How ‘granfluencers’ are shaking up social media representation and influencer marketing

Editor’s note: This article is a re-run as part of our countdown of top stories from the past year.

It wasn’t the usual aspirational 20-something with perfect home decor and a massive following that was Aura Frames’ most successful influencer partnership last year. It was a collaboration with Charlotte Simpson, a 65-year-old retired guidance counselor, (@travelingblackwidow). Her work accounted for our best-performing ad in 2020, bringing in nearly five times more conversions than any influencer ad, with six times more engagement than any ad creative.

As a tech-focused company, a partnership with elderly influencers wasn’t the intuitive choice, but 2020 has decidedly changed consumer perception and behavior. We saw an opportunity to increase diversity and representation in our content and the consumer tech industry as a whole, particularly with people 50 and older who have great spending power and remain underrepresented in the social media and influencer space.