Author: Adam Crooker

Social media continues to reinvent how people of all ages find information. That can mean news, ads, pop culture, world events — did I mention ads? The rise of digital channels, social media included, to predominance within advertising has been a rollercoaster.

At Varsity, we’ve got plenty of experience delivering across traditional and digital channels. What works in one camp won’t get far in another. And that’s fine, because not every tool is right for every job. Targeted social media may do well for a geofenced region, but whether it does better than a well-placed billboard is a never-ending debate.

Today we’re here to share some tips on social media best practices, and help you up your game without upping your budget. In 2024, it can be summed up in one word: quality. But what does quality mean in this context? Length, depth, authenticity and human connection — things that do not lend themselves to social media’s climate of instant results and instant gratification.

Here’s the missing link: social media being the start and not the end to the conversation. With a little strategy and prep, social media can go from reactive, one-off posting to strategic markers within your buyer journey by providing direction toward the quality content that buyers, whether in purchasing modes or on the sidelines, need to read. Where social media opens the conversation through stylish, well-summarized points, let the conversation continue on other owned channels such as your company website and blog.

With all of that said, let’s get into the tips.

1. Specificity and SEO Strengths

Google’s algorithms have shifted to heavily value longer-form, knowledge-dense content for SEO rankings. Add to that the continual emphasis on backlinking (places on the open web that link to your content, e.g., this page), and you’ve got two sides of a golden triangle. What connects those dots is practice — writing in-depth, specific content with an emphasis on keyword density. So, users that follow your social media posts to the blog have a good, shareable experience — and on the back-end, those posts are more likely to rank and receive traction from the open web.

Start small, by focusing on a couple of topics within your wheelhouse. Write often, and keep within the lines. As your library grows, between social and owned channels, the results will accumulate through SEO and into further buyer journey stages.

2. Stories, Perspectives, People

One of senior living’s greatest strengths is its inherently emotional nature. People care deeply about their options, whether they’re shopping for themselves, a parent, or another relative. And they should care; choosing a community is no small question — or small investment, for that matter.

Because senior living is so deeply rooted in family, care and humanity, let those things work to your benefit. Solicit stories from residents and their families! Get out there and ask what is on your residents’ minds. Using social media, entire campaigns can spring up from your community. Relations to historical events and anniversaries, current events at your community, “resident of the week,” the options are limited only by your imagination and Wi-Fi speed.

3. Always Call to Action

Including a CTA on social media to drive traffic is the classic example. But not every post should be designed to drive website traffic. In this climate of “community management” on social, some posts can exist purely to drive conversation. Calls to action may help to drive discussion in the comments, solicit recommendations, or share resources that readers have found. As comments and interactions come in, so will your social performance rise.

4. Hacking A/B Testing

 This is one more digital marketing staple, with a twist. For paid ad campaigns, A/B testing has been a long-held standard. Create two versions of a post, tweak headlines or body copy, deploy, evaluate, rinse and repeat.

Taking the above suggestions into consideration, you can create parallel versions of the same post, or two different posts within the same campaign structure, and run A/B testing with them — not just to analyze performance, but also to leverage that diversity and get two versions of your content into the world for the price of one. For content that’s more passive or calendar filler, such as holiday staples, now your money’s going twice as far.

And that’s that! We hope that these tips have helped to start some ideas rolling.

Thanks for reading!

As a sales consultant, market researcher and mystery shopper with nearly 30 years of experience within the senior living industry, I visit many senior living communities every year. In my experience, I’ve identified some simple, affordable things you can do to make your community more appealing to potential residents. Even if you can’t afford to make significant updates to your campus and residences, here are some small changes that can make a big difference in the impression you make on prospects.

Be Responsive

• Keep a close eye on web inquiries. At a few communities, I filled out a website contact form and requested a tour at a specific time and day, but got no response to the request.
• Have a back-up team of individuals available to provide a tour whenever possible. After I received no response from one community and stopped by, no one was able to give me a tour and I was handed a brochure.

Enhance Curb Appeal

Just as in all real estate tours, you always want your property to wow the visitor at first sight. Some things to watch out for:

• Make sure the buildings are power-washed to fend off that dingy, old look.
• Keep your signage looking fresh — it should never be dirty, damaged, unreadable or have overgrown vegetation.
• Keep your landscaping well-groomed. Brown, patchy grass and scraggly bushes make a poor impression.
• It’s a nice touch to have a welcome sign at the main entrance for the visitor.
• Ensure light bulbs are not burned out or dead bugs visible in the light fixtures during the tour.

Start the Tour Off Strong

Take a look at your discovery room to make sure it’s warm and welcoming.

• Provide an area that’s conducive to intimate, private conversation.
• Keep the room clean, decluttered and neat.
• Offer your prospects a cold drink or a hot cup of coffee or tea.
• A large, mounted TV with a virtual sales platform sharing floor plans, amenities, site plan/campus can be a strong selling tool.
• Have documents such as floor plans, menus, fitness schedule, program/activity calendar, rate sheets readily available.

Make Affordable Upgrades to Residences

Even if you can’t afford to do a full-scale remodel on apartments or cottages/villas, there are cost-effective ways to show them to their best advantage.

• Ensure the front door to the residence is freshly painted and not damaged or scuffed. Place “Welcome Home” in the nameplate vs. nothing or the previous resident’s name.
• Declutter residences for a cleaner impression. Less is better.
• Remove all items left from prior residents.
• Ensure housekeeping cleans the residence prior to showing it. Ensure all available residences are cleaned on a regular basis.
• Stage your residences with new, modern furniture, rather than with furniture left by deceased residents.
• Remove or drywall over popcorn ceilings, which feel outdated.
• Update lighting. Large fluorescent lights in the kitchen feel institutional and not residential.
• Update everything at the same time for cost and time savings and a cohesive, modern look. For instance, in some bathrooms I toured, the lower-height oak cabinets were still in place; however, the kitchen cabinets were updated and modern.

Make It a Happy Ending

• At one community, tours ended in the performing arts center with an exit out the side door. I recommend ending the tour in the discovery center for a next-step discussion.
• Offer your prospects something to drink during the closing conversation.
• Consider leaving your visitor with a small gift — at one community I was offered eclairs branded with a ribbon printed with the community logo, and another offered me something from their cafe to take with me.

Follow Up Promptly

Make sure to follow up right away after the tour. I appreciated it when a sales director sent me an email the same day with videos of the apartments we toured, and also mailed a handwritten note a few days later.

Thank you for reading the insights I’ve gathered after mystery shopping many types of senior communities. If you have any questions about how to make your community more appealing during tours, please feel free to contact me at jgibble@varsitybranding.com.

Hello, I’m Jodi Gibble, a sales and marketing consultant with more than 28 years of experience in the senior living sector. As part of Varsity’s sales consulting team, in addition to sales and marketing support, audits and training, I conduct market research and mystery shops. I’ve mystery shopped  in person, via the telephone and on the websites of 60 senior living communities in several states over the past six months.

During my mystery shop tours and calls, I noticed that some no-brainer rules of sales and marketing weren’t always being followed. I shared these insights with participants at the Varsity Sales & Marketing Roundtable.  I’m expanding on that presentation here, in case you’d find such insights helpful as well.

As sales professionals, we all know these basics, but sometimes we need a refresher — or maybe there’s a new team member at your community who could use this advice.

No-brainer rule #1: Pick up the phone.

We all know that first impressions start way before a visitor sets foot on your campus. Your responses to phone calls, emails and website requests are even more important. Many people will not leave a message and will give up if you don’t promptly follow up on their request. However, it was surprising that only one-third of my first phone calls connected with an actual sales counselor.

No-brainer rule #2: Have sales counselors available.

When I called one community on a Monday, I was told the salesperson only works on Tuesday through Saturday and that she would call me the next day. If your sales counselor is off or they are on a tour, ensure that someone can take the phone call or at the very least have someone call the prospect back the same day. I feel that more people will probably want to visit during the week. Having limited hours is a missed opportunity.

No-brainer rule #3: Know your community.

I called several multi-site communities where the calls go to a central call center. The actual person was often unfamiliar with the community, other than rates and levels of care fees. In some cases, they mispronounced the community name, or didn’t know what state it was in! Solution: Make sure to properly brief the call center staff; they should know as much as possible about each individual community.

No-brainer rule #4: Get backup.

In some cases when the sales counselor wasn’t available, the receptionist, concierge or business manager did a great job  answering my questions. The sales counselor followed up later. Make sure there is someone (a backup team) to answer the phone when the salesperson is not available and that he or she knows the basics about the community. Train weekend managers and weekend/evening receptionists on what questions to ask prospects so that they can gather needed information for you to follow up.

In my next post,  I’ll share no-brainer rules for a successful tour and follow-up.