If you are adding social media to your senior living marketing strategy, then congratulations! You are helping your communities stand out in beneficial ways online to family members, seniors, referral partners, employees, and more.
Having social media in your marketing toolbox helps you reach a vast audience of family members and seniors combined, and it does not cost you a dime. It’s a simple truth that social media is here to stay. In fact, the Pew Research Center states that adults 65 and older have taken to social media a lot more in the last decade, with the number of users in this age group growing fourfold.
Still, it feels overwhelming when getting started with an effective social media plan. That’s why marketing and PR agency, Craft & Communicate (C&C), can step in to be your social media guide.
Let’s go over the benefits of a team such as C&C overseeing your social media account and then the platforms you should sign up for.
Benefits of C&C Managing Your Senior Living Social Media Accounts
Consistent Schedule of Content
In addition to your Activities Directors posting the fun photos of what residents are up to, C&C can provide a consistent schedule alongside the photos of effective content such as:
- Educational blogs
- Important community announcements or updates
- Posting news pick-ups
Adding to the Toolbox
The addition of social media to your marketing toolbox will only help you reach your goals and your audience more effectively. You can use the same, or slightly modified, content from your internal newsletters, e-blasts, print materials, and more to post on social media. C&C can manage your content strategy and advise communities on what to write and when to post it.
For example, if you are promoting an event to friends and family via e-blast, you could also turn the content of the email into a Facebook event.
Reputation Management
Maintaining your reputation online by monitoring comments, knowing when to post (or when not to post), and reading reviews is a task that can be taken on by C&C. You may not always have the time to review your social media accounts for questionable comments or reviews. Having a full-time agency to back you up and keep you updated 24/7 is crucial to implementing an effective social media strategy.
Now that the benefits of a senior living marketing agency for your social media strategy has been laid out, let’s go over the types of platforms you can pursue for your communities.
Which Social Media Sites Should I Sign Up For?
Facebook is the bread and butter of social media for senior living. It is the perfect platform to post all of your community’s events, birthdays, and parties. You could also reach new potential leads this way by putting your posts in front of people who are searching for senior living online in your area.
Facebook is a great tool to use if you need to make big external announcements or updates, too, such as the phone lines temporarily being down (although Facebook should not be used as your only form of communication).
Post your exciting business-related announcements on LinkedIn, such as the build of a new community, the promotion of a valued team member, or a ribbon-cutting ceremony. LinkedIn is perfect for showing off the work culture you’ve created not only to celebrate your current employees but to cater to potential new hires as well.
Instagram is used to post photos or short videos. This platform is a unique avenue to cross for senior living, but is worth the effort. With Instagram under the Facebook umbrella now, it is easy to cross-post your photos across both your Facebook and Instagram accounts. You can even monitor your Instagram likes and followers in the Meta Facebook Business Suite.
YouTube
This may not come as much of a surprise, but YouTube is the number one social media platform that older adults use. Take this opportunity to post your longer videos, such as apartment tours, community shots, interviews, testimonials, and more, to your YouTube account. P.S. YouTube videos are great to also post to your LinkedIn or Facebook accounts!
TikTok
If you are feeling like going against the grain and catering to the grandchildren (or great grandchildren) or even to reach potential new employees in a fun way, try out TikTok. This platform is perfect for uploading positive, cute, heartwarming, or inspiring snippets of your community and residents.
As of March 2022, videos on TikTok have a maximum length of 10 minutes, but we recommend keeping your videos short and sweet. Under a minute should be perfect to showcase your community in a unique way.
The five social media platforms above are the ones most readily used by senior living operators. They each have their own challenges, but with the right strategy and team behind you to support you, the benefits greatly add to your marketing goals.
Exciting! How Do I Get Started?
Let Craft & Communicate take the social media reins for you. Our passionate team has navigated the ebb and flow of social media for senior living operators for years. We can create a plan together that fits your goals.
