The New York Times published an article about how surfing the Internet boosts aging brains in its October 16, 2008, edition.

In that article, Dr. Gary Small, director of UCLA’s Memory and Aging Research Center said that “a simple everyday task like searching the web appears to enhance brain circuitry in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can continue to learn as we grow older.”

When we visit a senior living community and introduce LINK, our online community product, many depositors and residents are familiar with the web, but quite a few are hungry for Internet training. Even if seniors consider themselves to be savvy users, they have questions on how to do certain things or want ideas on where they can find specific information and/or tools on the web.

If you aren’t already, consider offering weekly Internet sessions as part of the established activity calendar at your senior living community. Feature new topics on a weekly basis like how to upload photos, where to find the best travel web sites, expose them to social networking and more! Check with your local university to see if there is a student who might want to volunteer to lead these classes or reach out to an Internet savvy resident or employee to lead these courses. You don’t have to be a technical guru to provide learning and sharing via the Web.

How many of you are currently offering Internet courses for your residents? If not, are any of your residents engaging in Internet courses at local universities? 

Social media isn’t slowing down, and more and more seniors are engaging in social networks. What are you doing to involve your community with relevant social networks? Are you using this form of communication at all? If not, it might be time to set up a LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Flickr account. Or, go start a blog for your community. Are your residents (or future residents) on Eons? How could YouTube benefit your community? The best way to understand social media is to dive right in. 

I know, I know, you don’t have the time. Perhaps you could carve out a small window of time as a way to understand the incredibly valuable technologies currently available online. The impact of social networks on the web is amazing. The best part: it doesn’t cost you anything to participate, only your time. Don’t take it just from me, see what Gary Vaynerchuk, a living example of the huge business success social media can bring, has to say.

So take five minutes and get your basic profile set up. I’m sure your children will be happy to see you on Facebook.

And let me know if you get signed up so we can connect!

Video is a huge focus on the web right now and seniors are viewing online videos right alongside the rest of the population. In addition, we know that video promotes click-through and engagement, which are two key responses you want users to experience when visiting your web site.

A recent Mediapost’s Insider Video blog post got me thinking about five reasons to consider adding more video to your web site and your digital marketing plan.

1. Content-rich video can add value to a site, including interactivity and extra content to engage customers and prospects. Specifically, online video can be used to bring senior living products and services to life.. It’s easier to tell a story with images and a narrator than to attempt to define only with the written word – especially if you’re introducing complicated service agreements or offerings prospects may not be familiar with.

2. Videos can bring your executives, sponsors and staff members to life, highlighting the excitement and passion shared by these integral community members. This is especially important for senior living communities in which executive directors and staff members contribute to so much of the services offered. Whether it is care or service, communities need to focus on developing personal engagement between prospects and leaders/staff. A 30- to 60-second introduction of your Executive Director, Lifestyles Coordinator, Chef or Health Services Director is much better than a static photo and bio.

3. Senior living communities often tell us that referrals are their best sales generators. Why not use video to highlight testimonials from current residents, excited depositors or adult children? You can even use video to showcase local professional influencers. Not only can you post these to your web site, but you can put video links into customer-focused emails to generate interest in your community and build relationships along the sales cycle. Videos within emails increase conversion and click-through rates for email campaigns.

4. Blue sky communities often have several years to foster a relationship with prospects and depositors. You can incorporate video as soon as a community starts coming to life by walking through the construction areas and talking about the vision for the finished community. Doing this helps to paint a picture before a community is fully established. Hearing the tour guide (hopefully the ED) talk about what’s to come will help those who are waiting for the project to be completed to hang on just a bit longer — it can also entice new prospects to become depositors.

5. Video technology on your web site positions your community as a leader in the senior living category. It also enhances your position as a smart, customer-focused technology provider, something more and more of today’s seniors are looking for when researching their future homes!

Stay tuned for even more digital enhancements, including how you can create your own private media channel, the next step for senior living communities once they’ve embraced adding video to their web sites.

One of the ways technology is changing the way we access information is through one-click access via your TV. This exciting technology created by Back Channel Media will allow you to use your TV remote control to click an icon on your TV and have information about that topic sent to your computer Internet portal. 
 
For example, if you are watching a TV show and the characters are vacationing to Capri, an icon may appear that you can click on and then you are opting in to receive more information on Capri via your computer.
 
This technology is launching in Boston and will be available nationwide in the next 3-5 years. It was designed to work with all TV platforms including digital, cable and satellite. And, it is provided FREE to the user.
 
I could see this working for our senior living communities as a source of additional information tied to a television spot or news feature. When a senior living ad/news feature is on the TV, an icon could appear over one of the images in the spot/feature and then a user could click the icon and receive more information via their Internet portal with a link to even more information on the community’s web site.
 
Check it out at:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFAAIVheQNw  or www.backchannelmedia.com

Seniors aren’t blogging or spending time on social networking sites?  Come on!
 
Seniors who were interviewed by the AP said that senior blogs offer many benefits for older adults:

• Senior blogs help older adults keep their minds sharp.
• Senior blogs keep the authors up-to-date on current events.
• Senior blogs are a great way to meet people around the world.
• It’s easy to share life experiences, wisdom, and information through senior blogs.
• In some cases, senior blogs give the authors a bit of fame and recognition for their efforts.
 
Think about how residents in a CCRC could paint a “day-in-the-life” of a community by posting a blog about their daily life.  The right person would need to be selected to share their activities, but this could be a great way to really personalize a web site and draw more interest to a senior living community by bringing users back again and again to read the blog.

Check out some of these senior blogs to see what seniors are doing online…

http://seniorwriter.blogspot.com/
http://www.timegoesby.net/
http://mymomsblog.blogspot.com/