We are often asked to share “quick tips” for creating valuable senior living websites. As with all worthwhile things in life, there really are no shortcuts. Putting together and maintaining a site that older adults and their families will find helpful requires a solid content strategy and a continuous stream of well-written, relevant senior living content.
Marketing Doesn’t Begin with Selling
Anyone who has taken a graduate level marketing class knows the name “Philip Kotler.” I finally got around to cleaning out some boxes of books from my MBA days this summer when we moved. (Don’t judge me! You know you have those boxes somewhere too right?)
I came across some of my class notes that I had highlighted the heck out of… And this pink highlighted quote leaped out from the page:
“Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. It is the art of creating genuine customer value.”
In the senior living industry, we sometimes forget this. Because we have 21 open independent living apartments, our goal is to fill ‘em up. (And blame marketing if the census is low. Am I right?)
It’s the rare company that takes a step back to evaluate what value those apartments offer to seniors and their families.
It’s the same with a senior living website. There’s more to it than just filling up empty space.
Marketing, Websites and Value
It starts with education. Creating content resources for families who are overwhelmed, worn out and searching for help. Make it easy for them to find the information they need to answer their questions. That is the kind of content they find valuable.
It also includes well-written blog articles. Readers (and our pals at Google!) will spend time more time on your site if they have interesting stories about successful aging, caregiving and senior living to review.
The bad news is the Donald J. Trump style of self-promotion won’t earn you the qualified leads you are seeking in an effort to dump a few of the referral services we know so many of you are unhappy with.
Instead, you need to ask and answer industry questions on your site BEFORE talking about your community.
One of the biggest mistakes we see on websites in our industry is companies who have taken their offline brochures/collaterals and dumped them in to a website. This approach has its own anthem in a Toby Keith song. We wrote about it a few years back.
This approach might help you when families are further down the funnel. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t grab them early and position you as the industry expert when they are researching their options.
Strategy for Creating Senior Living Website Value
The good news is that you have built-in focus groups who call you and walk through your doors every day: the adult children and seniors who are searching for a senior living solution.
Take advantage of this and explore what is important to them whether they choose you, your competitor or continue to ride it out at home.
- What are their questions at the first point of contact whether it is by phone, internet or in-person?
- What are they struggling with?
- What keeps them up at night?
- What are the barriers that keep them from moving forward?
- What is important to them in a provider? How about their adult children?
- What are the next round of questions they ask after they learn more about the industry? And the next?
You see where we are going here right?
Get all this down on paper and use it to create a content strategy rich with articles, blog posts, guides, tools, and checklists that addresses it.
It is as simple —and as complex— as that.
Shoot us a note if you need some help…
