See How 1 Organization with 7 Locations Took on a Strategic Social Media Plan

The MacIntosh Company, a senior living and care organization with seven locations, struggled to create social media posts and effectively manage the channels to get the engagement they wanted. They knew their target audience was on Facebook every day. They could see this was their opportunity to share stories, engage with people, make human connections and gain their best advocates. They knew they needed to hire a corporate social media specialist, but with what qualifications? And could one person plan, create, posts, monitor and manage it all?

The MacIntosh Company consists of seven senior care locations in the Columbus, Ohio, area that offer post-hospital rehabilitation, memory care, assisted living and skilled nursing care. Each care community functions as a sort of neighborhood, meaning each one has its own distinct culture and environment.

With seven centers and random internal social media posting, MacIntosh struggled to stay on top of a strategic digital plan that included both educational and brand content. The budget had been approved to hire a social media specialist, but they were still unsure what that role would look like. And, would one person have the skills and time needed to map out an editorial calendar, capture the on-site photos and stories needed for the posts, then create the posts, publish the posts and monitor the channels for all seven communities -- not to mention time needed to stay on top of channel and algorithm updates. They needed a social media consultant to support them with recruitment, training and continued coaching.

• Recruitment for a Social Media Marketing Coordinator
• Employee Onboarding and Training
• 60 Days of Weekly Monitoring & Coaching
• Continued Strategic Planning, Coaching and Consulting

As their social media consultant, our team at Marketing Essentials created the job description, placed the ad and processed the applicants for the new role of a Social Media Marketing Coordinator. After hiring was complete, we conducted a 5-day onboarding and training program customized to MacIntosh and what skillset the new hire needed. The training program included:

• Company overview
• Brand standards and brand voice guidelines
• Digital marketing program goals
• Buyer persona and content strategy overviews
• Social content calendar development
• Best practices for social posting and scheduling
• Social media tools, such as for creating videos and custom images
• Content monitoring and optimization
• Managing comments and best practices for a Reputation Management Plan
• Facebook Live, best practices and getting over the fear
• Facebook Advertising, best practices and tracking ROI
• And hands-on implementation

After the training, our social media expert monitored the channel and continued to consult the new hire for 30 days on best practices, optimization and data monitoring. Within weeks, the channel saw a dramatic increase in reach and engagement.

Before having an on-site Social Media Marketing Coordinator, the company did not have the organic posts that showed the personality of the brand. With an editorial calendar in place, strategic monitoring and expert consulting available, the company has achieved great wins on its social media channels. One community alone saw an increase of 207% in reach, while another community achieved a 106% increase in engagement.

Even better, the company’s average cost per click with Facebook advertising is an astounding 45 cents per click  — well below the healthcare industry average cost of $1.32 per click.

The new Social Media Marketing Coordinator continues to grow the company’s social media marketing with the support of expert consulting at Marketing Essentials. She is now using reputation management software to monitor comments and reviews in real time. And most importantly, MacIntosh has gained a brand ambassador who is using social media to show the world who MacIntosh really is.