4 Types of Content for Your Senior Living Community
October 6, 2020
As the phrase goes, “content is king” (or queen!). The reason people say this is because, well, it’s true. Content marketing is one of the most effective strategies for your company. Do you want to build brand awareness? Use content. Do you want to improve your search engine rankings? Use content. Do you want to increase leads? (Hint: use content).
Developing the right content for your brand is valuable in many ways. To help your community stand out even more, it’s important to diversify the types of content that you create. Embracing multiple forms of content can help you connect with your audience through different channels and different stages in the buyer’s journey.
So, what are the different types of content? When should you use them? Markentum has created this blog (a type of content!) to explain various types of content and the most effective ways to use them in order to increase leads and drive sales.
1. BLOGS
For many brands and communities, blogging is the central part of their content strategy. There’s a good reason for this—blogs are relatively easy to write and provide endless value. Blogs are beneficial for SEO, are easily shared by readers, and can establish your brand as a useful and reliable source in the senior living industry.
Having a consistent blog strategy will drive traffic to your site, and eventually increase lead generation and sales.
AVOID THIS MISTAKE
To make the most out of your blog strategy, there are a few simple things to avoid. The first one is not blogging enough or not blogging consistently. Posting regularly will allow you to keep bringing traffic to your blog, maintain readership, and even generate more leads.
The second mistake is not including keywords in your blog. If you want someone to find your website on Google, your blog should be optimized with relevant keywords.
MARKENTUM PRO TIP
When developing your blog strategy, try to include a variety of topics including senior health, caregiver tips, general industry news, and community-specific services. Including a mixture of subjects will not only prevent you from seeming too self-promotional, but it will position you as a comprehensive expert in the industry.
2. EBOOKS
eBooks, or electronic books, are long-form, downloadable pieces of content that can be an excellent tool for lead generation. Usually, you can offer your eBook in exchange for a reader’s contact information—curating a valuable list of contacts. eBooks give you a chance to showcase your community’s knowledge of a topic or service offerings in a more in-depth manner than a blog.
AVOID THIS MISTAKE
eBooks will always bring value to the reader, but they will only bring value to your brand if you make sure they do! A common mistake is writing an eBook that provides great information and value, but doesn’t tie back to your community. This leaves readers saying, “So what?” Always remember to include a relevant call-to-action in your eBooks, even if it’s a simple encouragement to learn more about your community!
MARKENTUM PRO TIP
We recommend writing eBooks on topics that not only matter to your audience, but can provide value long after they’re written. You don’t want to invest time and effort into an eBook that will only be relevant for a short period of time. Senior living communities will want to showcase their various levels of care and comprehensive knowledge of all things senior health.
3. INFOGRAPHICS
Infographics are a creative way to visually present information like data, timelines, lists, how-to’s, and so much more. They are a useful way to pack a lot of information into an easily digestible, easily shared, and branded graphic. Incorporating infographics into your content strategy can be highly effective, as it’s been shown that the human brain processes images 60,000x faster than text.
Senior living communities can use infographics to share healthy living tips, caregiver checklists, signs and symptoms of common conditions, and much more!
AVOID THIS MISTAKE
Like eBooks, infographics are only valuable if they are tied back to your community. Infographics are easily shared, downloaded, and reused, so make sure to include your community’s name, logo, or website link! Including basic brand elements on your infographics is a powerful step in creating brand awareness.
MARKENTUM PRO TIP
When creating an infographic, you don’t always need to create the content from scratch. Infographics are a great opportunity to recycle content that you’ve used in blogs, eBooks, or social media. You can highlight some important statistics or callouts, and use the infographic as a supplemental piece of content—no research necessary!
4. VIDEO
Video is becoming an extremely powerful tool in any content marketing strategy. In fact, according to HubSpot, video has become the most commonly used format in content marketing. Video can serve as an impressive way to connect with your audience and build deeper and more meaningful relationships—which is especially important for senior living communities.
AVOID THIS MISTAKE
Today, anyone can record a video on their smartphone, but that doesn’t mean you should. While a quality, professional video can make your community look impressive, a poorly shot video can have the opposite effect. If video is an element you’re including in your content strategy, it’s important to partner with the right production partner so that your videos are high-quality, professional, and remarkable.
MARKENTUM PRO TIP
Video is a great way to bring your community to life. Use video content to showcase your community, highlight certain services and amenities, and share residents’ and families’ stories. Whether it’s a sneak peek into a community fitness class or a testimonial of a resident sharing their experience, video content allows you to share your community’s story like no other format!
This is just a small dip into the huge ocean that is content marketing. Using these types of content, you can create a diverse strategy that allows you to market your senior living community in various ways, formats, and mediums.
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If you’re looking for a partner to help with your content strategy, Markentum’s content team specializes in not only understanding the senior care market, but creating content that engages your audience to take action. For more information on how we do this, contact our team of experts today!