Three questions for every growth oriented senior living community

This article was first published on the Sage Age Strategies blog.  Sage Age is a Senior Housing Forum Partner.

If you’re a growth-oriented senior living community, you should ask yourself these important questions: Am I getting maximum marketing value out of the social activities and events I offer to residents? If my community has a vibrant social environment, am I presenting it in the most effective ways to potential prospects and their adult children who are seeking lifestyle-oriented communities?

Social Environment Is Key for Senior Living Residents and Shoppers

According to the results of a recent national study on senior adults’ attitudes toward health and retirement, the opportunity for an active and engaging social life has become increasingly important for those seeking senior housing today. Sponsored by The University of Michigan, Growing Older in America: the Health and Retirement Study is a longitudinal panel study that surveys a representative sample of more than 26,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. Supported by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, the study “explores the changes in labor force participation and the health transitions that individuals undergo toward the end of their work lives and in the years that follow.” One of the study’s primary implications for senior living communities is that an appealing social setting is now a top priority for attracting new residents and retaining current ones. This includes both the social activities themselves and facility designs that promote social connectivity. As noted in the Senior Housing Forum article, “You’re Moving Where, Mom?”,  “a built in social network is high on the list of decision points; but in the absence people you already know, communities offering a lot of quality-of-life amenities are very high on the list.  Making sure you are found, and that prospects are seeing what your community offers is critical to getting in the game.”

Social Media Optimizes the Value, Appeal and Marketing Impact of Your Social Environment

Says Sage Age Strategies’ President and Executive Consultant Faith Ott, “Senior living communities that offer a wide variety of socially engaging activities and lifestyle options that promote social integration enjoy a clear advantage in today’s marketplace. And those that maximize their robust social environments by bringing them to life via social media are in the strongest position of all.” Without a doubt, social media provides the ideal platform for sharing your residents’ enjoyment of your various activities, special events, entertainment and excursions and inspiring others to join the conversation and contact you about your services. By its very nature, social media promotes interaction and engagement with others by conveying the fun, excitement and smiles of your residents in words, pictures and video. Social media represents a unique and powerful way to build familiarity, trust and confidence in your brand. Especially today! According to Pew Internet research, 81% of younger boomers (46-55) and 76% of older boomers are now online.” Facebook users 55 and older grew by over 900 percent in the past year alone and now account for 9 million users.

Important Benefits of Social Media

If your focus is on independent living, assisted living or CCRCs, an effectively integrated social media strategy – including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and more – can put a human face on your community and elevate your reputation for having an enjoyable lifestyle and ambiance. The benefits are many and include:

  • Providing an inside view on the lifestyle enjoyed within your community
  • Conveying your community’s (and your resident’s) personality and presenting the unique and special aspects of the lifestyle you offer
  • Connecting with, engaging and attracting new prospects and shoppers, including adult children who are seeking an enjoyable lifestyle for their aging parents
  • Enabling others to share in your community life through photos, videos and audio
  • Providing real-time updates and information on community news and announcements
  • Posting and updating your scheduled activities and sending invitations for special events
  • Engaging in conversations and dialogue on topics of interest
  • Requesting feedback from family members and others
  • Sharing useful articles and links to consumers
  • Improving your SEO and brand reputation

Results-Oriented Social Media Strategy to Help Your Community Grow

If you’re looking for assistance in developing an effective social media strategy, our award-winning team excels in this area. Sage Age’s social media strategy incorporates positive inbound links using consistently fresh and relevant content to build your audience and actively engage users to drive traffic to your website. Our social media campaign strategy is evidence based and utilizes Google’s organic search ranking algorithm to increase website SEO. By working with Sage Age, you can begin to integrate strategic social media into your marketing plans through all of the social media platforms, advertisements and blog posts. We operate exclusively in the senior living space and invite you to contact us today at 570-601-1720 for more information on our suite of strategic services that can help your community grow. If you like this article (or even if you don’t) it would be a great honor to have you subscribe to our mailing list HERE