It’s the age-old question:
Should I buy Facebook ads to promote my senior living community?
With so many options for advertising these days, the idea of adding Facebook to the mix has no doubt crossed your mind. This begs the question, “Are Facebook ads really worth it for senior living?”
In a nutshell, yes, but you must be smart about your approach to them.
The Advantages of Facebook Advertising in Senior Living
Facebook ads are great in that you have a wealth of targeting options available to you:
- Geolocation
- User actions
- Demographic
- User interests
- Retargeting and lookalike audiences
However, since senior living is considered a part of the housing industry, there are certain parameters we must abide by to comply with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Act. You cannot target anyone by:
- Zipcode
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
These laws were rightfully put in place so that marketers do not unfairly discriminate. This can create a challenge for senior living marketers who need to reach older generations, which is where the magic of retargeting comes in.
What is Retargeting?
Retargeting means delivering ads to people who have already interacted with your content in some way. We find that sending targeted messages to people who have already been to our websites helps us stay top-of-mind with leads and brings them further down the sales funnel.
Our Suggested Remarketing Strategy
There are several approaches you can take with Facebook ads. In our experience, we’ve found the best results when pairing our Facebook Ad strategy with other marketing efforts like Google Ads. Working hand-in-hand with Google Ads, your Facebook retargeting (or remarketing, as it’s also called) can boost your presence even further.
Here’s how the process works:
- A user Googles “assisted living near me”.
- They see your ad and click through to your website.
- They decide not to reach out to you at this time as they simply want to think through their options.
- Later, they are browsing Facebook and see an ad about your community.
- Now, you are top-of-mind and they decide to go ahead and give you a call.
What do Facebook Ads Look Like for Senior Living?
Facebook has many different options for your ad creative:
- Image
- Video
- Text
- Slideshow
- Carousel
What you do with your creative is limited only by your imagination! We suggest taking a critical look at your imagery and text and asking yourself:
- Is this engaging?
- If my target audience saw this in their newsfeed, would they stop scrolling? Would they click?
- Is the call-to-action (CTA) crystal clear?
- Do I understand what the ad is trying to convey?
- Am I coming across as too “salesy” or do I really show the heart behind what my community is all about?
- What does the user see after they click? Does what comes next make sense?
Once you’ve answered these questions, assemble several ads for your community that speak to your target audience’s needs. Creating more than one ad can show you what works best for your community and can increase your leads.
Still have questions about Facebook advertising in the senior living industry?
Contact Craft & Communicate and our experts will help create a plan specific to your needs.
