Making the decision to move into a senior living facility involves extensive research to find the best option and fit, no matter whether it’s a senior researching for a safer, easier-to-manage home or an adult child who desires a better lifestyle for their parent.
The Question Is: How Are They Searching for Senior Living Information?
While word-of-mouth referrals and in-person visits will always be important, the biggest growth in how older adults seek information is online research.
A Pew Research study from 2017 found those age 65+ are more digitally connected than ever before. The study shows seniors engage online at high levels, have quickly adopted social media and have doubled their usage of smartphones.
This means that for many prospective residents, your website is their first impression of your community.
Also, while they are online, they are gathering educational information on their options, costs, how to make the move, etc. The question now becomes: is your organization the expert source of information they find — or is it your competitor?
With online research only continuing to grow, a strong content marketing strategy is essential to ensure your senior living community shows up on page 1 of the search engine results page. Here are the common mistakes senior living communities make and how you can avoid them.
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Top Related Article: Lead Generation in the Senior Living Industry
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5 Mistakes Senior Living Communities Are Making with Online Content
1. The Content Isn’t Easy to AccessHow can your content be effective if your prospects can’t find it in the first place?
SEO, or search engine optimization, involves using researched keywords and phrases to get your content to rank higher for relevant search results. Think about it, how often do you yourself click on a link that you found on the second page of an online search? Not very often, if at all.
If you don’t have an online and offline SEO strategy, you could be doing everything right but still not get the results you’re after. It’s that important!
2. The Content Doesn’t Speak in the Right VoiceYour content’s tone is the voice you use to speak to your prospects. It needs to be friendly, understanding, positive, etc. Senior living decision makers are searching for people they can trust to be caring and professional. Does the tone of your content reflect these things about your community?
No two people have the exact same voice. In just the same way, the voice of your business should be unique. Don’t just copy what other senior living facilities are doing. Successful content marketing involves finding your voice and using it consistently throughout your content.
3. The Content Doesn’t Address the Right IssuesDo you know the main concerns seniors have when facing the decision to move out of their home? What about the adult children? What are their concerns?
You need to understand your audience in order to produce effective content. That way you know what topics they are most likely to find interesting and helpful.
That’s where buyer personas come into play.
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Another Interesting Read: What in the World is a Persona Anyway?
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4. The Content Isn’t EducationalSpeaking of helpful, do you have any educational web content? The process of researching senior living begins long before your prospect starts looking for a specific community.
They’re looking for articles to help educate them about the aging process, when to consider senior living as an option, what kind of services are out there, etc. Providing thorough content on these topics is a great way to build trust with your prospects and boost your credibility.
5. The Content is All WordsPictures, videos, infographics, whitepapers — all of these are types of media you can add to your website to make your content marketing strategy more effective. Words are important, but visual content has the advantage of being appealing, eye-catching, and engaging.
Your prospects are online, what is your content doing to reach them? Content that is accessible, relevant and engaging goes a long way to increase occupancy. Take a long look at the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. If it’s not producing measurable results, maybe it’s time to start asking why.
An effective content strategy is key when it comes to your inbound marketing program.
