If your marketing doesn’t help your retirement community stand out clearly from all the others, you need to make some changes. You can’t look different from other senior living communities if you’re using the same run-of-the-mill tactics your potential residents see everywhere else. It’s time to rev things up so you can attract, convert, and sign more new residents. Here are 10 inventive ideas you can easily adapt to showcase your community.
1. Host an Exclusive Event
Events are an excellent way to connect with your prospective residents and their families. Even more, they give you a way to build community among your existing residents. So how do you ace your retirement community’s events?
Invitees to exclusive events feel especially welcome. But, invite-only implies that not everyone gets to join. So how do you choose who to invite? Target the prospects who are seriously considering your community, and make it a fun opportunity to socialize with one another and current residents. While you can tell them what it’s like to live in your community with your blog and website, this is an opportunity to show them how it feels to live there.
Remember, planning a good event takes time. Don’t rush the process, and make it count. Take advantage of all the opportunities your area offers at a given time of year. If you’re looking for inspiration, hold a festive seasonal event. Make it a summer swim or a November turkey-trot dance. This shows off your yummy food and appealing surroundings informally and gives folks a chance to start making new friends. The more welcome they feel, the more excited they’ll be to join your community.
It’s important to welcome your prospective residents’ family and friends as well. Most seniors choose a community close to where their family lives, so make it a point to invite them to join in the festivities. Put your best foot forward and show them what your community is all about.
2. Host Limited-RSVP Events
You put on programs for your residents all the time—educational presentations and entertainment such as art shows or live performances—but have you considered asking some of your prospects to join? Opening some of these events to the public builds awareness of your community and underscores your value as more than a place to live. Space is limited, so require an RSVP and limit the number you accept.
So how do you get the most out of these RSVPs?
- First, make a page on your website for them to fill out with their information to RSVP to the event
- Send an email to your prospects with this link inviting them to RSVP to the event
- Make a new email list of the people who RSVP
- Be sure to send them a confirmation email with a calendar event so they can save the date
- Send reminders via email before the event to get them excited
- After the event, send a thank-you email as a follow-up and tell them about future events
- Continue sending updates about your community, blog articles, and other helpful information
Remember, when you send a prospective resident information, think about it from their perspective. What would you be looking for when choosing a new place to live? If you’re particularly marketing-savvy, you can set up an email workflow to get the right information to the person filling out the form.
3. Solicit Topic Ideas From Your Social Media Followers
One way to ensure your social media posts will get shared is to involve your followers. Ask on your social media profiles for them to tell you their most burning questions. Using polls or contests will generate the most responses. Then use what you learn to educate folks via your next blog or infographic.
So why ask them for ideas? This approach helps you base your community’s marketing around what your prospective residents need, not just what you want to tell them. Your current and future residents are the best resources you have when creating new content. Social media is an ideal way for you to connect with them, so make sure that your online presence is both helpful and engaging.
Some ideas for a post to gather new ideas are:
- What are your biggest unanswered questions about assisted living?
- What is most important to you when choosing a place to live?
- How do you spend your day in your retirement community?
- What are you most looking forward to about moving into independent living?
4. Solicit Blog Topic Ideas From Your Residents
Moving somewhere new is a monumental change for anyone. Ask current residents what surprised them the most about moving to your community. Use their responses to expand your educational topics or as case study-style stories about living in your community. Don’t be afraid to make these personal (with the resident’s permission, of course!). Telling your residents’ stories and getting them personally involved is not only a good way to create relevant content but also to cultivate a strong sense of community.
When you get an interested resident, take steps to set up a good interview. Make sure you prepare your residents for what you’ll be asking them, who will be interviewing them, and when it will happen. The better you prepare your residents, the better your articles will turn out.
5. Start a Vlog
A vlog is a blog that uses video instead of text. Vlogging is incredibly popular among teens and young adults (your prospects’ grandkids or, maybe, their adult children), and quickly gaining interest with older demographics.
So how do you get started? Consider picking a few residents to take turns recording short videos about their daily lives for your vlog. The point is to personalize your community and build influence with followers. Remember to check with legal counsel first to learn the important do’s and don’ts.
6. Make a Guest Appearance on Local Radio or TV
Do you have a well-known medical or retirement professional who is associated with your community? Arrange for them to appear on a local radio talk show or TV morning show as a guest expert, either as a one-time experience or on a regular basis. They could discuss trends in retirement living, allay common concerns, offer tips on choosing the right community, etc. Advertise their appearance in advance, then use quotes or clips in social media posts, or expand on their topics in your blog.
After they appear on TV or the radio, check if the appearance will be available online or if they will send the recording to you. Be sure to continue using the information you’ve got after the interview. Post clips to social media, your website, and share them via email.
7. Sponsor a Fitness Challenge
Being active and physically fit is key for retirement community residents. Create a “challenge” for residents based on weight loss, miles bicycled, etc. Invite prospects to participate, too. You can invite them through social media, email, and through your blog. Offer prizes, and make sign-up and progress reporting easy. Compare results and publicize the winners as well as what they won. This shows your fun side and allows you to offer serious education about health and fitness in retirement.
Seniors will be increasingly confronted by health concerns as they age, so promoting and having fun participating in a healthy lifestyle has many practical benefits. Make sure that the challenge is appropriate for your residents’ age and level of ability. Don’t be afraid to consult with your activities coordinator to get more ideas. In fact, for an event like this, your activities coordinator will be your best resource.
8. Promote Your Appearance at Outside Events
Attending local health fairs or similar gatherings is great for building awareness. But why not generate more engagement by posting a shout-out on Facebook Live, asking folks to stop by and register to win a prize?
To take your event promotions to the next level, set up a QR code that brings those who scan it to a page on your site to input their information. You can encourage them with a prize, like a pair of wireless headphones or a dinner for two. Not sure how to sort the entries for the raffle? Try picking a random number generator and assigning the contacts numbers in order of submission. You can find plenty of free options online.
Don’t forget to follow up with these contacts after the event! Even if they didn’t win, they could still be interested in other events and information about your community.
9. Partner with a Non-Profit
Giving back to the community builds goodwill and gives residents a stronger sense of pride in their retirement community. Join forces with a relevant national organization such as the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, or American Cancer Society to host a fundraising event on-site, sponsor an offsite event, or recruit resident volunteers. Or choose a local organization that feels even more personal to your residents.
Giving your residents an option to volunteer can help them form bonds over a common cause. Don’t forget to use these opportunities to get photos of your residents, your community staff, and the non-profit’s staff together (again, with their permission). You can share these on social media and in emails to keep their families and other prospective residents in the loop.
10. Create Excitement with Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is the process of offering teasers that build anticipation for your next must-attend event, an upcoming announcement of a new service, etc. Dole out hints on social media, in emails, and through your blog, but don’t give away all the details right away. That way, people will look forward to your marketing communications to get the next clue.
As a HubSpot Platinum-Certified Agency, ClearPivot is full of inventive ideas backed by strategic marketing plans that drive exceptional results for our clients. We know how hard it is for your retirement community to boost awareness, generate excellent leads, measure outcomes, secure new residents, and keep them engaged as advocates. Want to know more about how ClearPivot can help you grow your community? Contact us today. We also invite you to download our free guide on retirement community marketing:
