Have you taken a hard look at the language in your marketing collateral and the content on your website lately? In this week’s Marketing Minute, we are talking about ageism and senior living content.
Because we’ve taken on a few new clients lately, we had the opportunity to explore some new-to-us content. The results were…a real bummer.
It led us down a rabbit hole where we spent a considerable amount of time visiting senior living websites.
There is so much ageism in senior living content. It was very discouraging to see…
Sometimes it is overt and so flagrantly disrespectful it’s hard to imagine how the copy made it past an editor. Other times it is subtle. Both are equally damaging to the older adults our industry serves.
What is Ageism?
Simply put, ageism is a type of discrimination that involves prejudice against people based on their age. In our industry, ageism relates to older adults. Ageism can also apply to discrimination against children or teens, too.
How Prevalent is Ageism?
In a survey shared by the American Psychology Association, nearly 80 percent of older adults said they had experienced some form of ageism. People had treated them in a manner that suggested they had memory or physical impairments based solely on their age.
Another survey conducted by Dr. Erdman Palmore of Duke University and published in The Gerontologist showed similar results. More than a third of participants reported being ignored or not taken seriously because of their age.
Fighting Ageism in Senior Living Content
I would encourage you to make time to look at your site from a different perspective this summer. Look for red flags that might be discouraging for older adults or their family members to read.
Specifically, review your site to determine:
- How friendly the language you use is (e.g., are you still use scare tactics to get potential leads to call sooner?)
- What phrases and industry terminology you use (e.g., life-limiting illness versus terminal illness; “put” a senior in assisted living versus “helping a senior loved one transition to assisted living”)
- If you are feeding stereotypes or defeating them with the words and photos you choose?
- How you are positioning senior living: as a positive solution to improve quality of life or as a last resort?
Think about how you would feel if you were an older adult or an adult child visiting your community’s website. That’s what people will remember…
And that’s a wrap for this week’s Marketing Minute. Drop me a note if you have questions or need a helping hand with your content marketing.
Until next time,
Shelley