Searching for the best assisted living marketing ideas that will help you stand out? More importantly, increase occupancy and brand awareness? Finding effective marketing strategies for senior living takes time to build and gain traction online. That’s why it’s important to create a cohesive yet unique marketing strategy that will attract more residents to your one-of-a-kind assisted living community.

So, what are the top assisted living marketing ideas? In this guide, we break down the top 5 senior living advertising strategies that we have used to help our clients succeed. From a custom website, video, photography and blogging efforts to referral listings, social media, and more. This strategic approach hits all bases and allows you to reach a larger audience.

First and foremost, before you can do any type of online promotion, you need a hub to drive users to. This hub acts as a marketing tool that works 24/7. Your custom website should not only define your business, but it’s a destination that should be easy to navigate, user-friendly, and mobile-optimized. A customized assisted living website developed by professionals is essential in today’s digital age.

In addition to having a fully-functioning website that showcases all of your senior living options, implementing an effective SEO strategy is crucial to rank well on search engines. Think about it this way… when a potential resident makes a search on Google for “assisted living options,” the goal is to rank on the first page. When you rank on the first few pages, they can easily find your senior living community and learn more information. It might sound easy, but it does take extensive keyword and competitive research to develop a game plan that works. Not to mention, search engine optimization isn’t a one and done implementation. It requires constant monitoring and staying on top of the search trends to be ahead of the game, and most importantly, ahead of competitors.

Another important element to developing an assisted living sales and marketing campaign is video and photography. Now that you have a website with an implemented SEO strategy, backing that up with video production services like film content and cohesive photography is key. Stock photography is a thing of the past! Residents want to see how your community is different than the competitor. Using a professional video production company does just that and will help every step of the way.

This content is ideal as it’s useful for website images, YouTube, social media and Google listings. Customers will be able to connect with your brand and community on a more personal level. This content should show the many different living options your community has, events and activities, food offerings, and the community. Giving residents a glimpse into their potential home helps in the decision-making process down the line.

Are you answering the questions your audience is asking online? Blogging is another marketing tactic that allows you to be the expert in your field. By writing blog content that discusses the topics that your audience is interested in allows them to build trust with your brand. Not only instilling trust, but they will turn to your place of business when they have questions, or are looking for a senior care facility. More importantly, blogging goes together with SEO efforts. Curating content based upon search trends allows you to get in front of new customers, and if done right, on the first few pages of Google.

Monthly blogging helps your company leave its mark in the assisted living industry. Not only are you serving them content that they want to learn more about, you are staying consistent and constantly reminding users about your community.

Sure, you can sell your business and services all day long, but customers always need a second opinion before making any big decision. Who exactly are they getting those second opinions from? Referral listings and directories! Google, Yelp, and Facebook are all review sites where individuals can share their experiences. In addition to those social channels, sites like Senior Living, A Place for Mom, and Senior Advisor are all platforms allowing people to share their thoughts.

What does this mean for you? It’s crucial to earn honest, real and quality reviews about your senior living community. Too many 5-star ratings might look fishy, so taking measures like paying for reviews is risky. Now, too many 1-star reviews will keep people away, very far away. The best strategy to earning reviews is with an online reputation management system in place. As well as always providing top-notch customer service. These reviews will assist in the decision-making process of residents, and help with your assisted living marketing strategy.

When jotting down assisted living marketing ideas, make sure this one is also on the list. Social media is key to running a successful business. Not only does having social media accounts like Facebook, YouTube, Google, Twitter, Instagram, etc. help get the word about what is going on at your community, it also helps increase visibility. Social platforms are the best way to keep family members in the loop. Posting photos and videos from events as well as showcasing all the activities going on is a great start. Additionally, using these channels as an outlet for blog content and announcements is another way to drive people to the website.