Are you seeing Christmas trees in windows around your neighborhood already?
Since long before the pumpkins came out to play I’ve been forced to stare at one straight out my office window. It’s given me a few hives many days. Like today, for example. Then until I snap back to reality and remember… it’s only November 3rd. No need for holiday panic.
But the holidays do give the families we work with anxiety.
We know many adult children return home between Thanksgiving and the New Year and panic at the condition they find a senior loved one in. All year long their mom or dad has been telling them they are “fine” and they don’t need anything. Then a trip home reveals otherwise.
While they might not call you until January, adult children are checking you out online as a possible solution for their parent.
Researching Senior Living and Home Care Providers Online
Are you ranking well in the search engine results?
They can’t call you if they can’t find you. And recent surveys show only 40% of families knew about their local options before they began the search.
Have you responded to online reviews —both the good and the bad— about your communities?
I know you want to put your head in the sand and pretend they don’t exist. They can be scary. We know its where disgruntled employees head when you part ways. But you must address both the good and bad reviews online.
Another opportunity many home care and senior living providers miss is taking advantage of the power of social media.
Festive Facebook Ideas for Senior Living Communities
A picture tells a thousand words right?
Facebook can be the vehicle you use to showcase the life at your communities, especially during the festive holiday season.
Here are a few ideas to help you make the most of Facebook during the holidays:
- Keep Clicking: Take photos of all of the activities that are happening in your communities. (Of course, you will want to have permission from residents and visitors to share their smiling faces on Facebook.) They help families feel like they are getting a peek behind the curtain at what really happens in senior living communities.
- Food Porn: Don’t overlook taking pictures of the fabulous foods more and more of our senior living partners are making a name for themselves with. It helps to de-bunk one of the most persistent myths about senior living communities: that they all have bad food! Consider linking the photo to a post on your blog that has the recipe for each meal.
- Get Out the Votes: All those fun-filled decorating contests like resident doors or staff member cubbies are great ways to get your Facebook community involved over the holidays. Post photos of your internal contests and invite people to vote for their favorite.
- You’re Invited: Promote community events that are open to the public during the holidays. (You don’t have one you say? Yikes. Fix that in a hurry.) While adult children might not be planning to call you to schedule a visit until January, a well-timed, community event that can make them get up off of that couch and head on over can give you an early advantage over competitors.
Facebook Contests during the Holidays
The holidays are a great time to host contests on your Facebook page.
(Be sure to follow Facebook’s ever changing contest rules!)
Here are a few ideas you can use:
- Cookie Bake-Off
- Funniest Family Holiday Photo
- Ugliest Holiday Sweater
- Best Holiday Tradition
Have prizes and giveaways that target both the senior and the adult child.
The Season of Caring
Finally, highlight the caring spirit of your senior living caregivers or home care teams.
Since you know November, December and January are big months in our industry, take this opportunity to spotlight staff members on your Facebook pages.
Photos and stories about why team members work in senior care are great ways to highlight each caregiver’s commitment to older adults.
If you need a little help with your senior living or home care content for your blog, a well-designed senior care guide or regular Facebook conversation starters, keep our capable crew in mind. We’d love to help! Just shoot us a note and we’ll be in touch before you finish untangling last year’s Christmas lights…
