If you’re a senior living marketer, one of your jobs is to create an effective marketing strategy for your community. This will involve a combination of online and offline marketing tactics. But what exactly is online marketing vs. offline marketing? Below, we provide an overview of both, including how they differ and what you need to keep in mind when incorporating them into your strategy.
What is online marketing?
Commonly called digital marketing, online marketing—as its name suggests—is marketing that happens via web-based channels like a community’s website, electronic newsletter, social media platforms, and digital advertising.
Some people use the phrases “online marketing” and “inbound marketing” interchangeably. Technically, this isn’t correct. While all inbound marketing is online marketing, not all online marketing is inbound. The key component of inbound marketing is you’re attracting people who are already looking for whatever it is that you’re selling. So if they search on a keyword phrase and your site comes up in the organic search listing and the person clicks on it—that’s an example of inbound marketing at work.
But if you run digital ads through the Google Display Network, not everyone who sees those ads will be on the market for a senior living community. Even though the advertising is happening online, this is still an example of outbound marketing. With outbound marketing, you’re pushing out your message to a wide audience. With inbound marketing, you’re pulling in people who are already interested.
What is offline marketing?
As its name suggests, offline marketing doesn’t happen via web-based channels. Often referred to as traditional marketing, offline marketing tactics include direct mailers, print advertising, radio ads, TV ads, billboards, flyers . . . you get the idea.
But what if I’m perusing a radio station’s website and I click on a banner ad. Is that online marketing or offline marketing?
Even though it’s a radio station’s website, the key word is “website.” So what you describe is an example of online marketing since you’re looking at a website and clicking on a digital ad that will take you to another website.
OK, but how about THIS example: What if I receive a direct mailer that has a QR code that leads to a website? Is that online marketing or offline marketing?
That’s an example of both. The direct mailer is definitely an offline marketing tactic. But the QR code leads to a web page, which makes it an online marketing tactic. So that’s a marketing campaign using both approaches: offline and online.
And that’s OK to do?
Yep. Remember, marketing is not a zero-sum game. There’s no rule saying you can only do online marketing or offline marketing—or that you can’t do both at the same time. Sure, over the last two decades, we’ve absolutely seen a shift with more marketing dollars being spent on online campaigns. But offline marketing still has a place.
So it sounds like maybe I shouldn’t get so caught up with what qualifies as online marketing vs. offline marketing, right?
EXACTLY. That’s kind of our main point. Yes, you should understand the basic differences between the two. But at the end of the day, what’s going to matter most is if you put together an effective integrated marketing strategy—not whether you used a certain number of online marketing vs. offline marketing tactics.
Wait . . . what’s an integrated marketing strategy?
In a nutshell, an integrated marketing campaign means that your various offline and online marketing tactics are aligned and working toward the same goals. Depending on the goal, you might find yourself using more online marketing strategies than offline. For example, if you’ve just released a new white paper and you want to promote it, you’ll likely use only online marketing channels (website form, social media, email marketing, and so forth).
But if you’re building brand awareness about a new senior living community you just opened, you’ll likely use a combination of offline and online marketing tactics: paid digital ads, print ads, direct mailers, new website, email marketing, in-person events, and so on.
What if I’m still having trouble deciding which offline marketing and online marketing campaigns make the most sense for my community?
That’s where we come in! You can outsource this important strategy work to us. Our marketing expertise includes both online and offline marketing. Plus, we understand the senior living industry. Let’s chat about your marketing needs.
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SLS-7-12-22_Online-Marketing-Vs-Offline-Marketing.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-07-11 16:19:342022-07-11 16:19:34Online Marketing Vs. Offline Marketing: What You Need to Know
If you’ve been reading up on marketing topics and you landed on this blog post, it’s probably because you’ve been scratching your head over the phrase “integrated marketing campaign.” What is it? Why should senior living marketers care? What goes into planning an effective integrated marketing campaign? Below, we answer those questions—and many more.
What’s an integrated marketing campaign?
An integrated marketing campaign means that all the different marketing tactics—outbound, inbound, paid, organic—align and work toward the same goal.
For example, let’s say your Austin-based senior living community issues a new guide: 10 Reasons Why Austin is a Great Place to Retire. The goal is to get people to download the guide and to nurture those folks, moving them from marketing-qualified status to (hopefully) sales-qualified status.
With an integrated marketing campaign, your team would create . . .
A dedicated landing page on your website with a form so people can download the guide
A call-to-action on your home page that talks up the guide
Notice how all the various marketing tactics are aligned and supporting the same goal. That’s an integrated marketing campaign in action.
That seems like common sense. Why make a fuss about calling it an “integrated” marketing campaign?
In the not-so-distant past, marketing alignment wasn’t always a thing. And even within modern marketing departments, silo mentalities can still creep in. The website team is doing its own thing while the social media team is doing its thing and so forth.
When you have too many teams working on too many different things (and not talking to each other about all these different things), you can end up with diluted messaging or worse—messages that conflict with one another.
It’s the classic situation where the right-hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.
So are you saying every tactic—for example, every Facebook post or every pay-per-click ad—has to be part of an integrated marketing campaign?
No. Obviously, sometimes you’re going to post a picture to Facebook simply because it’s fresh and current and not because it’s tied into a larger marketing campaign. Or you might run PPC ads that are all about building brand awareness around your community’s name when people search on competitors’ names. This is a common practice for PPC ads and wouldn’t have corresponding campaigns in social media or email marketing, for example.
But more often than not, your marketing team will—and should—create integrated marketing campaigns.
Why are integrated marketing campaigns so important?
For a few reasons. First, you’re going to get a much bigger bang for your marketing buck if you align your marketing tactics. Go back to our example above about the retirement guide. If you put all that effort into creating the guide, but you send only two tweets promoting it, how’s that going to work out? Not very well.
Second, by beating the same marketing “drum” across different channels, you’ll have a better chance of getting your message seen, heard, and—most importantly—remembered. Keep in mind that people need to encounter a message many, many times before it sinks in.
Third, integrated marketing campaigns are much easier to measure than siloed campaigns. When you use a marketing automation tool like HubSpot, you can view the integrated marketing campaign’s performance in one dashboard. This gives you valuable info that you can respond to in real-time.
For example, if you notice that one aspect of your integrated marketing campaign appears to be lagging—maybe the paid ads aren’t producing results the way you expected—you can dig in quickly, make some adjustments, and see if your changes make a difference. You’ll also start to get an excellent sense of what types of campaigns and which channels tend to serve you best. This will allow you to direct more budget to what’s working.
What are some best practices for integrated marketing campaigns?
Communication is critical. Make sure everyone involved with your community’s marketing talks to each other. This is especially true if you have various teams (like a social media team and a paid search team)—and if you outsource any work to a marketing agency. Everyone should have insight and input into currently running campaigns and planned campaigns.
This communication process will likely involve . . .
Having regular check-in meetings. Meetings don’t need to be long. They should be useful and productive, though.
Giving everyone access to the master content and campaign calendars. Whether you opt for Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams and/or use project management tools like Asana or Monday.com, the key is consistency. Make sure everything is loaded and that everyone has access to the same tools.
Beyond that, a successful integrated marketing campaign always begins with your goal. What’s driving your campaign? Clicks? Downloads? Tour requests?
And don’t forget about your senior living sales team. While they don’t necessarily need to be in the weeds for each integrated marketing campaign you run, they should most certainly be aware of when campaigns are running and what campaigns are in the pipeline.
Need help getting your integrated marketing campaigns in synch?
We know how to seamlessly integrate all the various tactics around each marketing campaign—and we know how to keep a healthy flow of communication between your marketing people and ours. It’s a team effort, and we love hitting home runs with our clients. Let’s chat about your marketing needs.
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SLS-7-5-22_What-Is-an-Integrated-Marketing-Campaign.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-07-05 12:58:022022-08-25 13:26:09What Is an Integrated Marketing Campaign?
This month, we’ve been writing a lot about a major shift happening in the senior living industry. The gist: Over the next decade, we’ll be marketing to fewer and fewer people from the Silent Generation and dramatically increasing our reach across the entire Boomer demographic. (The youngest Boomers turn 58 this year.)
A refresher about this demographic: Boomers are the “me generation.” They came of age during the tumultuous 60s and 70s. Think civil rights marches, war protests, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. No, not every Boomer’s experience included those things. But you get the idea. Their lives were different from their Depression-era parents.
Why does this matter, and why should senior living marketers take note? Well, when it comes to the future of independent living, memory care, and assisted living lead generation, you’re going to need new messaging. Because what worked for the Silent Generation won’t work for Boomers.
This, of course, brings up challenges. What should the new messaging be? As a whole, the senior living industry tends to be cautious. Messaging has always played it safe, talking up the positives while ignoring the reality of what we’re selling.
Our goal with this article is to get you thinking differently. We know that making a huge messaging shift won’t happen overnight. But as your community caters to more and more Boomers—particularly younger ones as well as Gen Xers, who are right behind them—you’re going to need to start talking about things you never talked about before.
Below are four concepts to discuss internally with your marketing and sales teams and—in some cases—the C-suite. Because this shift isn’t going to only affect your IL, MC, and assisted living lead generation. It’s also going to affect communities to their very core, from the layout of buildings to the amenities offered to everything in between.
Ready? Let’s get to it.
Think in terms of inclusion + diversity and show what your community is currently doing and what it’s committed to doing over the long haul.
Conversations around inclusion and diversity have reached a fever pitch in recent years, and for good reason. Representation matters, full stop. While this is a much larger conversation for senior living communities—one that will involve operations—it’s a conversation that needs to happen now (if it hasn’t started already).
Below is a short list of topics that communities should be discussing. From there, you need to adjust marketing communications accordingly.
How does your community currently address I&D? (Does it address it?)
When it comes to I&D, what is your community doing well? Where can it improve?
Do you have an I&D officer on staff? If not, are there plans to get one and/or to hire a consultant?
Have you done any research into how the demographics in your community will change over the next decade? How will you address these changes within your community? Within your marketing?
What education needs to take place among staff (and possibly residents)?
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Remember, start having these discussions sooner rather than later. Because in the not-too-distant future, people will be doing searches on Google around specific phrases like “LGBT-friendly senior living.” It might not be happening a lot yet. But we predict it will happen—and sooner than most people think.
(Bonus: Check out what one of our clients—Arrow Senior Living—is doing to address I&D.)
Show how your community is tackling climate change.
Just as consumers are refusing to spend dollars with companies that don’t do their part in reducing carbon emissions, the same will hold true with Boomers choosing retirement communities.
Boomers care about the environment just as much as younger generations do. In fact, this article discusses a recent study that shows “older people are just as likely to support big changes to how we live in order to protect the environment.”
Presently, people search on “sustainable senior living” 30 times a month (and the phrase has very little competition). People search on the phrase “green senior living communities” 30 times a month as well. And these numbers are only going to increase.
To get started with this messaging, you can discuss current measures your community is taking. Think recycling programs, renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind), electric vehicles on campus, and so forth.
Because how your community is tackling climate change will influence Boomers’ buying decisions—and ultimately your IL, MC, and assisted living lead generation.
Embrace messaging that’s honest about what it means to be a widow, widower, and/or divorcee.
OK, we get it. Acknowledging death and divorce doesn’t sound like “fun and happy” messaging. But if your community truly offers respite from those things—and can find a way to discuss it authentically—it will work to your advantage. (For a little context, consider this: Pew Research says, as of 2015, ten out of every 1,000 people over the age of 50 are divorced.)
While topics like death and divorce have traditionally been considered taboo among polite society—and most certainly with the stoic members of the Silent Generation—Boomers are different. They’re more open to talking about these things, hearing about these things, and hoping for more.
The message of “you can find love or companionship in our community” doesn’t have to be explicitly stated, either. It can be implied through the stories you tell about residents who’ve found love on the second (or third or fourth) go-round. It can be implied by the stories you share on social media (like maybe this one from The New York Times about the joys and challenges of sex after 70). It can be implied in the events you hold, like Friday night dances or special Valentine’s Day dinners.
This leads us to our next point . . .
Don’t shy away from legitimate fears and tough subjects.
Let’s face it: Getting older isn’t all grandkid play dates and endless afternoon naps. People have legit worries and fears. Will they outlive their retirement? Will they die with dignity, or will it be a long protracted death? What happens to their pets if they die or become incapacitated? What happens if they lose a spouse? A child? A new companion they meet in your community?
Nope, these aren’t sexy topics. But they are REAL topics.
Now, we’re not suggesting you develop messaging that screams: “Our community is a great place to die!” But remember you’re talking to adults, not children. And Boomer adults at that. Boomers are smart and savvy. They don’t need sugarcoating.
And honest messaging doesn’t necessarily have to mean negative messaging. An example we often use: One of our clients runs a nonprofit life care community. Once you’re in, you’re in for life, even if your medical needs change or you outlive your retirement. Messaging that opens with “Worried you might outlive your retirement?” might induce legitimate discomfort in the person viewing the message. But the life care community offers a real solution—a positive to the negative.
Get an objective opinion from a trusted partner like us.
It’s an exciting time to be in our industry. But it can also be stressful—and easy to fall behind the curve instead of staying ahead of it. We love working with clients on this “next generation” of messaging for senior living. Interested to know more? Let’s chat.
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SLS-6-28-22_The-Future-of-IL-AL-MC-Lead-Generation.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-06-28 05:56:382022-06-13 11:21:29The Future of Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care Lead Generation
We asked our awesome team to brainstorm fresh marketing events for assisted living. The constant theme: Get people together. It’s been a long pandemic (we don’t have to tell you that!). Now’s the time to ramp up in-person events.
Marketing Events for Assisted Living: Give Them a Free Lunch.
Free food will always be an effective way to draw in a crowd. We don’t care what demo you’re catering to.
There are two keys to making this idea work, however.
First, be super targeted. Send invites to your ideal buyers. Second, make sure you have a plan for what happens before, during, and after lunch.
Before: Assemble packets/marketing materials to share with the attendees.
During: Get to know the attendees (keep notes!) and share the welcome packet.
After: Send the attendees home with a goody bag (maybe some nicely boxed pastries with your name emblazoned on the box) and FOLLOW UP with them via email. (Use marketing automation to make it easy.)
Marketing Events for Assisted Living: Open Up Popular Activities to the Public.
Consider any popular activity that you can reasonably open up to the public. For example, maybe you host a classic car show in your community’s parking lot the first Saturday night of the month during the summer months. Or maybe once a week, you offer a free matinee in your on-site movie theater. Events like these help build brand awareness and let people experience your community in a low-pressure way.
Families tend to flock to these events as well, which is another bonus since you’ll be reaching adult children—a good thing since they are often the drivers behind parents moving into assisted living.
Plus, current residents will also be present and interacting organically with guests. (Remember, happy residents are your best form of advertisement.)
Marketing Events for Assisted Living: Team Up with a Partner.
Financial planners, real estate agents, insurance agents—all of these folks often have their own small businesses (or franchises) and are looking for added value to give to their clients and prospective clients.
You could team up with a partner and host a free dinner or lunch-and-learn at a local restaurant. For example, maybe you collaborate with a local financial advisor and they invite a select number of their clients nearing retirement age to a free dinner where you give a short presentation about senior living—what it is, what it isn’t, how to pay for it, etc.
Follow the same strategy we mentioned above: bring marketing materials, meet and greet the guests, and enter guests into an automated lead nurturing workflow.
Marketing Events for Assisted Living: Give a Class.
Continuing education classes at local colleges and technical schools often include options geared toward older adults. Think people with extra time to devote to new interests, hobbies, or topics they want to understand better. The latter is where you come in.
You could offer a class (either free or for a nominal fee) around topics like . . .
You could either have someone from within your community, like a sales rep or financial guidance counselor, or you could create a panel discussion with several experts (including someone from your community).
Again, the key to these classes is the prep and follow-up. Don’t simply “present” and hope that people will eventually call you. Have helpful info packets, gather email addresses, and send follow-up emails. If people linger after class with questions, take the time to get to know them and where they are in their lives.
Marketing Events for Assisted Living: Simply Invite People in.
Sometimes the best marketing event is the simplest and most straightforward, like doing an email blast to your prospect database and reminding them that your doors are open for in-person tours.
And, of course, within that email, you could also highlight “Other Ways to Experience Our Community.” Then, in that section, you could promote any events you have planned, like the free lunches, the classic car show, upcoming classes, etc.
Need Help Developing Effective Marketing Events for Assisted Living?
So, yeah. Your independent living marketing will need to undergo a dramatic shift. Or, at the very least, keep up with the changes while avoiding critical mistakes. To that end, we discuss those mistakes below.
Don’t skimp on your independent living marketing.
Just because demand for independent living is going to increase organically, that doesn’t mean you won’t need to market your community. The increase in demand will also increase competition in this space.
Don’t treat your independent living marketing as an afterthought.
How you market to these audiences will very much matter—and impact your community’s success. You’re going to be dealing with much savvier buyers. Think people who are more skeptical of marketing messages than their parents were. They will see through lazy language and “fluffy” messaging.
Don’t treat everyone in the IL audience the exact same way.
Data shows that there are 76 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. today. Do all 76 million think the same way or have the same desires for their retirement? Of course not. This is precisely why you need to develop buyer personas.
Personas will help you understand who your prospects are, what they desire, and what messages will resonate with them. The best way to start? Interview current residents and ask them why they chose your community.
Don’t forget that you’re dealing with the “me generation.”
As Forbes notes, “Baby boomers are considered the ‘me generation’ for their self-centered, individualistic attitudes.” And you can bet those self-centered, individualistic attitudes will absolutely influence the type of independent living they’re going to want to experience. This conversation goes way beyond marketing, of course—and to the heart of what tomorrow’s independent living communities will need to offer to please an audience that’s used to customization and getting what they want.
Don’t fall into a static mindset.
As we said earlier, the senior living industry is going through a fundamental shift. And we’re not talking about a “once and done” shift, either. What works as you market your independent living community today might not work a year or two from now. Embrace dynamism and avoid static messaging.
Don’t ignore analytics.
Now, more than ever before, analytics matter. Because as you’re developing new messages and marketing campaigns, you’ll need to quickly get a sense of what’s working and what isn’t. You can’t rely on your gut. Or make jumps in logic based on anecdotal evidence. You need real data to guide you. And that’s where analytics come into play.
Don’t think that technology doesn’t matter.
Our industry has often been slow to adopt technological innovations (like marketing automation). For a long time, you could get away with this since your target demo was older and used to “old school” methods of communicating, like snail mail and print ads.
But over the next decade, those vehicles are going to work less and less as Boomers become the prevailing demographic you’re marketing to. Boomers are tech-savvy—and they’re only going to get savvier.
Don’t go it alone. (But choose an agency partner wisely.)
Now’s the time to engage with an independent living marketing partner to help you navigate the shifts and develop effective campaigns. But you need to work with the right marketing agency—one that’s committed to staying current and ahead of the curve. Say hello to us!
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SLS-6-14-22_IL-Marketing-Dont-Make-Thee-Mistakes.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-06-14 05:54:312022-06-13 11:19:34Independent Living Marketing: Don’t Make These Mistakes
Today, the oldest Baby Boomers (those born in 1946) are in their mid-seventies, the youngest Boomers are nearing sixty, and the oldest folks from the Gen X population are right behind them.
Of course, these numbers are enough to make marketing and sales teams downright giddy! With so many people coming of retirement age, it would be easy to think that senior living communities can simply sit back and wait for prospective residents to come a-knocking.
But keep in mind that these retirees crave a much different experience than folks from the Silent Generation who were born during the Great Depression and WWII.
In the Boomers’ lifetime, they’ve been rock ‘n roll fans, hippies, flower children, Vietnam veterans, disco dancers, civil rights marchers, and even partakers of illicit drugs. (Hey, we’re just keeping it real, dear reader!)
Boomers usually worked at the same job for years and years. They moved to the suburbs. They raised their families. Owning their own home was the ultimate American Dream—one they could and did attain.
As for retirement? They only have their parents’ and grandparents’ experiences to guide them—experiences that often involved stereotypical “old folks homes” where residents simply faded away. In other words, an experience Boomers don’t want for themselves.
All of this is going to dramatically shift our industry over the next decade. Demand for truly independent senior living communities will increase—and folks will likely reside in these communities much longer before entering into assisted living, memory care, or nursing homes. (If they enter them at all! Many will opt for in-home care.)
As this shift happens, senior living marketing will have to adjust as well. Because how you market to these younger demos will (and should) be different from the marketing geared toward the 80+ crowd.
So let’s talk shop, specifically independent living marketing ideas that will resonate with Boomers.
Switch up your community’s messaging (if you haven’t already).
If you’ve already started building marketing campaigns around the concept of “this isn’t your grandmother’s senior living,” you’re on the right track. Because as we explained above, Boomers do indeed crave something different—something better.
Boomers value their independence. They demand customization and personalization. Think cappuccino machines and sushi bars, Paris vacations and weekend getaways. Plus, thanks to medical advances, Boomers (and Gen Xers) will remain truly active and independent for much longer than their parents did.
Your senior living messaging needs to show you “get” all this—and that your independent living community has built a lifestyle that caters to Boomers, not their parents or grandparents.
Watch your language. (And be willing to pivot.)
Nope, we’re not referring to profanity. We’re talking about the keyword phrases people use to describe “independent living.” For example, the senior living industry still hasn’t figured out what to call communities geared toward younger Boomers eyeing retirement.
Active adult? 55+? 65+?
And to be honest—the industry won’t drive this decision. The Boomers will. Check out some keyword research we recently pulled from SEMrush. These are real phrases people are currently searching on.
Our point: You’ll likely need to use a variety of phrases until (and if) one term prevails.
Embrace video storytelling—and do it regularly.
If you’ve been working on the marketing side of things long enough, you’ve probably heard that good stories help sell. And this is absolutely true no matter the demo. But we’d venture to say it’s even truer for the “me generation.” Boomers want to easily identify with people who are already living happily in your independent living community. Stories—particularly ones captured on video—will help accomplish this.
Get in the habit of recordinga welcome video with each new resident. Ask them about their journey to your community, what made them decide to buy in, and what they’re looking forward to.
Record videos with longer-term residents. In addition to the newbies, you want to get stories about people who’ve been living in your community for a while. What surprised them about this lifestyle? What do they love most? What do they wish they’d known before they moved in?
The key with video storytelling is you need to be consistent. You don’t simply record a few videos and move on. Video storytelling has to be a regular, ongoing marketing task, like blogging and posting to social media platforms.
Show, don’t tell.
This adage absolutely applies to Boomers and Gen-X. They don’t want you to tell them how wonderful your independent living community is . . . they want you to show them. In other words, put your money where your mouth is and prove it.
Pay attention to these areas in particular:
Your website imagery. Don’t use stock images. Use real shots of real people in your community. Yes, this is an investment. And yes, you will have to re-invest in photography every year to keep things fresh.
How you market amenities. Telling people the food is delish is one thing. Inviting people in for a made-to-order meal allows them to experience it for themselves.
Your marketing campaigns. Boomers are rightly skeptical of jargon and buzzwords. You need campaigns that are authentic, yet heartfelt. For example, consider building a video ad campaign using a REAL resident that prospects can easily identify with.
Invest in reputation management.
Boomers do their homework. And that begins online. Your community’s online reputation matters because it will influence decisions, including whether your community even makes the initial list of places to tour.
Like video storytelling, senior living reputation management isn’t a once-and-done task. It’s not even an annual or semi-annual task. You need to stay on top of reviews as theycome in, particularly on your community’s Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business).
Now, you might be thinking: “OK, manage reviews. I get it. But what has this got to do with independent living marketing ideas that resonate?”
Glad you asked. See, don’t let reviews simply sit there. Yes, people will find them. But leveraging your reviews through various marketing channels (like your website, paid ads, and social media) can be an excellent way to reinforce key messages and get solid ROI on your reputation management dollars.
For example . . .
On your home page, you can create a module with scrolling reviews being pulled in from various review sites.
Employee email signatures can include links to review sites and/or a line from a glowing review.
You can feature quotes from five-star reviews in digital ads and email marketing.
Keep your eye on “younger” social media platforms, like TikTok.
Right now, according to Statista, people 56+ spend most of their time on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. TikTok, which is hugely popular with Gen Z, barely registers with Boomers—at least right now. But guess what? There was a time when Facebook was a “young person’s” platform, too. How times have changed, right?
Our point: Social media platforms geared toward senior living aren’t static—tastes change, interests wane, and fads come and go. Keep your eyes on the numbers. And be prepared to pivot fast. (Note: We’re starting to see movement on TikTok. Simply google “senior living TikTok” and see for yourself.)
Work with a marketing agency that stays current. (Like ours!)
Not all marketing agencies are created equal. And even fewer have experience within the senior living industry. We know marketing. We know senior living. And we’re closely following the shifts and trends. We can keep your community not only competitive, but also ahead of the curve with independent living marketing ideas that truly resonate with Boomers. Let’s chat!
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SLS-6-7-22_IL-Marketing-Ideas-Thatll-Resonate-with-Boomers.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-06-09 17:59:432022-06-10 10:54:08Independent Living Marketing Ideas That’ll Resonate with Boomers
When it comes to developing “the best” senior living ads, here’s the good news: You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Follow these tried and true directives for advertising success.
The best senior living ads are well planned.
Like any other marketing tactic, you need a strategy to guide the development of your advertising campaigns. To get started, ask yourself the following questions:
Which persona are you speaking to? An ad for an older male in his seventies should have a different vibe than an ad for an adult daughter in her 50s.
What’s the theme? You’ll rarely be running a one-off ad. Normally when you develop a senior living ad campaign, you’ll need different ads for various media—magazines, newspapers, billboards, radio/TV, online, and so forth. Having a theme or focus will ensure all ads across various media communicate a consistent message.
What’s the goal? Are you trying to drive people to a specific landing page on your website? Maybe pick up the phone and book a tour? RSVP to a free lunch? Or are you simply building brand awareness? You need to understand your goal so you can develop appropriate calls-to-action (CTAs).
The best senior living ads are well written.
Whether it’s a full-page print ad or a short and sweet online banner, your content must be well written. This means . . .
Error-free copy. Nothing can doom an ad like an unfortunate typo.
Correct grammar and punctuation. It’s OK to deliberately break rules for effect. But do so in moderation.
Properly reflect your brand. You don’t want someone experiencing a disconnect going from your ad to your website, for example.
Make the copy shine and easy to read. The design should complement the words, not compete with them.
Keep the audience in mind. Think older eyes that need bigger fonts and clear contrasts between colors.
The best senior living ads are well placed.
Don’t run ads simply to say you’re running ads. Where, when, and how you run your senior living advertising campaigns will make all the difference.
When doing ad buys, make sure you . . .
Have a clear understanding of the channel’s demographics. Your personas should be represented.
Understand so-called “added value.” Media companies will often offer “sweeteners” to ad buys. For example, a print publication might offer bonus ads in sister publications or on various websites. Get insight into what the so-called added value is—and see if you can handpick where any extras run. Because there’s no sense in running ads on a website that caters to Gen Z, right?
Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Most media companies are willing to negotiate. So when you’re presented with rates, don’t be afraid to counter. There’s a good chance you’ll get a better deal.
The best senior living ads are well researched.
This tip has more to do with pay-per-click (PPC) ads, which are their own specialty.
With PPC ads, like Google Ads, you need to do much more research, particularly around . . .
Keywords you should use and bid on (from brand terms to generic terms)
Competitor keywords
Negative keywords (the terms you don’t want your ads to come up for)
From there, you need to know how to navigate the ins and outs of Google Ads, how to write extremely compelling short copy, how to set reasonable budgets, and how to analyze results. No wonder Google offers Google Ads certification. (At least it’s free!)
The best senior living ads have help from an agency like ours!
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SLS-5-24-22_Tips-for-Creating-the-Best-SL-Ads.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-05-23 19:02:042022-05-20 10:18:40Tips for Creating the Best Senior Living Ads
What’s hot right now in senior living social media marketing? Below, we’re sharing three trends we’re excited about, along with some mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
Trend #1: More Interest in Pinterest
If someone were to ask you what platform you think of when you hear the words “social media,” Pinterest probably isn’t the one that comes to mind. After all, it’s not a platform that dominates news cycles. While you can probably identify bigwigs at Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) and Twitter (Elon Musk?!), you’d probably be hard-pressed to name Pinterest’s CEO, right? (For the record, it’s Ben Silbermann.)
And yet, Pinterest keeps chugging along—and has enjoyed increasing use among older adults.
Happily, we’re seeing more and more senior living communities embrace Pinterest, which is SMART. Because why wouldn’t you develop content where your prospective buyers are hanging out?
So investing in a strong senior living social media marketing plan for YouTube could have many benefits:
Increase engagement among target personas who enjoy using the platform
Increase visibility for your brand
Increase traffic from your YouTube videos to your site
Plus, you can use your YouTube videos in multiple ways. You can share them via other social media platforms, like Facebook, or use them in other media, like emails or embedded in your blog posts and other website pages.
We’re hoping more senior living communities jump on the YouTube bandwagon. While many have some video content on YouTube, communities need to be creating videos on a regular basis to get the biggest ROI. Luckily, this is easier today than ever before—armed with nothing more than a smartphone, ring light, lavalier mic, and a free editing app (like InShot), today’s marketing teams can create quick videos on the fly. (The challenge is getting over the fear of this DIY method!)
Check out what one of our awesome clients, Ingleside Senior Living, is doing with its YouTube channel. They post videos regularly. They post a variety of videos. They have separate playlists for each community (which is a smart way to approach this issue). And their videos are excellent.
We particularly love this “Meet Your Future Neighbors” video that’s racked up over 600 views. Notice how simple it is–no fancy production, no mics, everyday lighting.
Trend #3: Thinking Beyond Selling
At its simplest, marketing’s main job is to attract qualified leads and help turn those leads into move-ins. So it’s easy to think every marketing tactic has to be about selling, selling, selling. But social media is a different animal. It’s supposed to be social after all! If you’re constantly in sales mode, you’re going to turn people off.
The senior living communities that have the most success with social media are ones that think beyond selling. They relax and keep their feeds real. And here’s the thing: They’re reaping the benefits of this approach. Because oftentimes authentic, feel-good posts will provide lots of engagement and increased exposure for your brand. While harder to quantify, we’d argue that these things are just as important.
Luckily, more communities are taking this approach with their social media marketing. You might have heard about Wheatland Manor’s “Advice for the Younger Generations” campaign, where the community shares images of residents holding whiteboards with solid advice like “Get a job you enjoy” and “Play Uno with your grandma.” These images have gone viral and have racked up tons of likes.
One particular community of our client Senior Star, Senior Star at Wexford Place, has embraced the concept of “thinking beyond selling.” The community does an awesome job with its social media feeds by highlighting cool things residents do and by offering regular shout-outs to staff. Below is an example of a staff shout-out. Note the fabulous engagement!
Other smart ways to “think beyond selling”:
Share resident spotlights. For example, got veterans? Highlight them on Veterans Day. Got residents with green thumbs? Share pics of them tending to their gardens and flower boxes.
Share resident quotes/testimonials. These work great with the hashtag #TestimonialTuesday.
Share pics from all of your activities, large and small. Pictures and videos get tons of engagement.
Mistakes people are (still) making with their senior living social media marketing
Not all trends are good trends. Unfortunately, many senior living marketers are still making the following mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not having a sharp focus.
Trying to maintain a presence on every social media platform under the sun will never work. Why? Well, effectively managing multiple platforms is challenging unless you have a person on staff devoted entirely to this effort—and most communities don’t.
What happens next is predictable. The existing team will either end up diluting their efforts across the numerous platforms, or the team will give up altogether. And nothing is worse than a community’s social media channels going dark.
Thankfully, this trend is slowing down in favor of a NEW trend, which we refer to as “finding focus.” When you focus on two or three platforms that make the most sense for your personas, the better the results.
So how do you focus? Again, it goes back to knowing your community’s target personas and where they hang out online. And here’s the thing about social media—tastes will evolve. Ten years ago, it was all about Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest was just a baby, only a couple of years old.
The thing you need to remember: When it comes to social media, early adopters are usually younger people. While older people eventually follow, it takes time. Our point: Communities who try to maintain Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok probably won’t do as well as a community that focuses on two or three—say Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.
We know what you’re thinking . . . WHAT ABOUT TIKTOK? While it’s tempting to get on board the TikTok train, keep in mind that only 3.4% of TikTok users are over 65. You might argue, “Well, we’ll have an awesome presence for when older adults DO flock to TikTok.” Maybe. But there’s no guarantee that will happen—and definitely no guarantee it will happen any time in the next 2-3 years. Why invest resources into TikTok when you could put those resources to better use—like on a platform where your personas are actually hanging out?
Mistake #2: Not paying attention to responses . . . and results.
With social media, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. You’re so busy coming up with compelling content that you’re not spending any time analyzing results. And by “results,” we mean engagement.
What types of posts get the most likes, shares, and comments?
Can you glean anything about the days you post—or the times of day?
Are you using hashtags appropriately? (Using too many can be a turn-off for followers.)
In our experience with clients, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays tend to garner more engagement than weekdays, but of course, your mileage might vary. Another mistake communities make: Not posting enough. We recommend posting three to five times a week to keep audiences engaged. Again, pay attention to what works, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
Finally, make sure you respond to people’s comments! If they’ve taken the time to comment on your content, the least you can do is like (or heart) their comment. Some comments, particularly reviews, warrant actual responses from you. For positive reviews, thank the person for sharing their experience. For negative reviews, tread carefully, but you should still acknowledge the person’s concerns. (Check out this article with tips on how to respond to reviews.)
Mistake #3: Treating your social media marketing strategy like a static “thing.”
Senior living social media marketing is a moving target, which can be frustrating for many marketing and sales teams. It’s tempting to get into a rhythm—and to stick with that rhythm FOREVER. But that’s not a smart long-term strategy.
What worked a year or two ago might not work today. At the same time, you don’t want to jump on the hot new platform (or what seems hot, anyway) while abandoning an effective strategy.
It’s a tightrope, for sure, but one that all successful marketing teams must learn to walk. Our advice: Pay attention to so-called trends. But more importantly, pay attention to what’s currently working for your feeds. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but let the results guide where you invest money and resources.
And know that things will change over time. Some platforms will fade in popularity while others will take their place. As Boomers age, your social media strategy will surely evolve since Boomers are much more active on social media than the 75+ crowd currently is. These are things to keep in mind as you strategize.
Want to rock your community’s social media channels, but you’re not sure what to do next?
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SLS-5-17-22_Whats-Trending-in-SL-Social-Media.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-05-16 19:02:002022-05-20 10:17:34What’s Trending in Senior Living Social Media Marketing
Advertising remains an important component of effective marketing plans—whether we’re talking print ads, direct mailers, highway billboards, or digital ads. But like any other marketing tactic, you need the right content. So let’s discuss senior living advertising campaigns, specifically the content that will (hopefully) inspire people to act.
Put extra effort into your headlines.
When it comes to advertising, headlines do the heavy lifting. According to Copyblogger, “On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.”
Headlines should be clear, concise, and compelling. Clear means easy to read and easy to understand. Concise means short, but what qualifies as short? It depends on the medium, and not everyone agrees on the right number of words. We usually recommend 5-10 words, but that doesn’t mean a three-word headline couldn’t pack a punch or that a 15-word headline wouldn’t work.
As for compelling . . . you want headlines that capture people’s attention. The headline should inspire the person to keep reading. Common strategies for creating a compelling headline include:
Asking relevant questions that your personas are already asking (or should be asking).
Being cute, coy, or playful (or some combination of the three).
Tapping into people’s pain points (for example, their fears and concerns).
Think through the call-to-action.
After your headline, your call-to-action (CTA) is probably the most important part of your ad. People commonly scan ads (and articles). Their eyes will focus on things that are prominently displayed, like headlines, sub-headlines, anything that’s bolded, and CTAs, provided your CTA jumps out at them. (And it should.)
So how do you develop a good CTA? Ask yourself what you want people to do next. Not all ads are asking people to buy something. Some ads are about brand-building. That said, most senior living advertising campaigns are likely focused on . . .
Getting qualified traffic to the website, where the person will be encouraged to take a specific action, like downloading a piece of content
Calling and booking a tour or requesting more info, like a brochure
If you send people to a website page, make sure the URL is short and easy to read and remember. Sending people to a unique landing page that’s only associated with that particular ad will help you track results. For example, consider these two URLs:
The first one is easier to read and remember—and much easier to type into a browser.
A word about QR codes: QR codes are those funky black and white squares that promise to send you to a website if you take a picture of them with your phone. They are trendy, so you might be tempted to use them in your senior living advertising campaigns. We recommend avoiding them, at least for now.
Why? Well, QR codes are more popular with younger demos.
According to an article titled “Are QR Codes Leaving Older Americans Behind” from YouGovAmerica, “More than half (54%) of consumers 18-29 have clicked on a marketing-related QR code, followed by 48% of consumers aged 30-44. This percentage declined to 44% among those 45-64 and 31% of consumers 65 and older.” The article goes on to note that 20% of people over 65 find QR codes cumbersome to use, and 18% of this demo say they’ve never even heard of QR codes.
If you do use them, just make sure they’re not your only CTA. You should also display the website address prominently. And like anything else, measure results over time. If you’re working for an active adult community that caters to 55+, QR codes might make more sense. But if your buyers are typically 75 on up, QR codes won’t be as effective. Over time, this reality will likely change. But we’re not there yet—and we probably won’t be any time soon.
Pay attention to your ad’s tone.
Should you go positive or negative? It’s a common question and a big source of debate. And like so many things in life, the answer is “it depends.” It depends on your goals and what the ad is talking about. For example, let’s pretend you run a non-profit life care community. If you’re highlighting all the unique amenities your community offers, a negative tone wouldn’t make sense.
But if you’re talking about financial worries—like the very real concern that people have about outliving their retirement savings—striking a more somber tone would be appropriate. In fact, you might even lead with a headline that sounds a little more negative or troubling: Are concerns about outliving your money stopping you from moving into a senior living community?
A headline like that would create discomfort in the reader. You’d want to quickly follow it up with a sub-headline that reads something along these lines: We’ve got a solution for that! Now, suddenly, you’ve turned that negative into a potential positive.
From there, the body copy could briefly discuss how your life care community guarantees a home and health care for the rest of a person’s life . . . even if their financial situation changes. The call-to-action would be to visit a specific landing page on your site where people could download a fact sheet or guide about life care communities.
Make sure your ad delivers on what it promises.
The last thing you want anyone to accuse your community of is a bait and switch, where your ad promises one thing, but your community doesn’t deliver. If your ad is inviting people to book a free lunch so they can experience the community, make sure your staff delivers on the promise. This includes not only providing an awesome lunch, but also making sure the staff is aware the ad is running in the first place. That way, when people call to book the lunch, the staff knows what’s going on and can take it from there.
The same is true with any landing pages that your advertising sends people to. The spirit of the landing page—both the look and feel and the content itself—should reflect the ad’s content. If not, the person will experience a disconnect, which isn’t the feeling you’re going for.
And, finally, make sure your senior living advertising campaigns reflect your community’s overall brand. Promising puppy dogs and rainbows in your ad—or using stock images that don’t represent what people can expect on your campus—will also create dissonance. The jump from your ad—whether it’s a print ad, direct mailer, or digital ad—to your website or to the community itself needs to be seamless.
Need help launching effective senior living advertising campaigns?
We’ve written extensively about the many benefits of senior living social media marketing and why you should include it in your overall marketing plan.
Today, however, we’re going to focus on common mistakes that senior living communities often make with social media—and how you can avoid them.
Mistake #1: You’re focusing on the wrong platforms for your personas.
Do you know what social media platforms your residents use? How about their family members? Never assume! While it’s true older adults do indeed use social media, the phrase “older adult” has a wide spectrum.
Are you catering mostly to seventy-year-olds in independent living? Or are you serving octogenarians who are straddling IL and AL? Or maybe you’re running an active adult community for people 62+? The social media experiences among these audiences will likely differ. But you won’t know for certain unless you regularly ask, survey, and keep track of people’s responses.
Once you start keeping track, it won’t take long before you see the clear platform “winners.” For example, you might learn that your personas spend most of their time on Facebook and YouTube, but hardly any time on Twitter. This is important intel. Because you’re missing your target if you waste time pouring money and resources into Twitter when the people you’re trying to reach aren’t using that platform.
Keep in mind that social media is also a moving target. Preferences will change over time as other platforms enter the playing field (or go in and out of favor) and as younger demographics come of age.
How to avoid this senior living social media marketing mistake: Keep track of the social media platforms your residents engage in. This can and should be part of your sales intake—and most definitely part of your new resident welcome campaign. Find out the social media platforms residents and their families frequent. Invite them to follow your community’s profiles on the corresponding platforms.
Mistake #2: You don’t have specific goals.
You need to know your goals so you can measure performance and ROI. Too often, communities “do social media” simply because everyone else is. That’s not a good enough reason!
Ask yourself this question: What’s the purpose of social media for your community? Are you trying to boost brand recognition? Are you mainly using it as a means to communicate with residents and their families? Are you trying to get more qualified traffic to your site?
You’ll likely have different goals for different social media platforms. For example, you might use LinkedIn as a way to connect with current employees and prospective employees. Or maybe you use Pinterest primarily as a way to share recipes from your executive chef.
How to avoid this senior living social media marketing mistake: Define your goals. Be specific. For example, your goal with Facebook might be to send a certain amount of traffic from the platform to your website and convert X percent into leads. Revisit your goals every quarter. Have you achieved your goals? If yes, define some new ones. If not, determine if you need to revise your goals or revise your strategy for achieving the goals.
Mistake #3: You don’t have a social media marketing strategy.
It makes sense when you think about it, right? For example, the way people engage with content on Facebook is quite different from the way folks play on Pinterest—or how they use Instagram or YouTube.
How to avoid this senior living social media marketing mistake: Having a content calendar and someone on your team who “owns social” can go a long way in making sure you post consistently—and according to the goals you have for each platform. And yes, we get it: Often the real “magic” of social media is when something is posted on the fly, like those random images or videos that are too good not to share. A social media coordinator can manage these last-minute requests while making sure your overall strategy remains intact.
Mistake #4: You don’t put the same effort into your social media content as you do with other marketing content.
Too often, we see communities get excited when they launch their social media presences, but over time, the content either gets stale, predictable, or worse—it becomes non-existent.
Creating great content for social media takes effort. Having a strong content calendar for each platform helps, but your social media team needs to always be thinking in terms of content creation—taking pics that will resonate with the audience, developing fun videos, coming up with meaningful surveys and contests—and that’s just the beginning.
Social media never takes a break—it’s always going, it’s always on. We’re not suggesting that you post 24/7, but your social media team has to have a 24/7 mentality, meaning that it needs to look for (and post!) awesome content outside of typical business hours. This might involve tasking someone with taking and posting pics from the Mother’s Day Tea that happens on a Sunday. Or capturing the gorgeous full moon as it rises above your property.
How to avoid this senior living social media marketing mistake: Make sure you’re not putting one person in charge of all things social media. Even if you have one social media coordinator, that person should have a team—or, at the very least, the freedom to tap helpers, as needed. For example, the social media coordinator can ask the activities assistant to take some pics during the Mother’s Day Tea and send them to the coordinator for posting.
Mistake #5: You don’t analyze the results.
Many communities ignore social media analytics beyond looking at “likes” or the follower count. But again, if you’re investing in senior living social media, you need to figure out if your investment is paying off.
How to avoid this senior living social media marketing mistake: Monitor traffic that comes from social media platforms—and determine what percentage of that traffic turns into leads and eventually move-ins. That’s the most important metric to pay attention to, but there are others. And good software like HubSpot can make it easy to see results via dashboards and reports that you set up once, but that continuously populate with info.
Need help avoiding the above mistakes? Let’s talk.
One of the best things you can do to enhance your social media efforts is work with an agency like ours. We can audit your current platforms, guide you on where you should be spending your time and budget, and work with your team on creating content and getting into a good rhythm. Then, your team can take it from there—or you can continue to have us manage your social media (or some combination). Interested? Let’s talk about your social media plans.
https://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SLS-5-3-22_Senior-Living-Social-Media-Marketing.jpg4871200Debbie Howardhttps://seniorlivingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Senior-Living-SMART-color-logo.pngDebbie Howard2022-05-03 10:22:232022-05-20 10:15:21Senior Living Social Media Marketing: Mistakes to Avoid
