For any senior living community to remain on the trajectory of success, there should always be consistent growth in the occupancy rate. It’s one thing to ensure the retention and loyalty of residents, and it’s an entirely different thing to keep new ones coming in. On the marketing side of assisted living both largely figure as the keys to success.
Such a fact only underscores the need to come up with actionable and effective senior living marketing and advertising solutions. What’s good is that there are plenty of routes to take in this regard. The rise of the pandemic made sure the so-called digital pivot for senior living marketing, after all, that more or less unlocked new, more effective ways to address the perennial challenge of low occupancy rates.
That being said, we’ve highlighted 8 of the most recommended strategies that you should consider adopting in this post.
Prioritize crafting a message of quality and safety
This can’t be underscored more, especially as we go forward in the pandemic era. Assume that there will always be a shadow of doubt lingering in every potential resident you talk to as a direct result of the risk of COVID-19. Gone are the days when traditional types of marketing like, for example, a senior living marketing solution involving providing freebies would pique the interest of prospective customers.
Now, you have to do your best to guarantee that they will be as close to 100% safe once they decide to take up residence in your community. Be sure to readily reinforce your message with clear proof by showcasing every safety measure that your facility has in place. These can be smoothly integrated into your virtual tours.
Focus on localizing your content marketing and your overall approach
Senior living marketing services are now pivoting away from costly lead-generating platforms and focusing on hyper-localizing their content marketing instead. Many inquiries tend to come from specific towns and neighborhoods, after all, rather than cities and states.
How can you localize your facility? Well, completing your community’s profile on Google My Business alone can actually do wonders for your facility. Many owners report as much as a whopping 30% of their traffic comes from GMB.
This is why it’s important to complete your profile in it and update it when necessary, with services, reviews, and amenities included. Treat it like your website, and you’ll be rewarded with calls in no time. It also won’t hurt to start localizing your content, especially the social media posts, blog posts, and web pages you put up and share. In the end, it’s what people most likely to become permanent residents search for and are interested in.
Take your marketing up a notch with assisted living software
Who says assisted living software is limited to just resident management? Our solutions at Genexod go beyond that, for we also provide ways for managers to optimize their sales cycle. With our solutions, you can easily keep track of walk-ins and referrals and boost overall focused marketing, to cite a few perks.
By and large, these kinds of software only reduce the burden that you have to carry when promoting your facility and attracting new residents. They can save you immense time, money, and effort for taking care of leads and conversions.
Who says the digital pivot is only concerned with digitizing your facility’s messaging? There are options out there that let you take advantage of the undeniable perks of technology, especially automation, and we have the stats to back it up.
Proactively respond to your community’s feedback with a compassionate tone
Just ask any experienced assisted living marketing agency, and they’ll probably fully concur with this. Responding to feedback shows that you are serious in addressing the concerns of your residents. It readily gives the impression that you are not only transparent and trustworthy but are also prioritizing the improvement of your facility. Ultimately, we can’t really deny the fact that reviews are one of the first things potential residents look at when deciding whether to stay in a facility or not.
Tell stories that resonate with your audience
Oftentimes, being sincere and upfront in expressing your desire to help seniors can pay off in a very big way. Heart-to-heart messages and inspiring stories from present residents actually have an inimitable and valuable impact on your senior living marketing.
This is made easier by the fact that you get plenty of control over what to share with your audience, usually via videos. For example, you can easily give the impression, through a virtual presentation of your facility, of what it’s really like to live in your community with the help of these heartfelt video-presented stories. As long as you can trigger an emotional response, that’s a good sign that you’re headed in the right direction.
Utilize what social media has to offer to the fullest
In Facebook alone, seniors are more likely to interact with your facility through posts and direct messaging because of the sheer ease of use and familiarity with the platform. Think of it as an extension of your community where you can share the recent events and even encourage staff and residents to interact with one another.
Share your facility’s reviews there and even the written and video content that you create over time. Keep your social media bustling with life in short, and you’ll be receiving queries in no time. Incidentally, it can be tough managing your social media profile, so most facilities actually rely on a senior living marketing agency when handling it.
Don’t overlook giving clients the chance to call you directly
Sometimes, placing a call button in the right place can make a huge difference in lead generation and conversion. After all, stats show that internet call volumes have increased by as high as 3x the former numbers since the pandemic started, and it’s bound to only continue to rise in the future.
This is why you can’t forget about inputting your facility’s phone line in its GMB profile as well. Even a call button that can be easily seen on your website’s home page can convince seniors to contact you directly.
Localize your SEO efforts
Do this in the same way that you should hyper-localize your content marketing. Research keywords that are directly related to local searches in your area. Aiming to rank for all the keywords pertaining to towns and counties should be your focus – no more, no less.
Think of landmarks and ways in which people would identify where they live and find out how you can incorporate that in your SEO as well. We’re talking about hyper-localizing after all, so we aren’t just going to focus on senior living keywords affixed with the region and state you’re operating in.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say that the digital pivot has served primarily as a huge boon for the assisted living industry. You can only imagine the alternatives if these options aren’t even available for many facilities worldwide. More or less, it ensured the continuation and even the evolution of senior living marketing. And if you’re an owner of a community yourself, it’s only right to keep your doors open to adopting these strategies.