The transition from home to a senior living community can be an emotional journey for both seniors and their loved ones. The first step is choosing the right community. Today, many families start this search by finding and comparing relevant information online. 

As families embark on this decision-making process, it’s crucial to find an engaging way to guide them. Equally important is ensuring they can find you during their online searches. The ability to find useful and accurate information online provides a sense of trust and authenticity, which are often key elements in determining which communities to visit. 

Below is a list of several strategies to help your senior living community create engagement with prospective residents and their family members. 

How do you connect with your audience?

Connecting with your audience through the use of a diverse array of digital marketing tools should be a priority when crafting any marketing plan. While the most popular tactics range from things like social media, or email marketing, there is never an incorrect way to connect. Remember, these readers will be future residents or their loved ones, and they’ve got questions that you have the answers to. Connecting with your audience effectively will provide the right answers and allows you to instill confidence in the reader.

Additional examples include:

• Blog posts
• Sharing relevant news articles
• Custom-targeted landing pages on your website
• Videos that provide informative content
• Infographics

Similarly, using social media to highlight special events or services at your location can give prospective community members a glimpse of what resident life is like in your community. Finally, utilizing hyper-targeted market segmentation in your digital tactics will streamline your efforts and guide your prospects through their decision-making process. 

Interactive Tools & Downloadable Content 

Don’t keep things boring! Interactive content provides a fun and engaging way to connect with prospective community members visiting your website. Consider embedding various tools and resources right on your community website. For example, you could add a cost calculator to help seniors better understand senior living costs or interactive floor plans to help potential residents compare various community accommodations.

Online quizzes can also be a fun way to connect with potential residents. For instance, you can use quizzes, such as “Is Your Home Senior-Friendly?” “Coping with Life Changes in Senior Living,” or “Do You Understand Your Senior Care Options?,” to help seniors determine if transitioning to a senior living community is the right option for them.

These types of tools offer a variety of benefits. First, they allow you to provide valuable information to seniors in a fun and non-committal manner. Second, you can use these tools to collect specific prospect data that you can use to send personalized content. Finally, these resources can help you build trust with your target audience and increase the potential to have them reach out for more information.

Offering Virtual Guidance

Keep in mind that many family members may not live nearby. This factor doesn’t mean that they don’t want to be part of the decision-making process. You can help bridge this gap by offering virtual tools such as:

• Virtual tours: Virtual tours can give seniors and their loved ones a realistic look at what your community has to offer from the comfort of their own homes. This can be a great option for family members who don’t live close enough to request an onsite tour. Prospects can also use virtual tours to better understand the numerous services and amenities your community has to offer.
• Virtual support groups: Transitioning to a senior living community can be difficult for the entire family. One of the best ways to minimize some of the anxiety involved is talking with others going through the same process. While hosting onsite support groups may not be a plausible solution for prospective residents and family members, virtual groups are a great alternative. These groups give seniors and their loved ones a chance to talk to others who have similar experiences.
• Video testimonies: Resident testimonies are powerful marketing tools that can help persuade seniors to visit your community. While written testimonies are good, video ones are better. Video testimonies put a face behind the words and make it seem more authentic.
• Virtual wellness programs: A main component of senior living is wellness. You can highlight your community’s commitment to overall well-being by allowing online users to access virtual wellness programs, such as meditation sessions, fitness classes, or seminars, right from your website.
• Educational resources: The more educational resources you can provide prospective residents the more trust and engagement you can build. This could include short videos answering some of the most commonly asked questions about senior living, a slideshow of your last community event, or a video highlighting a day-in-the-life of one of your residents.

Explore More Marketing Tactics With FIVE19

While all these tips may seem overwhelming at first, you can create a step-by-step plan that becomes a well-oiled routine to drive results. You can also automate some of these strategies, such as email marketing, to streamline the process.

The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. FIVE19 is here to help. Give us a shout today to learn more about our dynamic marketing solutions for senior living communities.

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