4 Ways Senior Living Communities Can Leverage Their Online Presence For More Move-Ins

It is more clear now than ever that a company’s online presence can make or break their marketing strategies. This is true even for senior living communities, who’s clientele was previously slower to engage digitally. Studies show that at least 77 percent of Baby Boomers go online each month. This shift in prospects’ online engagement can have powerful effects on your community’s marketing ROI if the available tools are utilized fully. That said, here are some helpful tips to leverage your senior living community’s online presence.

1. Landing pages

The landing page on your website will most likely serve as prospects’ and families’ first impression of your community- and first impressions matter. To capitalize on these first looks, check out our tips for creative landing pages.

In terms of technology, high-quality coding on your website will ensure the pages load well, prevent glitches, and make updates quick and easy. The back-end (coding) should be optimized for all kinds of devices (phones, tablets, e-readers, laptops, etc). If your coding is poor, prospects and families might lose patience and move on to a different site. Moreover, your website’s virtual design should be warm, easy to read and navigate (not overloaded with copy), and convey trustworthiness.

To convert lurkers to real leads, your webpage should have clear CTAs (calls-to-action) where you can get contact information. In exchange for prospects’ contact information, consider offering something of value on your webpage in return. For example, in order to receive a download for an ebook, infographic, or video, prospects must first sign up with their contact information. Once this is set up, consider promoting the offer on your social media sites, at the end of your blog posts, and in your email newsletters. Additionally, your company’s contact information should be clearly available for prospects looking to ask questions. From your landing page, they should be able to easily schedule a virtual visit or schedule a chat with a representative.

2. Social media

Recent statistics show marked increases in the number of seniors with access to social media marketing. According to surveys from 2019, 53% of US adults 65+ own a smartphone, and 40% of this population use at least one social media site. To attract new residents, consider what impact these numbers may have on your community’s online marketing strategy.

While standard paper mailers and pamphlets may be beneficial in reaching those seniors who are still holding out on smartphones, there is now a critical mass of potential residents ready to be engaged digitally. Beyond an attractive website, you may consider showcasing your community on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. These sites can be effective resources in creating an emotional connection with potential residents and their families. Creating this sense of familiarity and trust via things like testimonial videos is the key to genuine engagement and move-ins.

On Instagram, consider paying to promote certain posts to reach an audience that is already searching similar sites and posts. Additionally, consider including clear calls to action and contact options, as well as recruiting “brand ambassadors” from your current residents who post “a day-in-the-life” videos and answer questions from prospective residents. When it comes to fostering trust in advertising, relying on existing networks is key. According to The Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey, 83% of consumers say they either completely or somewhat trust recommendations from family, colleagues, and friends about products and services. If utilized fully, current residents and their families can be incredibly valuable brand ambassadors.

3. Email Newsletters

With an ROI of 3,800 percent, email newsletters are another provenly effective online marketing tool your community should consider. Once you have been freely given a prospect or their family members contact information in return for something of value on your website, you can continue to build trust by providing newsletters that showcase your community and the value it may add to their lives.

In your newsletters, consider providing a mix of information about your community, news about upcoming events, and special offers that only folks who have signed up for the emails can access. Your main goal with email marketing should be to build a relationship with prospects and their families, so refrain from coming across just as a salesperson.

Finally, the key to effective email newsletters with high ROI is automation. There are many software options out there today that organize your contact lists, automatically send according to your schedule, and make it easy for folks to unsubscribe if they are no longer interested in receiving the newsletters.

4. Blog posts

Blog posts are another great online marketing resource for senior living communities in that they situate you and your company as experts in the field. Through blog posts, you can showcase new technology investments and other competitive features of your community. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when crafting effective blog posts.

a. SEO (search engine optimization) is now focusing on the quality of the information provided rather than just keywords in your content. To show up higher on the results pages, post often and post things that add value to your intended audience.

When gauging the effectiveness of your SEO for a certain post, Google advises you to ask yourself the following questions:

Would you trust the information presented in this article?
Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

b.Use internal links. Internal linking makes it quick and easy for readers to jump to other useful sites. In your blog posts, consider including links to pages of your company’s website that might supplement your discussion and lead to even more prospect engagement. Just be careful not to do this too much, or your post will appear just like one big ad.

c.Finally, resist the urge to only speak about your community and what it has to offer. To come across as genuine and trustworthy, consider broadening your scope to discussing the industry as a whole. Also, don’t shy away from discussing the hard stuff as well. Prospects and their families know that aging and transitioning into senior living communities are not all bursts of sunshine and roses. If you only talk about the benefits and positives, you risk coming across as disingenuous.

other ways you can attract residents

Leveraging your online presence is just one way to get infront of potential residents and their families. A key component to attracting residents, and keeping them, is to ensure that they have access to all the amenities your community has to offer. A common, yet undertreated problem among older adults, is hearing loss. Hearing loss can impact the quality of life your community is able to provide from day one and impacts upwards of 65% of senior residents. Take our hearing assessment to see how hearing loss may be impacting your community today.