Even the most creative and strategic marketing can become stale over time. Whether you notice the competition starting to use the same stock imagery, a facility upgrade renders brochure photos outdated or you’re just feeling the need to take a further leap ahead of the competition, crafting fresh copy, exploring new marketing channels and giving existing assets a visual refresh can all enhance the performance of marketing campaigns. Eager to bring some fresh energy to your senior living marketing? Here are five key places to start.
- Experiment with Audience Segmentation
From e-communications to fundraising appeals, catering to the wants, needs and preferences of specific audiences can enhance the performance of senior living marketing campaigns. It demonstrates a strong understanding of individual stakeholder groups and allows the communication to lead with what is most important to that group. This can be particularly beneficial in fundraising appeals, compelling donors to give in ways that are meaningful to them.
Another powerful way to leverage audience segmentation in your senior living marketing? Segment by relationship to the resident. There’s a lot of discussion around grandchildren moving into decision-making roles and this could be a prime opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of this generation’s concerns and desires.
- Refresh Your Design Templates
From email and print newsletters to social media headers and presentation decks, amping up the visual appeal of your senior living marketing materials can make a noticeable impact. For example…
A cleaner e-news template that renders equally well on desktop and mobile may result in improved click rates. Want to further enhance the performance of your e-newsletters? Try A/B testing subject lines and varying placement of calls-to-action with the communication itself. Be mindful of testing variables one at a time so you can easily evaluate their impact on performance metrics.
While you’re giving your designed assets a refresh, you could also…
- Update photography and videography
How long have the same photos been on the homepage of your website? When was the last time the images in your brochures and welcome packets were refreshed?
New photography can not only enhance the visual appeal of your marketing materials, but also provide a fresh bank of assets to tap for social media posts and more. When building the shot list, be mindful of specific program and facility needs as well as larger goals. Is there a growth narrative that could appeal to investors or donors and be reinforced with some great construction photos? Or perhaps even some video?
Today, both professionally-produced videos and shorter-format content shot on an iPhone can bring value to a community’s digital marketing program. The key is using the assets on the right channels and placing them in the right context to achieve optimal audience engagement.
- Mine for great stories
While privacy is a top priority for some residents and their loved ones, others are eager to share their stories. Keeping an eye open for trends, new and notable residents, a community initiative that residents ideated and launched, or something as simple as residents coming together for milestone occasion can provide personable and relatable content that will resonate with everyone from prospective residents and board members to community figures and loved ones of existing residents.
When packaging these stories, look for ways to optimize their impact – and if part of a PR campaign, news value. While some stories may be a homerun on social, others may be more impactful for a donor appeal or annual report. Keeping audiences top-of-mind is key when deciding what to showcase where and how it should be positioned. And, don’t overlook opportunities to highlight compelling stories that may exist among team members or through collaborations with strategic and community partners.
- Make it experiential
What can you do to make individuals who aren’t living and working at your facility feel more connected and integrated with the community? Is there a way to make them feel like they attended an event even when they couldn’t be there in person?
Experiential marketing can strengthen stakeholders’ emotional bonds to an organization and attract new audiences. It can also help to make marketing more memorable and showcase often overlooked aspects of an organization in more compelling and creative ways.
A well-designed and strategically executed senior living marketing can attract residents, engage loved ones, draw in new board members and even serve as a donor cultivation tool. As you take a step back and evaluate where to enhance and augment your senior living community’s marketing, remain focused on target audiences, unique value propositions and standing out amidst the competition.
