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As marketers, and consumers for that matter, we all know that two of the most powerful factors in a purchasing decision are a) trying a great product, and b) hearing positive word-of-mouth from someone we trust.

So, how can we help people experience our product for themselves and tell others about it? A quick brainstorm at GlynnDevins resulted in these 10 ideas for increasing visits to senior living communities:

1. Offer a Mom & Daughter Weekend Stay. Put your best foot forward (with plenty of attentive staff), and show both the prospect and her adult child just how appealing a senior living lifestyle can be. Trust me, they’ll tell their friends.

2. Host a Local Walk for Fitness or Charity. If your community has beautiful grounds and walking trails, what better way to showcase these features? Or, if your community is centrally located in a desirable neighborhood, here’s a great way to promote it.

3. Teach Seniors to Use Facebook in Your Computer Center. Help them connect with others by introducing them to Social Networking 101. Maybe even direct them to your community’s Facebook fan page!

4. Encourage New Residents to Show Off Their New Home. Offer to provide catering, so guests can sample the great food and friendly surroundings inside your community.

5. Start a Monthly Book Club in Your Library or Multi-media Room. Or, if you have the accommodations, maybe it’s a screening of a new film.

6. Collect Food for Kids in Need. Be a location to collect and assemble backpacks full of nutritious food for area schoolchildren who may not have healthy snacks over the weekend.

7. Make a Fresh Impression with a Farmer’s Market. If your community has a large parking lot or grounds available, invite farmers to sell their locally grown fruits and vegetables. What a great way to promote healthy living!

8. Host an Annual Event. With Halloween approaching, how about offering a safe place for kids to trick or treat and parents to relax?

9. Have a “Day In The Life.” Open up parts of your community so prospects can sample your dining, fitness and activities.

10.  Get to Know Local Clubs and Organizations. Chances are, your community has large spaces that could accommodate regular meetings of these groups.

In most cases, all you need is an energetic staff and a welcoming environment. So hopefully, you already have all the tools you need, right inside your community.

Let’s exchange some ideas. I’d love to hear what your community is doing to generate positive word-of-mouth. What new and creative ideas do you have for helping people experience our product?

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I received a message the other day, “Agnes Keller has added you as a friend on Facebook.” Not so surprising, right? I get messages like this every day. Except that Agnes is my 96-year-old grandma.

Some research into this strange phenomenon revealed that my cousin had set up Grandma’s account and she’s really not comfortable using it yet. But Grandma joining Facebook has spawned a virtual family reunion the likes of which the Kellers have never seen. My parents, aunts and uncles, and second cousins – all 65+ – from coast to coast are sharing photos, joining groups, connecting and communicating, and having great fun doing it.

And it’s not just my family. More and more people 50+ are joining Facebook every day. In fact, people are now spending more time on social networking sites than email. 

What does this mean for those of us in the field of senior living? The possibilities are endless, but the gist is we have exciting new opportunities to reach seniors and their adult children. By embracing and adapting to changing technology and media usage, we can be leaders in this exciting new age of digital marketing.

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