We are often asked about social media and if senior living communities should be part of it. The answer? Why not! First and foremost, social media should not replace the tried-and-true tactics of marketing that have always worked when it comes to generating leads. Social media is just another means to enhance what is already being done and to build relationships.

Check out Providence Life Services. The suburban Chicago organization is embracing social media through the use of Facebook, Twitter and a blog. The organization’s director of communications, Melanie Jongsma, tells me initially it was a bit of a cultural shift for Providence Life Services to dip its toe into the social media waters, but now that it has, they are going full steam ahead.

Jongsma spends about one or two hours a day keeping the content up-to-date by posting a couple of Tweets, an entry on Facebook and then posting something on their blog. She will often post a video on the blog from an event at one of their communities. She uses a simple Flip video camera. And the quality? Jongsman says the videos have a “charm” of a home movie, and while edited in some manner, are still very authentic. I agree.

The plan for Providence Life Services is to roll out a Facebook page for each of its 11 communities. Questions you may ask of Jongsma, so I did:

Did you do training with staff? “Yes, to give them an overview of how social media works.”

Did you develop a social media policy? “Yes, but it’s not so much a bunch of rules as it is a reminder about how they are representatives of our company, even in the world of social media.”

Are you seeing results? “It’s important to realize it will take time. We’re not seeing movement from prospects, but are getting some comments from their grown children. Social media is the way things are going.”

Providence Life Services isn’t the only organization out there using social media, but they serve as a great example of how it can be done. Maybe it’s time to dip your toe in the water…

As the Internet has become a primary starting point for any senior living search, the growing field of web site analytics has gained even greater importance. This GlynnDevins webinar focuses on why individuals in the field of senior living should care about measuring digital tactics and explains what is most important to focus on first.

Intro: How to track web site performance through analytics from GlynnDevins on Vimeo.

Webinar below:

How to track web site performance through analytics from GlynnDevins on Vimeo.

Recently, I took time to read a research paper published in the 2009 Seniors Housing and Care Journal titled, Satisfied Residents Won’t Recommend Your Community, But Very Satisfied Residents Will. The paper was authored by Margaret Wylde, Ph.D., president and CEO of Pro Matura Group, and presented at the NIC Conference last fall. I highly recommend it for all community executives.

On its face, the findings seem rather obvious – that very satisfied residents will generate referrals. But the power in this paper is the finding that residents who are merely satisfied won’t. And it isn’t by a small margin ─ of those surveyed, 74% of very satisfied residents were willing to recommend the community, compared to only 19% of satisfied residents. This is a huge difference, yet how many of us make an equally large distinction between the designations of satisfied and very satisfied. As the author points out, “Discussions with managers of communities that conduct satisfaction surveys revealed that many consider satisfied as an acceptable rating.”

The paper continues to identify those areas that contribute to very satisfied ratings and, in particular, notes that these areas are almost exclusively the nonphysical aspects of a community, rather than the physical attributes. I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone that among a list of 19 nonphysical variables that correlated to very satisfied residents, I feel that my residence is my home and it is easy to make friends with other residents ranked at the top. I experienced this first hand recently at a community when a resident who had been there less than a year told me, “I already feel like these folks are my extended family.” She went on to say how they regularly entertain outside friends at the community and share their very positive experiences.

Of course, there is much more to this paper and this study, as well as many factors that contribute to creating an environment and culture that promotes very satisfied residents and a steady stream of referrals. But if you’ve become satisfied with satisfied, or have seen a decline in referrals, this paper might be worth 30 minutes of your time.

Typically in a news release or other marketing pieces, CCRCs are very quick to list all their types of residences together to demonstrate that the community has something to offer every senior.  In describing what a CCRC is, there is generally some version of language that says, “At Community X, we have 100 residential apartments, with access to a full continuum of care that includes 30 assisted living apartments and 25 skilled nursing suites.”

While I understand the value of this language in some situations, I favor an approach that describes independent living, for a lack of a better term, independently from other levels of care available in the community. In this approach, a news release or marketing piece discusses independent living apartment homes, then immediately launches into details of the lifestyle and amenities that surround those residences. In an entirely different section of the copy, generally much further down the page, the available continuum of care is described almost as if it’s an entirely separate entity on the same campus.

I’ll give you a couple of reasons why I take this “compartmental approach” in my writing. First, the vast majority of our audience thinks this way. It’s a major obstacle to get many seniors to ask for any type of assistance, because they see that as a slippery slope toward losing independence. So once you’ve grouped your independent living with your health care suites, it plays right into many people’s misconceptions that moving to a senior living community will slowly strip away that cherished independence.

The second reason for the “compartmental approach” is something we’ve all heard many times — “I don’t want to live with all those old people.” By describing independent living in the same sentence or paragraph as skilled nursing care, we unconsciously reinforce one of the reader’s biggest objections, instead of dispelling it.

The “compartmental approach” is designed to allow the reader to fully envision themselves in an independent living residence that offers the lifestyle they seek. We can describe maintenance-free living in a private two-bedroom retreat, complemented by a selection of great food, engaging friends, wellness-focused classes, and entertaining and informative social events.

Once someone can picture themselves living the independent CCRC lifestyle today, they are then more receptive to hearing about the security of a continuum care to meet future needs. However, we do a disservice to our community when we blur together what most seniors see as two very distinct lines – independent living and needing some level of assistance or care.

Learn more about web site analytics by gaining an in-depth understanding of the terms associated with web analytics along with what you should be tracking and the benefits that arise from spending time tracking the right metrics.

When: Thursday, February 11, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. CST

Register Here