Chances are great that you – and everyone who works at your assisted living community, as well as a good number of your residents and/or their adult children – share photos, comments, experiences, “Happy Birthday!” messages, etc. through a personal Facebook profile.
Your assisted living community should do so as well!
Of course, marketing an assisted living community on Facebook takes a lot more finesse and strategy than sharing kitty videos and #TGIF memes with friends and family. What’s more, with Facebook’s recent change to its algorithm, you may find that your community’s followers don’t see nearly as many of your posts as before (even less so than the single-digit percentage that was the case before this recent change).
So we’ve put together a few tips for you when it comes to your assisted living community and Facebook marketing. Take a look below.
It All Starts With a Goal
If you start on a journey with no goal in mind, how will you know if you’re trip has been a successful one?
Answer: You can’t!
Success in business is measured in measurable goals. Before you start spending the considerable effort and money on Facebook marketing, you should decide what it is you want to achieve. Such goals could be:
- A certain percentage increase in visits to your community’s website.
- A certain number increase in how many people sign up via Facebook for a free informational session at your community.
- The number of shares your Facebook posts receive.
- And so on.
Learn Facebook’s Ins and Outs
Study Facebook itself, and read blog posts, websites and eBooks, to learn the best practices for Facebook marketing. Doing so helps ensure you’ll get optimum results from your efforts.
As examples, your community’s business page should, at minimum, do the following:
- Include your logo
- Present a nice cover photo
- Include a short paragraph or so description of your community
- Showcase photos and graphics that follow Facebook’s size and resolution guidelines
Study What Others Are Posting
Yes, you’ll want to look at what your competitors are posting, but take a look around elsewhere on Facebook and follow popular topics and trends among your target audience. What living – or now gone – celebrities do they enjoy? What holidays are important to them (are they big on Memorial Day/Veterans Day or is the 4th of July their go-to holiday)?
Follow prominent celebrities, movers and shakers, and politicians to see what’s trending. What issues or topics are your prospects following? Are they interested in Social Security/Medicare issues or are they more interested in staying healthy as they age?
Knowing their favorite topics will help you come up with ideas for blog posts on your website, which you will then broadcast to your audience through posts on your community’s Facebook page.
Use Facebook to Increase Awareness
Remember, to many people who are just starting their journey to moving to a retirement community, all assisted living communities are pretty much the same, offering the same amenities in the same type of facility. Facebook marketing helps you differentiate your community from your competitors. (And this is particularly so if you’re moving into a new geographic market.)
Post messages that are light and informational. Make sure to include links to your website's landing pages as well as links to your blog posts. Keep your tone informational: don’t sell! You want people to get to know you and trust your expertise.
Expand Your Reach and Cultivate Relationships
Facebook started as a relationship-builder and its stated aim is to return to that ethos. And because your posts are shareable, your main job is to work to create posts that your followers will share to their friends, family and followers.
Because doing so organically on a business page is becoming more and more difficult, you probably will have to advertise on Facebook. You can choose from many different types of ads;
- The simple “boosted post.”
- Sponsored – and highly targeted – ads
- Video ads
- Slideshow ads
- And more.
What’s terrific about Facebook advertising is that it lets you target your ads from many different audience characteristics including location, income, job title, interests, marital status, etc.
Share content your prospects seek. Seniors and their adult children looking into moving into a retirement community often are interested in how to finance a move, learning when the right time to move might be, solving issues around a move, dealing with a parent’s or spouses’ dementia, and so on. Share your blog posts – and even curate well-written articles on these topics and share them on your Facebook page – and you’ll be able to showcase your expertise, gain authority and – most importantly – earn followers’ trust.
Facebook Marketing is a Terrific Way to Deliver Targeted Offers
As mentioned above, Facebook advertising allows you to broadcast your offers to a laser-focused audience. Craft messages and ads of interest to your target market and you’ll have a much better chance of a successful conversion.
Advertising on Facebook lets you choose from more than 30 characteristics related to demographics, behaviors and connections. You can create “lookalike” audiences that closely mirror your current followers. Once created, you can use these custom audience groups over and over, helping you to grow your organic Facebook followers.
Respond ASAP to Both Negative and Positive Comments and Messages
In today’s world of almost-instant-everything, your prospects pretty much expect instant replies. That’s why you should respond to each and every comment – whether good, bad, so-so, awful, or terrific – as soon as you possibly can. (No later than 24-hours, at the outer limit.)
First, thank the person for the comment, even if it’s an angry comment. If it is a negative comment, thank the individual for giving you the chance to address his or her concern and then offer to discuss the issue offline. Never engage with an angry person – especially if it’s about a potential HIPAA issue – online.
Then, once the issue has been privately resolved to the commenter’s satisfaction, ask him or her to update their comment or post an update to their original comment. They may not do so, but it’s always worthwhile to ask.
Testimonial Videos and Photos Make for Powerful Facebook Marketing
What’s one of the most popular pages of any website? The testimonials page! Your prospects love to read/watch testimonials, and you can put that to terrific use by posting them on Facebook (only with your residents’ written permission or use on social media channels, of course!).
Facebook Ads and Your Facebook Marketing ROI
Advertising on Facebook can provide you with a terrific ROI, so long as it’s managed properly. Due to the channel’s algorithm changes over the past couple of years, it’s increasingly the case that if you want your business page to show up in followers’ feeds, you’re going to have to pay.
However, the good news includes the fact that bidding on certain keywords also delivers your ad in front of a highly targeted audience of your choosing! You have utmost control over how much you spend per day because you set a spend limit and maximum price; once those limits are met, your ad no longer appears.
We Can Help You with Your Assisted Living Facebook Marketing
Truly: if you’re not using Facebook to market your assisted living community, you’re missing out on this channel’s many benefits and potential fantastic ROI. A digital marketing agency that focuses on retirement community marketing will help you attract and close extremely targeted prospects to your social channels…and then on to your website….and then on to becoming one of your residents!
Contact us for more information on working together to take your assisted living community marketing to the next level. And in the meantime, if you’d like to learn more on your own about how to market your community, download our free eBook below, filled with strategies and tips.
