A path to creating a rational, workable social marketing strategy
I am in deeply embedded and invested in the world of senior living and I live and die by social media. I recently was a moderator/panelist for a social media strategy panel at the What’s Next Boomer Summit because someone thought I was something of an expert in this area and yet . . .
I feel woefully inadequate.
Here is how bad it is. . .
I have a Google News alert set up to notify me anytime the term “Senior Housing Forum” shows up and a second alert for the term “Steve Moran”. For the term “Senior Housing Forum” it works perfectly. Every time I publish a new article the alert shows up.
On the other hand . . .
It almost never ever catches the term “Steve Moran” (though I do get a fair number of alerts for other Steve Morans). I have no idea why I don’t show up, how to make it show up or if it even matters.
Lots of Conversations
I spend quite a bit of time talking to and listening to senior living providers about social media and it is all over the map:
- I was in a presentation where a senior level executive with a large senior living company told the audience that, while they had some web presence, they didn’t really consider it to be very important.
- Quite a few senior living communities have Facebook pages, but no one really seems to have a sense as to whether it has value.
- Some senior communities use sites like Caring.com, SeniorAdvisor.com, Google Local, A Place For Mom, while others do not.
- Some have individual community sites with their own dedicated URL. Others are a series of sub domains off the corporate websites. There are still a few that have no website at all.
- Most senior living community websites have the same look and feel, making them all but interchangeable with their competitors.
- Some communities are working hard at beefing up their consumer reviews and others pretend review sites don’t even exist, including some communities that have brutal harsh reviews.
- No one seems to have a strong consistent email campaign strategy.
- With the exception of be.group, everyone seems to be floundering, knowing that social media is important but feeling inadequate and not quite knowing how to even begin to figure out what to do or how to develop a comprehensive plan. – Even be.group would tell you that what they are doing is a work in progress and that they are exploring untraveled territory for senior living.
- Even the largest senior living companies have gone through radical, even schizophrenic, gyrations in how they approach social media.
There are hundreds or thousands of books on social media and many successful case studies. What senior living is selling is very unique. It is not a physical product; It is essentially something that never generates repeat buyers. The level of emotional, spiritual and physical energy that goes into a senior living purchase decision is like none other.
Crafting a Plan that Works
I am convinced it is possible for large and small senior living organizations to develop a thoughtful, workable social media strategy that is effective. My friend Bailey Beeken also believes this to be true and is doing something about it. She has just announced the first ever national senior care marketing summit that will be very specifically focused on social media marketing that works for senior living/post-acute care providers. The summit will be take place during the month of November in Chicago. It is a “must attend” event where you can get answers from Social Media experts, some from inside the industry but many from outside our industry. You will be able to walk out of this summit with the tools you need to develop a rational, workable, effective and affordable social media strategy. In keeping with her commitment to make this summit the fit the industry needs she is also conducting a survey on your current marketing efforts, needs and desires. You can access the survey on the front page. Steve Moran
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.
Random thoughts:
• Every one of our communities has a dedicated Facebook page and we feel it’s invaluable. Each page is an organic, ever-evolving billboard showcasing what happens in the community in a very honest, fresh way. You can fake reviews. (Look at Yelp.) But you can’t fake real engagement on a Facebook page. Well, you could try, but it would never pass the sniff test.
• Also, a successful and engaging Facebook page shows up very close to the top in google search results… above the review sites. And what do you want leads to click on? A site where you pay huge fees or your own content/contact info?
• I have a hate/semi-tolerant view of review sites, because a single visit at a single point in time is not indicative of a community, yet that statement is there until cyber space implodes. For instance, we have a review that states a building felt cold and sterile. Well, it wasn’t opened yet… there was a model apartment available, but there were steel beams exposed, etc. Of course, it felt cold. Come back now that the building is filled with thriving residents and happy associates.
• Another problem with reviews is that quite often the adult children are in whirl-wind panic mode and visit many communities over a short time period. We have seen reviews talking about the memory care on the third floor, yet no third floor exists in the building. What else are they mis-remembering? Depends on each review site, but responses or getting them removed are not always possible.
• Yes, none of us are selling widgets, so many of the social media books are meaningless. But just dive in. Start slow, and build progressively, figuring out what works for your community. We have much to do, especially in the land of video, but not everyone is floundering. 🙂
• And no one should feel inadequate about social media. There’s ALWAYS something new to learn. That’s the exciting part. If it didn’t evolve, it’d be boring. And useless.
Melinda:
There are not a lot of communities that are using Facebook in the way you describe which is too bad. It is probably the best way today to have real engagement with a broad group of people.
With respect to reviews. I understand the frustration but what is interesting is that communities with reviews generate more qualified leads and more move-in’s than those without. The evidence seems to indicate that this is true even if there are some negative reviews.
Your example of the sterile description is unfair, but it also highlights why it is important to get asking people for fresh reviews all of the time.
And you are right, not everyone is floundering.
Steve
Steve, thanks for a great article. Your bullet points remind us of all the things that make up a comprehensive social marketing program – people often forget that social media includes much more than just a Facebook page, it also includes reviews, emails, and all kinds of mentions out there on the world wide web.
Melinda,
I wanted to address some of your concerns regarding review sites. While you are correct that a single reviewer’s experience does not adequately represent an entire community, I believe that reviews in the aggregate start to paint a powerful picture to prospective families of what it’s like to be at a community. You also mentioned how sometimes people can mix up communities – this is why at SeniorAdvisor.com we do our very best to verify that the reviews we publish are by people who have actually visited the community in question. We don’t simply publish anything that gets submitted on our website. However, occasionally reviews do come through that were likely about another community (as in your memory care 3rd floor example) – this is why we have a Review Dispute policy in place, so those rare cases can be fixed (please see: http://senioradvisor.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/243871-dispute-a-review). We also really encourage dialogue between community managers and the reviewers, so it is free to respond to reviews on our site. If you have other concerns or questions, I would be very happy to hear from you and get more of your input – you can email me at [email protected].
Thanks for the kind words, Steve. Don’t know that I would share your assessment that everyone else is floundering, but I do agree that our industry needs to do better at making the shift from outbound to inbound marketing.
I am intrigued and encouraged by what Bailey is attempting. It’s about time we recognize the difference between sales and marketing in senior living, and start to take a more nuanced, strategic approach to the latter.
Well . . . I suppose you are right . . . it is not everyone. It sounds like Benchmark is also doing a great job in this area. Yet I do think there is so much to learn.
Thanks for joining the conversation.
Steve
All good comments. Yet all still entrenched in Senior Living Social Media 1.0.
While working at the industry’s undisputed #1 digital experience provider I I gradually accepted that social media results – ROI, even lead gen – were impossible to effectively measure. But there is a bigger problem.
Whether it be Senior Living department leaders, or techies creating new products or solving reporting problems, the industry is still 100% focused branding the community (or portfolio.) Unsure about that? There’s no need to look beyond the comments to Steve’s article:
“…It is probably the best way today to have real engagement with a broad group of people…”
“…figuring out what works for your community…”
“…billboard showcasing what happens in the community in a very honest, fresh way….”
So what? So, while reputation management and branding are among the many by-products of social media, the #1 reason Senior Living cares about it is to make more sales. And the accepted approach to social media is…get ready for this…NOT RELEVANT to our target audience. The current use of the tool is not the best use of the tool. We’re using a platform that was conceived to connect people to people, ostensibly friends to friends, in order to shout mass-appeal messages. It’s kind of like driving through a neighborhood and seeing a massive billboard for Crystal Light Lemonade….
The answer – the road to 2.0 – is best found in the comment above about recognizing the difference between sales and marketing. The platform is most effective when used as a sales tool. (Calm down marketing folks – I said “most” – not “exclusively” effective.) In terms of increasing occupancy, the tool is not being used effectively because there’s little relevance to the individual. (There is a solution by the way, but because it works very well there’s value that’s worth protecting!)
Here’s a hint: if marketing is responsible for mass-messaging (or even targeted communications,) who then is most responsible for generating referrals? And how are referrals best obtained?
Great topic Steve. I am happy to share more one-on-one: [email protected]
Great article, as usual Steve. We enjoy reading your thought-provoking blogs.
Think about it folks, creative use of social media most certainly IS marketing that could very well translate into big sales.
Case in point. The ‘Happy’ video that was produced by Belvedere AL community was shared by you, Steve, on (Linkedin). I loved it and shared it with all of my friends (Facebook), who then shared it with their friends (FB, Twitter). I then (Googled) the name of the community in order to view their(webpage),and then went on to leave my name and contact into in order to write a nice comment about their wonderful video. If I am ever in Westlake, OH, I plan to (Mapquest) their location and pay them a personal visit…..That one little video made such a great impression on me that on that basis alone I wanted to learn more about joining in on the fun at their HAPPY community!.
Excellent article and good points on both sides — how many communities view social media. I have been providing social media marketing for assisted living communities for over 2 years. I did some research on assisted living community social media sites and found most of them contain pictures of their food with the rest of the information about their events, etc. And, in some cases they had no social media at all. My clients AL social media sites have tons of engagement and activities, and many make comments — they are very active. Which leads us to the next question — do they get move-ins from social media. As @Stuart Hicks comment on your article said: “I gradually accepted that social media results – ROI, even lead gen – were impossible to effectively measure.” Which I am finding as true as well. If the marketing person at the community does not dig deeply into how they had heard about their community, the idea of seeing them on Facebook or Twitter will not come up. These are the challenges that I have been facing. As a previous 20 year public relations practitioner, I see social media similar to Public Relations — increases awareness, credibility and educates ones’ audiences, which takes a while to generate sales. Thanks!