What Are The Challenges of Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) Marketing?

With a value of almost $92 billion in 2022 driven by almost 70 million baby boomers in the United States turning 65 between 2011 and 2030, the assisted living industry is poised to continue growing in the coming years.  Despite the ever-growing demand, assisted living facilities (ALF) find that they must stand out from the competition in order to gain the attention of potential residents.  Add to that a sizable portion of people surveyed expressing a lack of trust with assisted living stemming from the time of the pandemic and you have quite the challenge for any ALF looking to cater to their portion of an increasingly aging population. 

What Are The Types of ALF Marketing Strategies?

This is where having an effective marketing plan for your ALF comes in.  This includes creating a strong and memorable brand identity representing your facility’s goals and values in its logo, slogan, and mission statement.  You’ll also need to optimize your website not only with strategically placed Calls-To-Action (CTA) but also with an intuitive and mobile-friendly interface.  Your blog and social media should offer relevant and noteworthy content that leans toward the concrete rather than the inspirational, with transparency being key.  Companies and even nonprofits have also been utilizing periodic newsletters or e-mail marketing campaigns, video marketing, and the like in their marketing plans; however, we’d like to take your ALF marketing efforts one step further by highlighting some strategies in this post that would help differentiate you from your competitors. 

Copyright Andrea Piacquadio

Who Are Your Audiences for ALF Marketing?

First we need to identify the audience for your ALF marketing.  The seniors are of course top of the list, but don’t just limit yourself to first-time residents; there might be residents of other ALF’s that aren’t quite happy with their present arrangements and might be looking to transfer to other facilities that could meet their needs.  Seniors value not only the accommodations that would be presented to them but also the amount of independence they could enjoy during their residency, so don’t forget to highlight the activities and socialization your ALF offers aside from facility features.

The children of the potential resident (and in some cases, their spouse, other family members, or guardian) are most often involved with making the decision on which ALF to choose for their loved one.  While some seniors have adapted to using computers and smartphones, their children thrived in the digital age and would most likely be looking and researching online for the ALF that best suits the needs of their parent, valuing more the safety and care offered by the facility.  Thus, being transparent and specific in your messaging on what service and accommodations your facility offers would help in gaining the trust of the children of the prospective resident.

Although they might not be decision-makers, doctors, social workers, and organizations concerned with senior care are also keeping an eye out for facilities to recommend to their patients considering assisted living.  Your ALF marketing would register on their radars.  By fostering a credible and well-deserved reputation built on trust and quality service, you can land and keep your facility in their shortlists.

Copyright Andrea Piacquadio

What Advanced ALF Marketing Strategies Target New Residents Most Effectively?

Now that we’ve identified our audiences and generically discussed some strategies typically used in a marketing plan, let’s talk more specifically about some advanced ALF marketing strategies to help you stand out from the rest. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – You’ve optimized your website with high-quality content and images, but if it’s not primed for search engines, you’re missing out on generating leads.  By using relevant keywords on your website pages and blogs, your website can rank better in search results to make it to the top of the search page.  This will help in making your ALF stand out as reputable and an expert in the field.

You can start by researching keywords used by people searching for ALF in your local area.  Use common keywords over industry terms — instead of using “assisted living,” prospects might be using “nursing home” or “retirement home.”  We also recommend building your website on WordPress, WIX, or similar platforms that offer SEO plugins to help track and measure traffic to your site and give you an idea of which keywords are working best.  Look into utilizing Google Analytics for staying on top of your website traffic and conversion, then adapt or adjust your pages and strategies according to those insights.  

Paid Digital Ads (Google Ads, Facebook) – Another advantage of using keywords is that you can use them for targeted marketing efforts such as Google paid ads and social media, such as Facebook and Instagram.  Using paid digital ads in combination with SEO will help maximize the visibility of your ALF by bringing it closer to audiences who might not have otherwise learned or heard about your facility through traditional means. 

Aside from uncovering relevant keywords that potential residents and their families are using, you would want to start targeting local prospects.  You can target outside your local area, but this works better if your region offers a unique quality not found in other places, such as warm weather.  Seniors and their families would most likely prefer moving into a facility close to one another, for easier and more frequent visits, among other reasons.  Targeting local people would be key in solidifying both your ALF’s online and local presence — a baseline to consider before expanding to targeting other areas. 

As we’ve mentioned earlier, your target demographic isn’t limited to seniors only, as your campaign can also include ads appealing to their immediate family members or guardians.  Your Google or Facebook ads would need to be engaging, appealing, and relevant to your target audience for better lead conversion.  You might want to utilize ad types that grant you more control options over location and audience targeting.

Your ads need to sell what sets your ALF apart from other local choices.  You might even want to offer incentives like a free tour or consultation to get people to sign up and provide their contact details.  Digital advertising won’t be a one-time process, so you might need to tweak your ads from time to time as you learn more about what works and what doesn’t.

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Referrals/Reviews/Testimonials – Convert into potential leads all that goodwill and outstanding reputation you’ve built on a foundation of good service and trust by asking the family and friends of the resident to pass along some good words about your facility to anyone they think is looking for ALF’s.  Or better yet, why not ask them for a testimonial you can add to your website —  either in written form or an embedded YouTube video?  Maybe they could leave a positive review about your ALF on social media or similar platforms.  You might also consider implementing a referral program with incentives like discounts or gift cards for the loved ones in your care, or networking with doctors, social workers, and the like, by giving them brochures or leaflets about your ALF.  Positive word-of-mouth is just as effective and powerful as any traditional or digital marketing tool you can utilize.

Promote Your ALF on Senior-focused Platforms – Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even YouTube offer avenues for engaging and attracting prospects with interesting content and updates, while LinkedIn allows your ALF to widen its professional network.  However, there are some senior-focused platforms that your marketing can tap into that other ALF’s might have overlooked such as healthcare websites, senior lifestyle blogs, or local community forums.  Seniorliving.org has provided a great list of websites dedicated to seniors that is worth checking out.

Community Involvement – Demonstrate corporate social responsibility by getting involved or giving back to your community by volunteering or sponsoring events.  You might even want to consider partnering with other businesses or even a nonprofit with similar values.  Not only does your ALF benefit from the positive publicity and word-of-mouth, but it also builds relationships and goodwill in the community.

It should be noted that referrals, senior-focused platforms, and community involvement don’t target prospects the way media do, but they allow the ALF to obtain leads and then assess or vet ideal matches for their facility from this pool .  In some cases, they might even be able to refer certain personalities that don’t fit with them to other ALF’s that are better suited to their needs, generating goodwill not only with other facilities but also with the seniors and their families, contributing to a reputation that the welfare and well-being of the resident are far more important than monetary gain. 

Copyright Andrea Piacquadio

Of course, you can also partner with Cascade Strategies to develop an optimal and effective marketing plan for your ALF.  In addition to audience segmentation and brand development, Cascade Strategies can also help you formulate an effective marketing plan that includes SEO and paid digital ad marketing.  Backed by over three decades of market research experience serving a veritable honor roll of leading US and international companies, Cascade Strategies can help your ALF accomplish a better job of targeting new residents in the changing and growing landscape of the assisted living industry.  

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