Digital Marketing Tactics to Grow Your Senior Living Community

The senior living industry in the US is a significant and growing sector, with a wide range of housing and care options available to seniors, including independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing communities. According to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing Care (NIC), approximately 31,000 senior living communities in the United States are valued at around $300 billion.

The need for senior living communities is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, driven by the aging of the population and the increasing desire of seniors to live in communities that offer a range of services, amenities, and support to such as assistance with daily tasks, medical care, and socialization.

As the demand for senior care increases, how can you ensure your community is being found online?

Here are six fundamental and effective digital marketing tactics to promote your senior living community and generate measurable results:

1. Develop a website: Your website is your foundation. A website serves as a central hub for all your online marketing efforts. It should provide information about your community, including your location and phone number, the services you offer, amenities, pricing, and photos.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website for search engines can help drive more organic traffic to your site and attract more qualified leads from people actively researching senior living options in your area. Many seniors and their families use the internet to research and compare different senior living options. SEO helps improve the visibility of your website on search engine results pages (SERPs). Improved visibility in search results can lead to increased traffic to the community's website, which can translate into more leads and inquiries from potential residents. Strategic, foundational SEO also helps improve the credibility and perceived authority of the community's website, which can help build trust with potential prospects.
3. Online reviews: Encourage satisfied residents and their families to leave positive reviews on your website and on review sites like Google and Yelp. These reviews can help build credibility and attract new residents.
4. Content marketing: Create valuable, informative content that meets the needs and concerns of potential residents and their families. This can include blog posts, articles, and videos. Make sure the messages and content are written from the perspective of each of your customers to answer the questions they have while researching what your community offers. Messaging can also be used to build relationships with customers, as it allows you to provide personalized and timely answers to inquiries. Overall, the more relevant and trustworthy your content is, the better you will improve return visits, engagement, and generate increased leads, conversions, and revenue.
5. Paid advertising: Paid advertising, such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads, can be effective in reaching a targeted audience. Use paid ads to promote the services and amenities offered by your community and differentiate you from your competitors. With the right paid advertising campaign, you can target specific demographics, reach a larger audience, and drive qualified traffic to your website.
6. Use social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can be effective in reaching a targeted audience. Social media is a great channel to use to connect and engage with potential residents and their families, share updates and photos, and showcase the amenities and benefits of your community.
7. Email marketing: Email marketing allows you to reach many potential residents and their families quickly and easily. With email, you can send targeted and personalized messages that provide valuable information, such as updates on availability, pricing, and amenities. This can help you stay top-of-mind and build relationships with your current and potential residents and their families. Additionally, email marketing allows you to track and analyze the success of your campaigns, so you can continually refine and improve your strategy over time.

Navigating senior healthcare marketing is complex.

Where should you start? And how should you use these six tactics to build an integrated digital marketing strategy that works for your specific community?

In this episode of Grow Your Occupancy (GYO) podcast, HLM’s Scott Bell and Ana Cristina Reeves join Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of GYO to discuss these digital marketing tactics for senior living and senior care communities and share insights on trends, advice on where to start and what the best tactics are to help increase your online visibility and grow your senior living community.