Using Video can be a hugely powerful way to market your community. Here is an example and a “how to”.
to provide context for this article start with this very fun 2 minute video that came out of Belvedare of Westlake Assisted Living.
Boring Videos ( No, not the one above)
It doesn’t happen often but occasionally as I browse senior living community websites I see an embedded video or link to a video about that community. Most of them are slick, professionally produced videos, that show the common areas, the dining room, some activities, resident rooms and almost always the community bus. I would never do a video like this for the following reasons:
- They are always boring because, for the most part, you could take one community name off the video and add another and it wouldn’t make much difference.
- They are costly to produce.
- They don’t get watched very much because they are boring.
- They ultimately don’t help you market your building.
Happy Video
This is a brilliant video for a bunch of reasons:
- It was fun and entertaining. You can’t help but smile when you watch it
- The cost to produce was nothing, or close to it
- It got essentially every single resident involved in something fun and meaningful
- It it got staff involved
- It gave family members hope (I assume)
Making Video Work For Your Community
I don’t know this senior community and I don’t know what, exactly, they have done to get people to watch it. I do know that, according to YouTube, it has been watched more than 4,500 times which means they did something right. These kinds of videos can be red hot marketing tools. Here is how I would use it:
- I would put it on the front page of the community website
- I would send an email to everyone on my prospect, resident, vendor and influencer list with a link to the video or, even better, with the video embedded in the email.
- I would put it on my Community Facebook site.
- I would made DVD copies to give to prospects.
- I would solicit ideas on all of my social platforms for the next video project.
Have you done a video like this? How have you used it to promote your senor living community? Steve Moran
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Steve,
This is such a great topic and one that is not only underutilize in senior living, but severely underestimated……The Video
It seems the video is either embraced or ran from.
I know of one company that passed out Flip Video recorders (the $30 version) to staff and residents that wanted them. They were able to capture some very precious moments in time. The community also email these clips to family members to let them see what was going on in their loved ones lives and what a great time they were having. It was genius!!
Also, search engine algorithms love videos. So in addition to the many reasons you mentioned, search engine optimization (SEO) is another great one to think about. It has been explained to me that posting material on social media outlets like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and others is like leaving bread crumbs leading to your website, where as those same postings with pictures and/or videos is like leaving chocolate covered bread crumbs leading to your website.
I vote for the chocolate covered ones……..
Hi Roy:
Great additional points. The idea of passing out low priced video cameras is a great idea. The quality of video taken using a smart phone is often times enough to do the job. A BMA management community did a Harlem Shake video with a iPhone taped to a box.
Thanks for bringing this fun video to our attention. We’ve embedded it in the Activities Section of the National Continuing Care Residents education and research website. You can go to it directly by clicking on http://tinyurl.com/WhopeeInAL.
Thanks Jack. That is how viral happens.
Steve
I just finished developing a family communications system where videos like this are exactly what my mobile app is about. Thanks for sharing.
What you are doing looks very interesting.
Steve
Great idea!
Video is the most powerful medium to exchange energy, passion, emotion and attraction. This is one area where any one single community can lift itself up above its competition.
Here is a good sample of how Aerial Video enhances the appeal.
http://www.troyeradvisors.com/digitalmedia.html
Hi Troy: I liked the aerial stuff. I assume that was done with a drone? I still think that these sort of funky videos with residents, families and staff will generate the best response. I did get to thinking though that having a aerial shot like that then zooming into the community could make for a pretty cool effect.
Steve
I certainly agree that the main message is that this can be a fun chapter in their lives. The Love from caregivers is another main message for service. The aerial shots are recommended if the campus has attributes that would be attractive to residents and those that visit. These are meant to add to the the attractiveness of the experience not to take anything away from showing the value and benefits of the people.
Below is a list of the top painful points of perception that we are driven to change for
Senior Living (AL,SN,MC,IL):
“They are places where people go to die”
“They are for “Old” People- those who have given up as they can’t do anything anymore”
“They are Institutional”
“No More Fun”
“Staff has to “Put Up” with residents”
“Staff is unresponsive”
“No More Freedoms”
“Many Rules and Regulations”
“Bad Food”
“Bad Odors”
“Older, Ugly Buildings, Small Living Spaces”
“Memory Care of full of “Crazy” people”
“Assisted Living” is for those who need Assistance
Continuing Care Retirement Communities are for those who need “Continuous Care” now or very soon.
For staff:
“you shouldn’t hug residents”
“you shouldn’t get too close relationally”
“its ok to let the audible call alarms continue to sound, it doesn’t cause anxiety for residents of guests”
For owners:
“pull cords in the bathrooms and by the bed are adequate call alerts”
“Having cubicle curtain tracking to separate two beds in a small nursing room is fine”
“260 sf AL units should be fine, everyone else in our market has around that size”
We have so much to do and so little time!
I did a video for our community a few years ago using a Flip Video recorder and captured resident life in our community – an impromptu sing-a-long, residents and staff interacting and having fun together, and put in some resident interviews where residents told their own story about the benefits of living in our community. The video included a resident with Parkinson’s explaining how we enabled him to still indulge his passion for gardening even though he had physical challenges. I filmed this while we were outside with another staff member watering the flower garden he was so proud of. We showed the video to our residents and staff members as well as used this as a marketing tool. We included interviews with staff also telling about the special things they liked to do for the residents and why they loved their job. Who can tell your story better than your residents and staff?
Thank you for all of the positive feedback on the video! It is greatly appreciated.
We had a ball making it..
Stephanie Gumina
Program/Activities Director
The Belvedere of Westlake
https://vimeo.com/85931266
Here is a video I did for the Manor Village at Scottsdale for the food service department.
Let me know what you think and please share!
By and large, video isn’t used very well in our industry. I think one of the problems is that too many companies define their communities as the physical environment, features, amenities, etc. first and foremost a community is the people who live there. That’s the real product. Storytelling needs to focus on those we serve, not on bricks and mortar.
This video is something we did at the time of our rebranding, and while it doesn’t do a deep dive into anyone’s story, it does give you a sense of the people who live in our communities. Still one of my favorites.
http://youtu.be/XMyLtFd7dI0
Hi Dan:
Great video, great way to tell a bunch of stories in less than 4 minutes.
Steve
I love this video and the people in it! Great job!
Fantastic video! So authentic!
Ever since that first great parody video came out (The “Call Me Maybe” one) I thought this would be a great venue in which we could have a heck of a good time and so some some “soft ” marketing as well…That moment came when I saw Joanna Rohrback’s unique video “Prancercise.” We called ours “Prancersize, the Senior Way”…and it has been a hoot. Not only is the community involved along with the staff, we are able to show off the community. Granted, it is the first video done here and we’ve learned a lot…the next one has launched (not a bit hit!) and there are several more in the wings. It is fun to see how the residents came together for this one and how they are eager to get to the next one!
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvf_O11aEXI
Let’s get more communities involved and add humor to their lives!
Peter, Recreation Coordinator,
Cascade Manor,
Eugene, OR
Hi Steve — Great ideas shared here. We have been trying to figure out an easy way, with no typing or writing, for residents to tell their life stories. We brought out the LifeBio Studio app (for iPads) just recently and it video records people (giving them prompting questions). If residents have an easy way to tell their personal life stories, it just highlights the amazing people in your communities! With permission, maybe some would share with the public. Thanks for highlighting the power of video to tell a community’s story and the individual’s story too! — Beth Sanders, LifeBio.com
Thanks everyone. Glad you like the video.