By Susan Saldibar
Hashtags can take on all kinds of meaning and evoke all kinds of emotions these days. They can represent everything from a bruising insult to an angry rebuttal to an out-and-out diatribe against someone or something. Frankly, it’s hard to keep up with it all.
But when hashtags are used in a positive way, they can be uniquely transformative. So it was heartening to learn about a program launched back in October by Charter Senior Living. First, a little about Charter. They are a family-owned operator with communities throughout the U.S. They offer independent and assisted living as well as memory care. They also happen to have a great mission statement, along with core values, that really sets them apart:
“Enhancing the Human Spirit”
“To serve with heart . . . to serve with purpose . . . to serve with courage . . . to have fun while serving.”
A desire to communicate this mission lies at the heart of a Facebook awareness program Charter launched about three months ago, using the hashtag #EnhancingTheHumanSpirit. (Can you think of a more positive hashtag?)
The goal of this awareness program is, according to Charter Senior Living, “to actively showcase how Charter lives its mission every day and demonstrate their commitment to providing high-quality care with personalized services to their residents.” Social media, in particular Facebook, gives them an ideal platform to do so.
More Than Just a Hashtag
The program encourages Charter community team members to post images on Facebook with a brief description of how the team member is “enhancing the human spirit” (hashtag included). I caught up with Debra Gawet, Social and Digital Content Strategist Supervisor for Senior Living Foresight partner Sage Age (Charter Senior Living is their client). I wanted to know more about the social media piece, other than it being a platform for nice photos and captions.
“The goal of using social media as the driver of the program is to amplify awareness and demonstrate Charter Senior Living’s commitment to service in a very authentic way,” Debra says. As for the hashtag, #EnhancingTheHumanSpirit; it was selected because it ties in nicely with their mission and core values. “Not only does this increase social-worthy opportunities, it helps to humanize their brand and encourage team participation,” Debra says. Another thing that Facebook does well.
More Than a Campaign, #Enhancingthehumanspirit Is a Good Marketing Move
And, Debra goes on to explain how social media, particularly Facebook, helps push the energy out to all those who visit the pages. It’s a smart move as well. As Debra points out, “Campaigns that use social media to help highlight an organization’s mission and values can be very effective. They allow visitors to the various social media channels to see how the organization embodies them,” she says. “After all, it’s one thing to identify this on one’s website and promotional materials, but it’s another thing to share photos and/or videos that bring the mission and values to life.”
For more information about Sage Age Strategies, you can visit their website. To see more #EnhancingTheHumanSpirit, check out Charter’s Facebook page.
