Standing Out from Other Care Providers

Article Image

Optimizing Your Online Presence

Standing out from other residences has become increasingly difficult, especially in the age of the internet. While many of your prospective clients may not regularly be online, 75% of senior living consumers use search engines to find out more about their options (Google, 2015).  An overwhelming 83% of nursing home consumers don't have a specific care provider in mind when beginning their search (Invoca, 2021), making search engine ranking a powerful way to access your ideal residents.   

Start with a Content Audit: 

Regardless of the length of time that your residence has been maintaining an online presence, a great way to evaluate the efficacy of your online communications begins with a content audit.  

A plethora of free online tools enable you to access a detailed snapshot of your posts, information and social media metrics to determine who is accessing your content and for how long.  

Free Online Content Audit Tools: 

  • Moz: Offers free domain analysis, keyword explorer, and link analysis. 
  • Semrush: Audit your residence’s website for SEO and technical insights. 
  • Similarweb: Offers competitive analysis, SEO keyword research, referral research and website performance analytics.   
  • SocialBlade: Tracks user statistics for Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. 
  • Phlanx: Instantly calculates social profile engagement rates on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter  

 

Develop Customer Personas: 

After appraising your existing content and generating an understanding of who’s engaging with it, developing detailed customer personas will allow you to tailor the language you use online to communicate even more effectively with your ideal clients. Click here to watch Semrush’s Buyer Persona Tutorial

Distilling your prospective clients, their loved ones or advocates into referenceable identities can offer you guidance around how to distribute your online content and the language you use to appeal intimately to them.  

Recognizing who each of these key groups are as people invites an exploration into the opportunities you have to delight them or soothe their pain points with your residence’s service offerings.  

Combining the information you find through auditing your own, and your competitors’ online communications, as well as your prospective clients’ personas becomes a powerful foundation for a robust online content strategy. This foundation ensures that you’ll be able to effectively address value-rich topics pertinent to the senior living niche and establish your organization as a thought leader in the space.  

Maximizing Your Relationships with Senior Living Advisors

While much of your outgoing communication will angle towards prospective residents and their loved ones, special attention should be paid to Senior Living Advisors, social workers, hospital discharge coordinators, and other healthcare practitioners. These senior care professionals occupy the valuable space between seniors seeking support and residences like yours. 

Maintain Warm, Open Lines of Communication  

Senior Living Advisors, social workers, hospital discharge coordinators, and other healthcare professionals, in your area can provide an additional pipeline of valuable leads. Ensuring that these advocates are the first to know about any significant changes in your residence arms them with the information they need to recommend your home ahead of your competitors. 

Make Your Residence’s Information Accessible 

One-on-one updates aren’t always possible, so ensuring that the information they need is accessible is paramount. Robust residence listings on niche-specific platforms like caredupon.ca can easily support this relationship.  

While Cared Upon’s intent is to ensure that seniors and their families have access to relevant information, residences who’ve optimized their listings provide invaluable assets to advocates to refer to their clients. Profiles complete with photos, videos, well-written descriptions and fleshed-out descriptions of amenities regularly outshine competitors.  

Create a Bank of Reviews and Positive Testimonials

In addition to optimized online residence listings, Cared Upon provides an honest, secure hub for residents and their families or friends to share their experience with your residence. Each of these insights is a priceless differentiator. Incentivizing reviews from existing residents and their loved ones can be an impactful way to communicate your residence’s value over and above your competitors. 

How CaredUpon.ca Works for You:  

  • Customizable residence profiles showcase your best photos and videos 
  • Reviews are individually vetted for honesty and accuracy before they’re posted  
  • Care providers are encouraged to respond directly to reviewers  
  • The platform is specifically tailored for prospective residents, their families, and Senior Living Advisors  
  • “What about negative reviews?” While receiving negative or dishonest online reviews can make care providers feel like they’re putting their reputations at risk, Care Upon offers a unique solution to this common concern. The platform’s strict vetting process allows care providers to take a proactive approach to resolving issues brought up in poor reviews, well before they’re posted.  

Repurpose Positive Reviews

The insights you’ve received from current residents and their loved ones are a testament to the great care you provide. Maximize the impact of these positive reviews by sharing them beyond your online profile in places like:  

  • Your website and social media channels 
  • Your residence’s newsletter  
  • Bulletin boards throughout your care home  
  • Branded print material like informational brochures or booklets 
  • The materials you provide to other senior living professionals 

Expanding the reach of your reviews helps you outshine your competition by building a strong, positive, and credible reputation.   


Helpful