Senior Living Lessons We Can Learn from Charlie Brown
My frantic neighbor stopped over clutching a list of senior living communities the hospital discharge planner had given her. Her 97-year old mother, who was recovering from a hip fracture, was being discharged from the hospital. Without much -read any- time for the family to prepare. She had gone to visit a few senior living communities, but left more confused than ever. What is an ED? Who is DON? What are ADLs and how do I know how many she needs? Just a few of the questions she had for me. The acronyms and senior living jargon were too much for her.The more communities she visited, the more they all started to sound like this. Charlie Brown’s teacher.
The jargon in our industry can be tough for families. And for SEO certified copywriters (like me!), juggling family-friendly terminology with the keywords and keyphrases families actually use to search adds another layer of complexity.
What can we do to help educate families and provide them with the information they need to make informed choices?
- Try to ditch the jargon. It is difficult, I know. But if your company needs to provide new employees with a list of acronyms and what they stand for (and I know of at least one larger provider that does), it may be time to reevaluate things.
- ALFA has tried to remind us all about using less ominous sounding words. Such as assisted living “community” instead of the dreaded “facility”. Showing families around open suites or apartments, not open beds. For SEO purposes, your digital strategy could be a combination of using facility and community until what families actually search for catches up.
- Checklists, tip sheets, comparison charts, FAQ, senior care dictionaries and ebooks are all great tools to provide families. Both online and offline versions can help them navigate the maze of senior care. The online versions all help improve the call-to-action on your page and your conversions.
Anyone else have ideas to share? We would love to hear them so post them below!