Imagine.

Your marketing budget is blown.  Your hot leads are cold. And, your occupancy just took a nosedive. What do you do? Stay calm. You’ve got plenty of tools at your disposal. You just need to know how to use them.

Chances are, your community has several sources you can use to help boost brand awareness. But if your teams aren’t communicating, you’ll miss opportunities to attract prospects. Here, three tips to help build buzz around your community without breaking the bank.

 

Share your events.

Take advantage of free platforms like Eventbrite and share community events with a wider audience. Live entertainment, happy hour and outings are already on your activities schedule. Why not invite the public over to experience all your community has to offer?

Presumably, your life enrichment budget covers most resident activities. So having a few interested prospects over for a themed happy hour, or extending an invite on an afternoon outing, is cost-effective. It’s also a wonderful way to show-off your community.

 

Share your good news.

Does your marketing plan include a strategy for earning media mentions? It should. Landing a story in your local newspaper puts your community in front of your ideal resident. For free. Talk with your team and brainstorm about upcoming events, community milestones, and inspiring resident stories. Once you have a newsworthy story, send a compelling pitch to local outlets. A word of caution – media pitching takes skill. Be sure you have the appropriate team members working with the media. It’s also a good idea to loop in operations for an added layer of support.

 

Share with your followers.

Facebook is the preferred platform for older adults age 55+. Still, many senior living communities have been slow to adopt social media as part of their marketing plan. If you’re not taking full advantage of Facebook, a sales superpower, you’re missing out. As a result, you could be losing leads.

Since posting to your community’s page is absolutely free, there’s no need to worry about busting your marketing budget. A thoughtful strategy that includes posting regular updates, good content, quality images and positive reviews to your community’s page can do wonders for reputation, creating the buzz you need to build a new leads list. Boosting posts and ads to a targeted audience is another sales savvy way to reach potential residents.

How resourceful is your sales and marketing team? If your community relies soley on for-profit referral services for leads, it’s time to teach your team some new strategies. Reevalute your marketing plan, identify new opportunities, and attract new prospects using these top tips.

Need more support? Maximum Communications is here to help. Contact us for a consultation today.