Marketing your aging life care business seems like it would be easy. After all, there is an abundance of customers in this demographic needing your help. The aging population is soon to become the largest cohort in our society. You, as a professional in the senior care space, are familiar and skilled with the specific needs of the aging client. As a PR and marketing professional specializing in multi-media placement and branding, I apply these successful strategies to my Geriatric Care Management business.
There is competition in your field, whether you are a Care Manager, placement agency, home care or home health agency. The field is bursting with franchises, independent contractors and agencies. First lesson: don’t sweat the competition. Here is where branding comes in. Sit down and list your unique attributes. List your hobbies, interests, creative outlets and things that make your heart sing. You are your brand. If you are a gifted writer, put pen to paper and write blogs, circulate them on your website, social media outlets, and send them to editors for publication in your local media outlets. (I always send my blogs to a local publisher of a senior magazine before distributing to my email list. A recent article I submitted will be published in that magazine in April!). Whatever your unique talent is, therein lies opportunities. Send pitches to local radio shows, television (if that is your thing), and print outlets. These efforts will cast a wider net of influence.
Determine your target market. If you work with seniors, chances are you will be marketing to their children or family. The target market determines your marketing strategy. Your language, images and messaging needs to speak directly to that cohort. Personally, I target people in middle age who have senior parents. They have their eye on the needle of time and are invested in aging well as they watch the ravages of time march through the lives of their elder family members. I started a blog, and bought the URL www.AgeWellExpert.com offering tips and age well strategies to become a familiar name in the aging space. As I grow my audience, I want to be the one the kids reach out to in time of need for their aging parents.
Social media is your friend. If you create your messaging and images, the cost is your time. Because consistency is key for the science of algorithms, dedicate time to these efforts, or hire an assistant. Make sure your messages connect with your target audience, are consistent to your unique brand, and help carve your own niche. Stay away from generalities in messaging. For example, if you are writing about stress, break it down. Words that are overused, like stress, become invisible. Use words that are descriptive that have not become buzz words in our societal lexicon. Replace the word stress with anxiety for example.
Google is your personal advertising agency. Have your website SEO optimized, connect your site with google tools, use google ad words, and spend on google ads if the budget allows. When writing content for your site, blogs and articles, remember to use words that your ideal customer will use to find you on Google.
Video is back! For a while everyone was touting the advantages of video. Since the pandemic, and with so many more people online, video has made a resurgence in its power. Start a You Tube channel, upload content and connect the link to your website.
Finally, networking is key to this industry. Reputation, trust, and familiarity will make the difference when your colleagues hear of someone needing your expertise. Join groups, and make regular Zoom appearances to keep your name top of mind.
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