Many senior living communities continue to gravitate towards this self-sabotaging behavior. Are you one of them?

By Susan Saldibar

Forty-five percent of consumers will “unfollow” a brand due to over self-promotion. That is just one of the compelling stats from an infographic produced by the folks at G5 (a Senior Housing Forum partner). While it’s easy enough to agree with that number, what’s interesting is how many senior living communities continue to gravitate towards self-promoting actions and words, often without even realizing it.

I caught up with Elisa Brown, Lead Creative Account Manager for G5, who shared the infographic with me along with some tips that G5 offers their clients to keep them from sliding over to “the dark side” of self-promotion. Here they are:

  • Replace bragging with educating. Adult children are looking for information to help them make decisions. Instead of talking up how great your community is, why not show it? By posting informative articles and sharing links to organizations such as Alz.org, you will be perceived as a partner and valued resource. That builds trust. Bragging doesn’t.

  • Instead of using words like “premier”, “world class”, and “ultimate”, use words that come straight from your residents and families. Nothing speaks louder than authentic words of praise in the form of testimonials and reviews.  

  • Use Facebook posts and shares to engage, use Facebook ads to sell. Statistics show that baby boomer adult children are using Facebook, Instagram and other popular social media platforms every day. So clearly, this is where you need to be. But it’s easy to misuse it. “Facebook posts work best as an engagement tool with prospects,” says Elisa. “If you want to pull in leads, use Facebook advertising. If you do it properly, it won’t break the bank and can be very effective. But keep your general posts and videos separate from your ads!”

And, while we’re talking about Facebook . . . 

Elisa has some additional words of advice for communities who want to make the best use of Facebook.

  • Don’t feature dump. Instead of feature-dumping about all of your amenities (i.e. “our world class dining”), use Facebook to show your residents enjoying those amenities.

  • Don’t use sales-y language in your Facebook posts. “Some marketers are so eager to ‘sell’ themselves that they can’t resist inserting promotional words into all their posts,” Elisa says. “All that does is weaken your messaging. It comes across as disingenuous and does nothing to build trust,” she adds.

  • Use your Facebook analytics to guide you as you go. When you buy ads on Facebook, you also get access to some pretty good analytics. Elisa urges communities to study those analytics. They make it easier to determine your audience demographics and psychographics, and can help you refine your messaging as you go.

“It’s always easier to say you’re the best at something than to demonstrate it,” says Elisa. “Don’t dilute the great work your communities are doing by taking the easy road to self-promotion.”

For more stats on the power of branding, download the the Senior Living Brand Engagement Infographic:

For more information about G5 visit their website by clicking the logo button below:

 

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