Senior Living marketing is much needed for driving sales—but it’s also easily neglected.
Between making calls to prospects and preparing outreach events, your community may have little time or energy to craft a strategy that builds awareness with prospects.
However, Senior Living marketing is just as important for driving occupancy as events, tours, and follow-up calls. Until your local area recognizes what your community offers, you’ll struggle to find the leads you need for move-ins.
In recent years, traditional efforts have shifted to digital marketing. More than ever, you’ll need email marketing and Facebook ads to complement your direct marketing and newspaper ads.
But perhaps one of the most essential tools you’ll need to showcase your community and support strong revenue growth is a blog.
Not only does a blog allow you to educate your potential residents and their families, but it also provides another key benefit.
Starting a Senior Living blog allows you to boost the content your website offers, which can help rank your site higher in Google’s search results. This means you increase the chance leads will see your community above your competitors when they search Google for senior care options.
If you’re ready to tap into the power of a blog for your Senior Living marketing, here are three tips to get you started:
1. Target Keyword Searches
Senior Living Marketing 101 teaches that carefully selected keywords are vital for winning Google’s approval. If a potential resident searches for a phrase frequently used in your blog, there’s a better chance Google will present your site to the searcher.
However, the reality is that finding the right keyword phrases for your blog has another benefit—it also helps ensure your content is relevant to your audience.
You’re probably selling to Baby Boomers researching senior care options for their aging parents…or looking for living options themselves. Your audience may also include a tech-savvy older generation.
Pinpointing the right keywords can help you market to the right niche in these two groups. The reality is…not all members in those age brackets are qualified leads.
For instance, many seniors may Google tips for preventing dementia. But this isn’t the keyword you want to use for your memory care blog. Individuals researching dementia prevention don’t likely need your community’s services.
It’s better to target the keyword phrase signs of dementia as individuals searching this term may have family members who need Alzheimer’s and dementia care.
Here are a few tips for finding the keywords your prospects use online:
- Notice the vocabulary of prospects. Have a conversation with your sales team to see what words and questions your leads frequently ask over the phone and during community tours. These can be key to finding the right keyword for a blog post.
- Type a Google search. This technique puts you in the shoes of your prospects. Simply imagine what you might type if you were the adult child or older person you’re trying to reach. Type into Google what they might ask, and observe what other keyword phrases appear.
- Use a keyword research tool. There are a number of keyword research tools that allow you to see the popularity of a phrase as well as related keywords. You can explore Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Moz’s Keyword Explorer to name a few.
Once you have the keywords you need, you’ll want to make sure these keywords are in your title, headers, and content. One easy way to do this is to keep your article focused on the keyword topic and avoid veering to other subjects.
2. Provide Useful Content
Following the first tip (finding the right keywords) doesn’t ensure this second step comes easily. Creating useful Senior Living marketing content can be difficult if you’re focused on your community—more than providing a helpful blog post.
The key is using your keyword to inspire content that holds actual value for readers.
Perhaps you’ve chosen the keyword of Senior Living communities. Consider which of the following articles would most likely interest your residents:
4 Fun Activities at Senior Living Communities
4 Questions to Ask When You Tour Senior Living Communities
Both titles contain the same keyword. But the second article promises to answer an important concern of your prospects while the first offers little incentive to read further.
The point is this: both blog titles and actual content should answer prospects’ questions, address their concerns, or provide useful information. As you position your community as an authority source, you have a better chance to increase occupancy and drive revenue.
3. Provide a Clear Next Step
Once your readers finish your article, the last thing you want is to waste your Senior Living marketing efforts by having them leave your website. Ultimately, digital media is about better conversions.
It’s crucial to give a call to action—a clear next step—that makes sense to your audience members and keeps them connected to your community once they finish reading. Here are a few ideas you can use:
- Ask your reader to connect with your community on social media.
- Provide a link to another blog post that’s relevant.
- Link to one of your senior care services that’s related to your article.
- Offer a link to schedule a tour of your community.
- Provide a phone number or email address to answer any questions.
Perhaps your Senior Living marketing strategy needs a blog, but your community simply doesn’t have the time, energy, or expertise to foster leads with this technique.
Bild & Company can help your community implement a solid content creation strategy that educates your prospects and creates an online presence for your community. Leverage Bild & Company’s marketing services to bring regularly published content to your community.
