Category: Uncategorized

As some communities began to loosen restrictions, we all came together virtually for roundtable #12 to share our challenges and successes. Cara Stefchak, our senior social media strategist, shared tips on using social media during COVID-19.

Check out the highlights of our discussion below. Please also join us for our next sales & marketing roundtable, coming up this week.

Social Media discussion

• What content is appropriate right now?
  • There’s lots of confusion and uncertainty about what is okay to say right now on social.
  • The COVID-19 conversation is constantly evolving in real time (especially in the field of aging services).
  • You’re addressing multiple audiences: current residents and their families and prospective residents and their families.
  • How can you be a resource at this time?
    • Download the CDC flyer: “How to Protect Yourself and Others” to post on your social media

• What we heard last week
  • Mental health remains a challenge for residents.
  • Communities are gathering testimonials from residents (virtual resident panels).
  • Lifestyle is a focus in marketing. (There is an opportunity to  enjoy amenities while social distancing.)
  • Virtual presentations, tours and open houses are happening.
  • “Old-school” messages still apply for prospects: Safety and security are key.
  • Let’s talk about what these could look like in the social space.

• Mental health
  • Opportunity to hold events that bring the community “together” and showcase initiatives you’re doing to keep spirits up.
  • Capture some moments from events your community may be hosting to use as social content: virtual happy hours, performances, socially distant activities, etc.

• Think: What moments are coming up that we can use to surprise and delight our community?
  • First day of summer
    • Delivery of summer flowers
    • Virtual happy hour with a summery cocktail
  • Father’s Day
    • Meal delivery to dads
    • Special offer on any services for dads
    • Entertainment or activity to honor the day
  • Capture and share these efforts on social!

• Virtual events
  • Whether it’s programming for current residents or information for prospective members, both can be promoted on social.
  • Promote online events on your Facebook page, or even set up as an event on Facebook so people can invite others and get a reminder as the event approaches.
    • Before: Provide the event details, topic, any relevant RSVP information needed.
    • Before: As the event gets closer, and even the day of, send out a reminder.
    • Before: If there are special speakers, encourage them to share and promote the event on their own social channels (encourages sign-ups and introduces your community to new eyes!).
    • After: Any high-level takeaways you can share? #ICYMI
    • After: Encourage people to follow the page so they can be the first to know about future events happening that they can join!

• Open houses
  • Open houses done virtually allow so many prospects who may not be in your footprint right now to be able to take a tour.
  • You can either capture them on video (with your phone!) to post after the fact or use Facebook’s livestream feature for a more real-time approach.
    • Tours of rooms, common areas (resident or staff tour guides)
    • A walk around the community (showcase amenities and landscape)
    • Interview a resident (prep him or her beforehand)
    • Not sure what to show? Using Facebook’s polling feature, ask your prospects what spaces or people they want to see or learn more about.

• COVID-19
  • Do you have a blog program in place on your website? If so, develop content that speaks to this time and link to it on social.
    • Examples of blog topics that can be promoted on your social feeds:
      • With current residents in mind:
        • How to Stay Active at Home
        • Staying Connected While Keeping Socially Distant
        • The Importance of Self-care in Senior Living
        • Five Virtual Ways to Celebrate Dad During Father’s Day
      • With prospective/future residents in mind
        • Planning for Your Future in Uncertain Time
        • Five Amenities Available Right in Your Footprint
        • Tips for Downsizing and Moving During COVID-19
  • Use your social platforms to provide the latest updates and protocol as they relate to your communities.
  • Over half of U.S. adults are getting at least some information about COVID-19 from social media (eMarketer).
  • Filter your content through the lens of: How can we be a resource for people right now?
  • Don’t be afraid to pull the curtain back to show what changes look like in your community. Be transparent.
  • As services begin to open up and visitation measures get more defined, paint that picture on social of what it looks like for your community.
    • Communicate updates
    • Continue to push resources
    • Show what they look like in practice
    • Talk about your safety and security services
  • It helps current residents stay informed and shows prospects that you’re on top of things.

• What are communities hearing from their social communities right now?
  • When we shoot videos, we put them on YouTube and link to them on Facebook. We’ve had 127 page followers since COVID-19 started. We’ve never done so many videos. My goal is to show people at home how our residents are not socially isolated. People think our residents have to stay in their rooms (which is not true), so this is a way to show them out riding their bikes and enjoying life.
  • I love the personal virtual tour! It lends a personality to the tour. It’s all about building a relationship with the prospect.
  • Facebook is the best platform for senior living (if you were to pick just one). The other platforms skew a bit younger, which may not be the best fit. Facebook is an appropriate place to be playing.
  • LinkedIn is more for corporate messaging and recruiting (vs. outreach for prospects).
  • Facebook and Instagram are the biggest opportunities for general reach/audience.
    • Instagram allows for video content wonderfully; it’s a very visual platform.
  • Pinterest is a discovery platform. People are coming here looking for inspiration, DIY items, general wellness content (which may be appropriate for our space). We haven’t seen any senior living organizations on Pinterest, but it could be interesting.
  • Ideas discussed:
    • Featuring different team members on social media to explain their roles
    • Virtual tours so prospects can see your community
    • Sharing relevant news articles on your social channel — you don’t need to build from nothing; include other sources
    • Advice that residents would give to graduates
    • Social space is moving toward user-generated content vs. high-quality, produced content. Taking photos with your iPhone is perfectly acceptable.

• Questions for the group
  • Is anyone doing any off-campus events?
    • It doesn’t appear that any other communities on the call had done so yet.
    • If doing this, be sure to tag the event space (example: a botanical garden) in your social media post pre- and post-event to expand your audience reach.

Join the next roundtable on June 18!

You are welcome to join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, June 18, at 12 p.m. ET.

You don’t have to be a client to join — all are welcome. For call-in information, email DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

Communities in different parts of the country came together last Thursday to share their thoughts and challenges as shutdowns continue. Jackie Stone, VP of sales at Varsity, joined our general discussion to share insights on virtual event topics and processes during social distancing.

Check out the takeaways below. You are also welcome to join our next sales & marketing roundtable, coming up this week.

Jackie leads a discussion on virtual presentations:

• Presentation objectives
  • New lead generation
    • Use the purchased email list and lead base
    • Select universal topics of interest to anyone
    • Ensure that the presentation represents the lifestyle at the community and reinforces the established brand
  • Sales presentation
    • Target the lead base
    • Address common objections
      • “I’m not ready yet.”
      • “I want to stay independent.”
      • “I’ve lived here for 50 years; I don’t know where to start.”
      • “This apartment is so small.”
      • “I don’t want to live with all old people.”
      • “How would I even go about selling my home?”
      • “The economy/stock market is unstable.”
    • Personalize to the prospect
      • Customized to each individual prospect — what he or she values in life and in a community

• Potential presentation topics
  • New lead generation
    • Mindfulness — Putting Your Practice Into Place
    • Healthy Aging: Achieving Wellness in All Dimensions
    • Living a Big Life
    • Dispelling the Myths of Retirement Living
  • Sales presentations
    • Decluttering Your Life to Make Room for Experiences
    • Living a Big Life
    • Bridging the Gap Between “I’m Not Ready Yet” and “I Wish I Had Done This Sooner”
    • Protecting Your Nest Egg
    • Does a Life Plan Community Make Sense for Me?
    • Selling Your Home in a Virtual World
  • Personalizing to the prospect
    • Presentation of the community’s services, amenities, residences and benefits
    • Video walking tour of the community
    • Happy hour Zoom call

• Marketing automation
  • Targeting prospects
    • Email seminar invitation
    • Confirmation and login instructions
    • Resending of seminar invitation to those that did not open the original email
    • Reminder email two days prior to the event
  • Communicating with those who did attend
    • Post-webinar “Thank you for joining us”
    • Survey
    • What other topics might interest you?
    • Schedule a private appointment?
    • Next seminar invitation
  • Communicating with those who did not attend
    • “We missed you” email
  • Schedule a private appointment?
  • Next seminar invitation
• Typical attendance expectations
  • We’ve seen anywhere from 7–10, 25–30 and close to 50, so it can really vary.

Where are you doing to go from here with marketing?

• It depends on your community.
  • Examples:
    • One community is stretched for dollars because of the current bond market.
    • Other communities may have more money to spend, with cancelling in-person marketing events.
  • You may need to move dollars around in your budget. The focus will need to be on engaging prospects in blue sky projects. If you don’t use the money this year, you won’t have it next year! Spend it wisely, and don’t let it go.
  • An AL community in New York has online events/speakers every week. It’s very buttoned up and structured — link to check out: https://inspireseniorliving.com/events.
  • I think we’ll be Zooming for a long time.
  • Follow these virtual call tips.
    • Do a roll call.
    • Ask what participants miss during this time of quarantine. If they say Starbucks, deliver a coffee to their doorstep.

Join the next sales & marketing roundtable on June 4!

We thank everyone for participating, and we invite you to join the next session on Thursday, June 4, at 12 p.m. ET.

You don’t have to be a client to join — all are welcome. For call-in information, email DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

Last week, communities swapped ideas about marketing during COVID-19. For part of the forum, our VP of Sales, Jackie Stone, shared tips and insights on selling, which are shown near the end of this post.

Check out the takeaways from last week’s roundtable below. You are also welcome to attend our next sales and marketing roundtable, coming this week.

Jackie Stone shares some tips for nurturing leads:

• Continue to reach out.
  • Statistic: In 2018, people who moved into Life Plan Communities had an average of 6.4 face-to-face meetings, 2.4 tours and 16.5 callouts from communities. Altogether, there were around 35 touches for a Life Plan Community move-in. If we put marketing efforts on hold for COVID-19, we are going to make a mistake. We need to reach out in unique ways and put our community top of mind for when they make a decision.

• Have COVID-19 conversations. Ask questions like:
  • What’s the first thing you want to do when this is behind us?
    • Sales counselors have been asking, “How do you spend your day?” so they can follow up in a way that’s meaningful to the prospect. If they are documentary or comedy watchers, send them links for something in that genre that’s on Netflix.
  • What do you miss?
    • If a prospect says, “I miss a certain meal from a restaurant, the sales counselor can say, “I love Fiorella, too. Maybe we can meet for lunch there once this is over.” In the meantime, you can send them a meal from there: a dish they mentioned that they liked.
  • Is there anything I can do (or get) for you?
    • One community connected with someone who needed to have things picked up from a pharmacy and someone who had just come back from rehab and needed groceries. It’s all about the relationship at this time and getting to know people.
• Be prepared for questions you may hear from people:
  • How many cases of coronavirus and/or deaths have you had in the community?
    • This information is a matter of public record, so we can’t say, “We can’t give you this information.” It’s best to give the data if you have it and be honest and forthright, then follow up with what you are doing to keep your residents safe and engaged.
  • What are you doing to take care of residents?
    • Share with people: Infection control is what we do, day in and day out. We don’t have to create these procedures — they are already in place. Rest assured that we’re doing everything we can do to keep our residents safe.
• Be prepared for objections you may hear:
  • We want to cancel our reservation and get a refund of our deposit.
    • If a person wants to back out of an apartment, you might say, “I’m glad you are safe. Let’s just concentrate on that for now. I’m going to follow up with you in a couple of weeks, and we can continue the conversation at that time. Be prepared, address the elephant that’s in the room, calm people’s fears and say, “Let’s wait on that and talk about it again in a couple of weeks.”
  • We’ve decided to stay in our house.
    • If someone says, “We want to stay where we are,” you can say, “Oh? Why is that?” and then “Tell me why you decided on moving to our community in the first place.” If they say, “We wanted to plan our future and not rely on our kids,” ask them, “What has changed about that?” If they say it’s because of COVID-19, explain why you are still the best solution — that hasn’t changed.
  • I don’t want to live around all old people who are more vulnerable to this and other illnesses.
    • One participant said, “We remind people that we are all vulnerable; we can’t see all of our aches and pains and illnesses.” Being in a community is always better because there are so many things that we can provide for you here.

Join the next sales & marketing roundtable on May 14!

We thank everyone for participating, and we invite you to join the next session, Thursday, May 14, at noon ET.

This week, Cory Lorenz, media director at Varsity, will join our general discussion for part of the session to share his perspective on digital marketing.

You don’t have to be a client to join the session — all are welcome. For call-in information, email DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

Once again, communities came together virtually to exchange ideas about marketing in extraordinary times. This forum placed a special emphasis on public relations and crisis communications. Our PR director, Kim Lehman, shared tips and trends, which are shown near the end of this post. For more of Kim’s insights, read her blog posts on crisis planning myths and chaos-proof crisis planning.

Check out the takeaways from this week’s roundtable below. You are also welcome to attend our next sales & marketing roundtable, coming this week. Details are at the end of the post.

PR/Crisis Communications Trends and Tips

We are working closely with LeadingAge’s national office on PR opportunities with various national publications and news outlets.

Editorial trends we’re seeing:

• Positive news, creative ways of keeping residents engaged and healthy
• Employees recovering from COVID-19 and coming back to work
• Testing — Can you get testing? Are you testing everyone? Etc.

Every community should have:

• A designated, media-trained spokesperson
• Talking points
  • How you are responding to COVID-19
  • Prevention measures
  • Number of cases
  • How you are keeping residents engaged and loved ones informed
  • Protocols for team members

Media-training tips:

• Practice your bridging technique.
  • Example: Answer the question, (“Yes, we have cases of COVID right now.”), but bridge it to turn the conversation positive (“This is what we’re doing to keep residents safe and engaged…”).
• Every media interview is an opportunity, but you don’t have to do every interview if it’s not something you can respond to.
• Editorials/opinion pieces can be written and submitted to publications. Most papers have guidelines, and you can follow up with a call to the editor after submitting the piece.
• We really can’t overcommunicate during this time. Examples:
  • A community shared stats with prospects and how it is addressing COVID-19.
  • A CEO placed a large ad in response to a negative article on senior housing.

Join the next sales & marketing roundtable on May 7! 

We thank everyone for participating, and we invite you to join the next session, Thursday, May 7, at noon ET.

This week, Jackie Stone, VP of sales consulting at Varsity, will join our general marketing discussion for part of the session to share her perspective on sales and outreach.

You don’t have to be a client to join the session — all are welcome. For call-in information, email DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

As COVID-19 continues to change life at communities, we held a virtual roundtable to share thoughts on keeping residents engaged while physically distanced. Check out the recap below.

Join the next roundtable on April 30!

We thank everyone for participating, and we invite you to join the next session, Thursday, April 30, at noon ET: A special PR/crisis communications session featuring Kim Lehman from the Varsity PR team.

You don’t have to be a client to join the session — all are welcome. For call-in information, email DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

Last Thursday, we held our fourth virtual sales & marketing roundtable. Communities have been finding it helpful to hear how others are coping with the coronavirus crisis.

We’re gathering for our next conversation next week, and all are invited to attend.

Join the next sales & marketing roundtable on April 23!

We thank everyone for participating, and we invite you to join the next session on Thursday, April 23, at noon ET.

You don’t have to be a client to join the conversation — all are welcome. For call-in information, email DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

We know that every community and business in the aging services space is trying to stay ahead of safety and communications for the COVID-19 virus while juggling the needs of residents and staying connected with prospects. This led us to think about some free and easy tips that can keep current and future residents engaged and upbeat as much as possible while their movement is restricted.

Here are some ideas we’ve collected that we wanted to share with you. We realize that there are many more out there, but we thought this would be a good place to start.

Keeping Residents Engaged

Educational opportunities/lifelong learning/cultural stimulation

• Online museum tours
• Free live opera audio streams
• Resources for online courses, books, etc.
• Giant panda cam (National Zoo)
• San Diego Zoo live cams
• Fast Company article featuring different options
• 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free 
• Wildlife cams
• The 50 best museum tours around the world

Spiritual grounding

• Free mediation
• Church services (many options online)
• Shabbat services (many options online)

Exercise

• Planet Fitness Free home “work-ins” every day
• Silver Sneakers  Free access to exclusive classes for yoga, cardio, balance and more

Connections

• Use in-house channels to share “coffee chats” with residents.
• Ask residents to send pics of what they enjoy doing in their homes to share with others in the community.
• Encourage residents to FaceTime with each other and with their families. (Send an email to all family members encouraging them to FaceTime with their loved ones regularly.)
• Caution against reading social media or listening to “hype” on TV or the radio, and encourage residents to reach out to the appropriate person if they’re at a low point.

Maintaining relationships with prospects

It’s important to always look for opportunities to follow up with prospects in meaningful ways, and the coronavirus pandemic is one of those (unfortunate) opportunities. Call your prospects to check on them during this health crisis, and ask if they are doing okay. Do they have food in the house? Is there anything they need? If they are local, drop off soup, muffins, toilet paper or other necessities on their doorstep. Recommend Netflix movies, documentaries, comedy shows or online live theater performances that might appeal to them. Give them ideas on how to stay safe, entertained, occupied and healthy. They will be grateful that you thought of them during this extremely stressful time.

In addition, we recommend virtual marketing events, where you can share details, floor plan walk-throughs, advice and just somebody new to talk with.

Social distancing doesn’t have to mean social detachment. During these troubling times, we all have to find new ways to stay connected.

The facts are clear: More Baby Boomers are working past what has been traditionally thought of as retirement age. In fact, a recent Pew Research Center study found that Baby Boomers are staying in the labor force at the highest annual rate for people their age in more than half a century.

Why Residents Still Work

We’re also hearing from communities that more residents are still working. That could mean full-time, part-time, freelance, consulting or owning a business. Financial reasons for continuing to stay in the workforce include not wanting to draw on social security and needing to help grown children financially. Some other reasons I’ve heard are nonfinancial. Residents are saying that working does some important things for them, like:

• Keeps me connected socially to a group of people I have come to appreciate being with
• Allows me an opportunity to keep my mind focused on something other than “retirement” and “getting old”
• Stimulates my mind, helps me remain relevant and gives me a sense of purpose
• Has always been such a significant part of my life — I can’t give it up yet

How Senior Communities Can Attract Them

So, how can senior living communities appeal to residents who are still working? Here are a few ideas:

1. Evening fitness classes — Whether residents are working from home or going to an office, they may be busy during the day. Traditional classes at 10 or 11 in the morning just won’t work for them. The same goes for gym hours. This innovative wellness program  features a 24-hour gym and flexible class times.
2. Smart home office design — When a couple I know moved into a retirement community, their apartment came with a small third bedroom. They redid it into an office, adding built-ins to make room for desks and storage, and made much smarter use of the space. Well-designed, highly functional office space that doesn’t need any remodeling to be effective could be a major draw.
3. High–speed internet — Wireless internet is the #1 desired amenity in senior living. It is even more important if a resident is working from home.
4. Co-working spaces — Residents who work at home would appreciate a dedicated co-working space where they could interact with other working residents. Click here to see one example of an amazing co-working space for seniors.
5. Work-related seminars and groups — Workshops and lectures on topics such as how to start a business or develop an online presence would be attractive to working residents and would help them build a network with their peers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor force participation rate for the older segment of the population will continue to climb. Why not prepare your community by designing features that appeal to this rapidly growing demographic?

‘Like it’ or not, we’ll never know, thanks to a new update being rolled out by Instagram that will prevent you from seeing how many likes the accounts you follow are receiving on their accounts. To see what this means for your brand, check out this infographic.

Now that he’s three-quarters of the way through the LeadingAge PA Fellows in Leadership Program, CFO Brian Mailliard shared insights into his leadership journey.

Thank you for spending some time with us at the conclusion of your third session of Fellows in Leadership.
“The third session!” It’s kind of strange to even say that out loud, because the time is just flying by. This month, we visited Cumberland Woods Village. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center owns and operates this independent living community. One standout feature is the 250-seat theater. The community puts on shows, plays and other events in this beautiful venue.

What was the theme of Session 3?
Session 3 focused on two topics that just about all of us deal with on a daily basis. The first topic was Cultural Competency. Marsha Wesley Coleman, Director of Learning and Development at Friends Services Alliance, led that seminar. The second was Team Member Engagement, led by Gary Johnson, a consultant at Monarch Risk Management.

What insights did you take away from Session 3?
Well, the session featured many great takeaways. Here are a few that stood out:

1. Be aware of biases. The Cultural Competency workshop really got me thinking about biases and assumptions. Because these biases are engrained in all of us from a young age, we need to be cognizant of them when we are back in our organizations. Marsha Wesley Coleman showed us an eye-opening TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, entitled  “The Dangers of a Single Story.” This inspiring talk highlights the hazards of looking at a people or culture from a limited pointed of view. Anyone who hasn’t seen it should watch it.

2. Create an environment that engages team members. Studies show that 70% of  team members feel disengaged at work. That’s why Gary’s session focused on three things we can do to create more engaging workplace environments. First of all, take a collaborative approach to problem solving. Secondly, create equality between managers and employees. Lastly, personalize the work experience through individual recognition.

3. Don’t try to change employees. Something that really stuck with me? The principle Gary taught of not trying to change peoples’ behavior. Rather, he encouraged us to change their situation instead. That change will then influence their behavior.

4. Notice your own actions. The program is teaching me to always be aware of how my actions, assumptions and attitudes influence those around me.

5. Always keep working on engagement. You can never stop working on team member engagement. If you’re not working on it all the time, you’re falling behind.

Anything else you’d like to share about your leadership journey?
One last thing I’d like to add: the class has really come together as a group. Because people feel close, they do not hesitate to share even on tough subjects. And the coaches and trainers really foster that closeness. I’m feeling very inspired by the other fellows.  In fact, McKnights’ Senior Living recognized one of my fellow participants, Jennifer Cisneros, as a Woman of Distinction for 2019. Read an interview with Jennifer here.