Does Your Home Care Have an Online Personality?

When it comes to any type of relationship, personality counts. For home care agencies looking to boost referrals, increase client load, and be seen as the expert in the area, building relationships is especially crucial. However, most home care agencies skip the most important part of building a relationship with online browsers and internet searchers (who could be their next client): having an engaging online personality.

As you look over your website, social media pages, online resource library, electronic newsletter, and other parts of your agency’s digital footprint, do you feel engaged or a little bored? Today’s consumers, whether they are looking for home care services for a loved one or a new book to read, begin their search online. A well curated digital footprint, along with posts that reinforce an engaging personality, can help potential clients form a relationship with your agency long before they pick up the phone and schedule that consultation.

Here’s how to do it.

Social Media Matters
Running a social media page for your home care agency can feel cumbersome at times. Posting a few times per week is one more thing to add to your long to-do list and it can be difficult to know what to post. Add in low engagement or low reach, and it can feel like social media isn’t worth it. But it is.

Make sure your are posting regularly on one or two social media platforms. You don’t have to have a presence on every platform. Instead, focus on choosing a platform or two where your potential clients are most active. In many markets, Facebook and Instagram is where it’s at.

Then, challenge yourself to post at least 2 times per week. Make the content original, including graphics that are branded.

Create a Relationship with Your Audience
Online engagement increases as the community begins to form a relationship with the agency who is posting. One great way to start that relationship is to create touchpoints that your readers can expect and look forward to. Try posting a family caregiver affirmation each Thursday on social media or add a Staff Quote section to your monthly newsletter.

Eventually, you can form “inside jokes” or IYKYK moments with your community. This boosts the chances of them coming back to your content, wherever it is located, again and again.

Have a Face, Not Just a Voice
In marketing, we talk a lot about a company’s voice. However, we don’t talk enough about a company’s face. Most home care agencies I work with have a website full of stock photos. After we work together on copywriting, I usually suggest swapping out stock photos for pictures of real team members, especially those who lead the organization. A four-hour photo session with caregivers and leaders can leave you with hundreds of photos of the people who make your agency unique and special; it’s well worth it.

In addition to using photos of real team members on your website, consider having regular appearances of team members on your social media, video resource library, and newsletter as well. Adding this human touch will help readers become connected to your agency even more quickly.

Have a team who doesn’t want to get in front of the camera too often? Consider using the agency’s pet dog to post fun, intriguing content. Who doesn’t love a good dog pic and story?

Use Video
It can seem intimidating at first, but getting online in a video format can engage your audience quickly and get them to trust you even sooner. Try going live to answer a few questions once a month on social media or create quick videos that recap the information in your monthly blog post.

Keep It Professional
Having an engaging online personality doesn’t mean you have to stop being professional. Instead, keep a professional tone and language, but lighten it up a bit, especially when posting on social media.

Let Me Help
Starting a targeted focus on creating an online personality and engaging digital footprint can feel overwhelming at first. But don’t worry: I can help! I would love to get to know more about your agency and provide you with a customized calendar that will keep you on task without adding too much to your workload. Let’s chat about it!

Here’s to working on creating an online personality that matches the one you already have in real life!

February Marketing Ideas for Senior Living Communities

February is a great month to get to the heart of your audience with a few love-themed posts on social media and on your website. Looking for some ideas? I’ve pulled some pitches for senior living blogs and home care blogs, along with coordinating posts and ideas to inspire you. Remember, you can adjust these based on your audience and their preferences!

Senior Living Blog Post Ideas
If your senior living community, home care agency, or senior care organization has an active blog (which it should!), consider tapping into heart-related themes for this month.

• Heart Healthy Nutrition for Seniors

• Strong Heart, Strong Mind: Exploring the Connection Between Heart Disease and Dementia

• Why We Love Our Community

• 5 Ways to Show Your Aging Loved One You Love Them This Valentine’s Day

• 3 Valentine Crafts to Try with Your Older Parent This Month

February Social Media Post Ideas for Senior Care and Home Care Agencies
Your organization’s social media feed might not be the most active, and that’s okay. You should still post consistently, working to engage readers and begin to build their trust. Creating your own images? Remember to brand them! Don’t forget to cross-post your information on your personal LinkedIn page too.

• Video of your residents or clients giving advice on lasting love

• Recipe for a quick Valentine’s snack, like chocolate strawberry kabobs

• Weekly series of heart-healthy nutrition tips

• Super Bowl guesses from residents and staff (include who will win, score guesses, and commercial guesses)

More February Communication Ideas
Communicating with potential referral sources and clients isn’t as easy as a few social media posts and a resource blog. In the digital age, you need to find other ways of connecting with your audience. The good news is that you can still use the content you’ve written, just repurposed to other venues.

• Emailed newsletter with updated links to your monthly blog and social media posts

• Free, printable word search with love-themed words posted on social media, your blog, or emailed to your distribution list

• Video of how to put together a wedding-themed reminiscing kit for families to use during their next visit with their loved one

• An interview with your dining team about how to make the perfect chocolate cake

Need Help?
Feeling overwhelmed with trying to make your digital presence link seamlessly with your in-person marketing efforts? Let me help! Reach out and we can develop a quarterly or yearly plan.

Happy February!