the relationship between her mother and her daughter. Both say that they have always gotten along well, but recording videos or thinking about content has led them to talk about things that they had not discussed before.
Both Marian and Majo Valero and Bibi Buch create videos on social networks for fun. “We both have our jobs and TikTok is a hobby. That's why we can't upload videos as frequently as other influencers,” explain the Valero sisters. That, the desire not to profit and to create content for pure pleasure and entertainment, gives his publications more credibility, argues Paco Lorente. “This type of influencer brings pure life experience and a different, fresh and fun perspective,” says the ESIC University professor and innovation consultant at Wannathink. “This must be taken advantage of now, because its effect will decrease when it normalizes and, for that, there is not much time left,” he adds.
In a market filled with centennial content, the silver generation arrives on the platforms like a breath of fresh air. Brands are aware of this and seek to take advantage of this generational group: “Although the majority of the advertising pie continues to be taken from the streets by generation Z and millennials, the senior group is increasing its importance and presence in advertising campaigns. ”explains Paloma Miranda, CEO of Grupo GO. “The Valero sisters joined the agency a few months ago and they are being a total sensation. “Everyone is curious about them!” shares the director of the agency that represents Marian and Majo.
Paloma Miranda affirms that senior audiences miss having references and content for them on the networks, which is why any type of video starring people their age arouses a lot of interest. This is confirmed by the data: although the number of baby boomers using TikTok has increased by 57% since 2021, only 10% are represented in advertising, according to a report from the audience research company. GWI. A figure to take into consideration, taking into account that, according to the forecasts of the marketing portal EMarketer, in 2024 11.3 million consumers between 55 and 64 years old will make a purchase through social networks.
Among the sectors that trust seniors to advertise their content, experts highlight those related to physical and mental health care, travel or gastronomy. Also insurance companies, real estate companies, banking or security. “You can't lose your mind about being the favorite brand of generation Z and focus your entire strategy there, because very few people under 35 years of age are going to buy a house in Spain today or hire an alarm service,” remembers Carlos García.
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In an internet that can be homogeneous despite its global nature, any stimulus that breaks with the trend can be something new, even if it uses a pattern as simple as age. Carlos García already states it: “We see more and more senior models, non-normative bodies, different types of skin. The social trend is to show reality, social networks echo this and, therefore, brands follow behind.”
