WHAT'S GROWING ON

Throughout our industry, as the President of Markentum, I’ve spoken with numerous senior living companies faced with a critical business decision: “Should I work with a marketing agency or should I hire my own in-house marketer(s) to do the work needed?”  

For many years, the goal of any website and SEO strategy was to rank number one in search results. Being number one inherently meant more traffic, more clicks, more conversions. While being number one in search results is still a solid goal, your SEO ranking and position should not be the defining factor of your senior living, SEO strategy.

The moment a family member walks through the door of your senior living community a friendly receptionist greets them. They can smell the fresh baked cookies laid out by the front door. On top of that, the tour is planned to a “T” and goes off without a hitch.

Storytelling is something that humans have been doing since the beginning of time. From the days around a campfire, it is the best way to evoke emotion and communicate a deeper truth. Of course, as we have developed and advanced, so have our story telling techniques. We now have the amazing ability to capture stories in real-time and have them permanently frozen in time. Not only this, but we can make these videos accessible to every person from their home, office, or on the road.

A brand is everything to a business. It's what can make a half-eaten apple represent creativity, rebelliousness, and beauty all at once. Or, turn a swoosh into feelings of dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It has nothing to do with the image (aka logo) itself. Nike's swoosh famously cost the company $35 and when they received it, remarked "I don't love it, but I think it will grow on me" and then quickly accepted it because of production deadlines. A brand is not a physical tagline, image, or product but a nebulous idea that only lives inside of someone's mind.

According to the National Center for Assisted Living, there are over 30,000 assisted living and other residential care communities in the United States today! If you are one of those 30,000 communities, then you probably already know that your competition is fierce…and it is only going to continue to rise.

The rapid growth of the senior living industry becoming a significant staple in business was seen as early as the 1990s. Whether it’s due to the Baby Boomer generation coming of age, an increase in Solo Agers, or fewer parents being cared for by children, the need for senior living communities has been on the rise.

Social media is an essential tool for any business wanting to be found online. Everyone wants to have a social media presence, but the most common misconception is that just having a social media account is enough. Even if your goal isn’t to become the top Facebook account, it is important to apply social media marketing strategies! Think about what you want your social media to do for your business so that your strategy can help you produce the best results on your account.

At Markentum, we have a focus on the senior living industry and love being able to work with senior living communities throughout North America. Being able to help seniors and their loved ones find a place where they feel safe and cared for during their golden years makes every day at work worth it.

Most of us would like to be able to say that we don’t judge a book by its cover, but unfortunately, this is a lot easier said than done. This reaction derives from a natural instinct to make quick judgments on another creature - an essential safety precaution.