Chris Young
As Baby Boomers and their parents continue to age, their constituencies represent some of the largest and most wealthy generations in human history, many of whom will need elderly care.
With 7 out of 10 people over age 65 likely to require long-term care at some point in their lives, the opportunity to provide care for senior citizens is a hundred-billion-dollar business in North America alone. Attracting these demographics requires a combination of excellent product development, clear messaging, and precise targeting. In order to find this perfect combination, many senior living centers are looking to marketing agencies for assistance. The right marketing agency to partner with is crucial to keeping your customer pipeline full and attracting new residents. However, it’s not always obvious where these agencies are and how you can recognize them as the best at what they do. In your search for a senior living marketing agency, we recommend that you move deliberately while doing your due diligence to find the best match for your company.
Senior living centers are still suffering from the lasting effects of the “retirement home” culture which was little more than a comfortable hospital. Since then, senior living centers have made titanic efforts to rebrand their experiences as transitional spaces where residents can continue to maintain a high quality of life and a large degree of independence. However, while many senior living centers have managed to make this transition, prospective residents are still haunted by memories of having their own parents or grandparents in retirement homes and other asylums. A good marketing agency will be able to help communicate the message that senior living today is different! One of the first major hurdles that any senior living community will need to overcome is how to effectively communicate this message to prospective residents.
Another major hurdle to acquiring new residents is the simple fact that they can be a little difficult to find and are often not the ones looking into senior living facilities. These decisions are also (generally) not made by any one person, rather they’re made by the future resident and his or her immediate family. As a result, most searches for a senior living center start in a prospect’s local area as this causes minimal disruption to the resident’s life. This tendency reveals a major key to attracting new residents–local marketing tactics.
Many people start their search by going to Google or another search engine and conducting a local search for senior living centers in their area. The right marketing agency will understand the local nature of initial discovery and can execute local SEO campaigns as well as local paid search campaigns to attract the right people. The right senior living marketing agency should also have deep experience in running pay-per-click campaigns and conducting search engine optimization campaigns.
The best agencies, such as Be More Digital, will have their proprietary suite of products like Household Retargeting. Household retargeting allows senior living centers tap into to first-hand data such as names and even home addresses. With this information, we can send personalized mailers (like brochures or other traditional media) to the prospect or his or her family members. Having a tangible piece of marketing has shown to be a very effective marketing tactic, especially when it comes to life-changing decisions such as moving into a senior living center.
There are several different questions that senior living centers should ask prospective marketing agencies in doing their due diligence. These questions should focus on prior experience and success stories as well as what an agency’s overall strategy would look like for your senior living center. Hiring a senior living marketing agency is a big decision and should focus on building a long-term partnership since these engagements require a profound amount of collaboration and understanding; having to switch to a different agency after six months would put a senior living center almost a year behind schedule. Senior living centers should ask questions like
With these questions and answers, you should have a good understanding of each senior living marketing agency’s capabilities.
Here are our top 5 picks for senior living marketing agencies:
SSDM is a leading agency in the senior living space, managing website experience, targeted advertising, and SEO for over 100 senior living communities across the Midwest. SSDM focuses on the entire customer journey taking people from “click to customer". To get these results, SSDM has integrated internal processes that dig deep into your company to understand your unique offer. This methodology has produced excellent results with many high-level companies that operate inside and outside of the senior living arena. Because of their excellence, SSDM comes with Be More Digital’s unequivocal recommendation.
One of the markets that Straight North caters to is senior living centers. While this is not their sole focus, Straight North is known for a high level of competence in their marketing activities and their breadth of industry experience may actually help them with senior living marketing campaigns. This company understands the current challenges posed by the current state of marketing in the senior living industry and has adapted its methodologies to turn these challenges into opportunities. They understand that the decisions related to senior living are multi-faceted and often require the involvement of several different decision-makers. Their marketing approach not only targets potential residents, but also their loved ones who often constitute a major part of the decision-making process.
The Timmermann Group is a senior living marketing agency that focuses on the benefits of digital marketing and how to reach potential residents through this medium. While Timmermann Group does have some SEO and PPC experience, its core competency is with creating emotionally rich social media content. They understand several key things about marketing to seniors–first, they know where seniors spend most of their digital time (Facebook) and second, they understand how emotionally charged the decision of senior living is. They use both of these factors to create campaigns that communicate effectively with future residents and their families.
Marketing Essentials is a great WYSIWYG senior living marketing agency; they stick to the basics but they do them well and have consistently produced results for several senior living centers around the country. Their bespoke model focuses on digital marketing and boosting occupancy which is managed by a team of marketing professionals.
Be More Digital has several years of proven success and experience working with senior living centers predominantly in the Midwest. Current contracts prevent us from naming names, however, we have worked with some of the largest senior living centers in the nation. Our campaigns have been so effective that these engagements have lasted for several years and show no signs of slowing down; in fact, new centers within the same franchises are always signing on to achieve the same success as the flagship center.
Beyond this, Be More Digital has deep local SEO experience and can optimize your website as well as your Google My Business profile to rank highly in local search results. Our team also has experience managing PPC campaigns for Fortune 500 companies as well as managing campaigns for other senior living centers. We have a stellar track record of working with our senior living clients and would love to share some of our results with you. Get in touch with Be More Digital today to learn more about our suite of services that can help you reach your marketing goals.
Selecting the right marketing agency can shape the trajectory of your facility’s potential to attract new residents. It’s a decision that goes beyond mere business metrics – it's about forging a partnership to redefine perceptions, ensure a consistent influx of interested parties, and solidify your center’s reputation in the senior living space. While each agency comes with its unique strengths and strategies, aligning with one that resonates with your center's vision and objectives is the most important consideration. Factors like local SEO expertise, understanding the senior living narrative, and using innovative approaches such as Household Retargeting can make all the difference.
If you’re researching different senior living marketing agencies, Be More Digital would welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs. Our professionals have decades of experience in PPC, SEO, video production as well as our proprietary Household Remarketing which drives unparalleled success. Get in touch with Be More Digital today for a comprehensive review and proposal or take a look at our numerous case studies to see a sampling of some of our success stories. Our customer experience team is standing by and is happy to answer any questions you may have.
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