Challenges of Retirement Home Marketing

The Challenges of Marketing for Retirement Homes

One of the hardest decisions that we have to make as we grow old is the decision to leave home and move into a retirement facility. It can be a heart wrenching and emotionally draining experience. It’s a decision that is often times put on the back burner and avoided for as long as possible. At the same time there is a world full of marketers that are in charge highlighting the positive aspects of retirement home living. So how do we as marketers go about connecting with people that are making these life changing decisions? How do we turn a sometimes grim reality into a positive idea? It’s safe to say that marketing for retirement facilities definitely comes with its own set of unique challenges.  From initially connecting with our target market, to getting past society’s preconceived notions about the senior population and retirement communities to deciding on the best way to execute a marketing strategy we definitely have our work cut out for us.

The first challenge is making a connection. While traditional advertising is still very much alive digital advertising has without a doubt made its mark in the marketing world. Using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have opened up so many opportunities to connect with different groups of people. With everyone jumping on the digital media bandwagon it makes sense that that’s where you’re going to want to be to get in touch with your target audience. The challenge is that most retirement facility owners are extremely hesitant to give away part of their marketing budget to use on these mediums. The reason? They believe that digital mediums, such as social networking sites, are for younger people. This proves to be quite a misconception as the Pew Internet Research Studies prove that 56% of the 65 and older crowd are internet users. Furthermore the Pew study proves that out of that percentage 43% of those seniors have a Facebook or Twitter page. That’s a fair amount of people that you would be missing out on if you neglected digital marketing all together.

So we’ve proved a point that there are seniors that use the internet and social networking websites. But there is still the reality that 44% of the senior population doesn’t use the internet at all. So how do we once again validate that using digital media is a valuable way to spend part of the marketing budget? The Pew studies also point out that 92% of people 64 and under use the internet. All of the children and grandchildren of the senior population fall into this category. Chances are that when one of your loved ones is looking into a retirement facility you are going to want to do some research yourself to make sure your parent or grandparent ends up in a good place.

The next challenge is creating content for a digital medium. You’ve got to keep in mind there are several different types of retirement homes. Some homes are designed for seniors who are lively and independent and are just looking for a place to retire in a community of people their own age. Some facilities are designed around caring for people struggling with Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and some are focused on people who have health problems or just can no longer care for themselves. Each kind of retirement home is going to use different tactics and tones in their marketing strategies. The one thing that they have in common is that they have to convince the viewer that their retirement facility is going to be a safe and happy home for whoever is going to live there. The tough part is deciding on what is appropriate to say for each retirement home category.

It’s obvious that a marketing campaign for an Alzheimer’s care facility might not be as fun and care free as for a community for independent retirees. You’ve got to keep the content appropriate for the situation but at the same time you don’t want to make moving to a facility sound depressing.  How do you solve this problem? For facilities that cater to people with more delicate needs an informational approach might be the best way to go. Providing informational and reassuring material to the viewers is educational and can be helpful when deciding on a facility for a loved one that needs special care. The content for a retirement community that caters to a more lively and independent group can usually be a lot more playful and fun. Posts for this group might consist of fun photos of outings and information about the fun activities happening around the campus. So is hash tagging a post with #LMTO (Laughing My Teeth Out) going too far? It all depends on the atmosphere of the community you are trying to promote. At the end of the day you have to reassure your audience that your retirement home provides the kind of care that you or your loved one needs and that it will be a safe and happy homey environment.

One of the last major challenges that marketers face while promoting retirement facilities are negative reviews. You might read one negative review about a restaurant because someone had a bad experience. But chances are that it’s not going to stop you from trying out the restaurant if you are interested trying it out. It’s a completely different story with retirement facilities. No one is going to risk the happiness or safety of themselves or a loved one if someone else had a bad experience. One incident can completely destroy a retirement community’s reputation.  The hard part is that when a bad review comes out it’s not always the fault of the retirement home. The internet gives people the power to write whatever they want in reviews whether it’s true or not. So how do you combat this? Listen to your residents. Constantly monitor what’s being said about your facility online. Collect testimonials from current residents that are happy with their experience at the retirement facility. Fifteen people giving a retirement home a good review might just be enough to overturn that one bad review someone gave you for a silly reason. Online reviews have a lot of power to influence decisions both positively and negatively.

It’s time to get over the preconceived notions about the senior population and retirement communities. There are so many opportunities to reach out to seniors and their family members and invite them into your community.  Connect with people online, engage and communicate with interested audiences, and build a positive name for your facility. Marketing for retirement communities can definitely be challenging. Luckily for marketers there are strategies to deal with all of the challenges that cross our paths.

If you or a loved one are in need of a retirement home community check out some of the awesome facilities that my company works for!

http://www.azuramemory.com/services/wisconsin-assisted-living/

http://www.memorycareliving.com

 http://www.thecypressofcharlotte.com/assisted-living-charlotte/

Couch Cushion Camels

Since moving to North Carolina I've gotten the chance to spend some quality time with my grandmother. One of my favorite parts of spending time with her is hearing the stories about my siblings and me when we were little. It always amazes me how much of your life you don’t remember when you are young. A few days ago we were sitting down eating dinner and my grandma began to tell me the story of a time when my cousins were visiting. My older brother and my cousins were playing a game and they wouldn't let me play with them. According to my grandma I walked away unfazed and began taking the cushions off of the living room couch. I went into the next room and apparently “built” myself a camel and I began to ride the couch cushion around the room. My brother and cousins took notice and immediately decided that they wanted to ride my couch cushion camel.  Unfortunately for them I only made one camel and my grandmother wasn't about to let them take it away from me. She said it made them so mad that they couldn't play with the camel. It was almost like there really was a camel in the living room, when it was simply just a few couch cushions. Then, after telling the story, she looked at me and said “And that’s one of the reasons you’re in advertising…you have a wild and creative imagination”.

I’ve always had a passion for creativity and wanted that to be part of my future career choice. And my grandmother was right, I’ve always had quite the imagination. The amount of adventures that I created for myself with my imagination when I was little were endless.  And my grandmother is also correct in telling me that that’s why I got into advertising. After all part of an advertisers job is to make people see things or feel things that were maybe invisible or non-existent to them before. Sometimes you have to go out of the box…WAY out of the box…to draw attention to something. You have to be willing to use your imagination and try new things to get a product or an idea to resonate with people. I know I’ve said this exact same thing in my posts before. So why am I saying it now? Because lately my team and I have run into a lot of clients (as I am sure many others in the industry do on a daily basis) that won’t take that small step outside of the box. And it makes it unbelievably hard to do anything creative or attention grabbing to get people interested in their product. And isn’t that kind of the point of hiring an advertising/marketing team?

How are we supposed to tell stories, engage emotions, and create connections between people and products if we keep doing the same old boring things? Let me clarify something really quickly. I understand that not every service or product is elevated by out of the box ideas. For some industries creative humor or off the wall attention grabbers can actually turn someone away from wanting to use the products. But being creative doesn't have to mean making something humorous or completely off the wall. Being creative consists of trying new things and bringing new ideas to the table about how to present a product or service.The problem is that people are so wrapped up in the idea that doing something “out of the box” could frighten away new or existent customers. It’s a natural instinct to want to protect your brand and I sympathize with that. But what’s going to happen if we continue to always play it safe and continue to do the same old boring things over and over. The reality is that other brands that make the decision to try something new are going to crush right where you stand.

So how do we solve this problem?  Advertisers, marketers, and business owners need to start playing on the same team. Communication is vital. The more comfortable you are with someone representing your brand the more comfortable you’ll be letting them try new things. Let the business owner be a part of every step that is taken in creating a new campaign. Keeping each other on the same page through the entire process is vital. Advertisers and marketers need to take into consideration the ideas and concerns of the business owners. At the same time the business owners need to allow the advertisers and marketers to use their industry knowledge to make important decisions. After all most advertisers/marketers do their research and understand the current trends in the industry and might have more knowledge in a certain area than a business owner would. Let each other do the jobs they have been trained to do while taking into account each other’s thoughts and opinions.

At the end of the day both sides need to understand that some things are going to work and others just won’t. You’re never going to know until you try. I think both sides of the equation need to understand that failure is ok. It teaches you what you audience doesn’t respond to so that next time you can do better. If you want to do something amazing with your brand it’s time to start stepping out of the box. Sometimes you have to take off your suit and let your 5 year old couch cushion camel riding inner self out. It’s time to do something epic for your brand!

In the mean time I’ll be in the living room taking my camel out for a spin.

No Limits

This is the thing. If you want something don’t be afraid to go get it.

I’ve always been a big believer in dreaming big. I try not to put limits on the things that I want to try. I don’t think anybody should. Yet, we live in a world where people are constantly telling us what we can and can’t do. And the problem is that we listen to them.  

I think the issue is that we get so caught up in the “what-ifs” and we scare ourselves out of trying something new. It’s our nature to want to feel comfortable and secure in what we are doing. But because of that we often times miss out on amazing opportunities.

My two months so far in the advertising industry has taught me a few things:

• Sooner or later you are going to fail at something
• Some of the greatest ideas come from a series of rejections
• Even the highest level executive doesn’t know everything
• If you don’t keep pushing yourself to learn new things you’re never going to advance
• New challenges can be very stressful, but they can also be very rewarding

I’ll be honest with you and say that there are a lot of days in which I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I’ve failed at a lot of things on my first attempt. But that’s part of the learning process and because of those failures I have learned so many important things. It’s made me a better all around person. It’s also kept me quite humble in the process which is always a good thing.

I’ve learned the importance of immersing myself in everything I can possible be a part of. I’m on my way to becoming an SEO guru, I’ve lined up and will be conducting an interview with a big NYC fashion designer, I will be filming videos for accessories  for one of our clients, and today I was assigned as the sole project manager for a new client. And I’ve only been working for two months. I think that is proof right there that there shouldn’t be limits on what we think we can do.  It’s proof that you shouldn’t be afraid to dive into things and learn as much as you can. The worst thing that could possibly happen is that it doesn’t work out. Then you move onto your next dream. So don’t let anyone tell you what your future is going to look like. Create it for yourself. Simple as that. 

Stay tuned for my big interview with NYC fashion designer CARRIE PARRY later this week! 

Shakira, Shakira!

That moment when you realize that Avril Lavigne’s “Here’s To Never Growing Up” song inspired the copy you wrote for duel flush toilets.

It’s weird, I know. And why that song inspired the writing of content pertaining to toilets I don’t think I will ever understand. The one thing I know is that I had been stuck on trying to figure out what to write about duel flush toilets for quite a while. And as soon as that song came up on my Pandora playlist I was magically inspired to write a captivating paragraph on why duel flush toilets are so cool.  

Shakira is another one of those magical musical muses for me. You would think when it’s time for me to write something intelligent, captivating or inspiring that maybe a little Mozart would do the trick. Nope. Shakira is my girl all the way. Why? Maybe it’s because her hips just don’t lie. Quite honestly, I have no idea.

The point of this little rant is to keep in mind that not everything is as black and white as it seems. Everyone draws inspiration from different places. For some people it comes from music, for some art or text or even other people. Sometimes the silliest things can bring to light a brilliant new idea. I am hoping that I can always continue to be myself and draw my own inspiration out of the things I love and not always follow the traditional path. I also hope Avril never gets ahold of this blog post.

Anyways, enough of this silly little rant. Shakira and I have got to get back to work! 

Lights, Camera, Advertising

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about the career path I've chosen. To be completely honest with you I chose the advertising career path on a whim after high school. I originally wanted to study film. My entire life I grew up going to lessons at “Miss Betty’s drama school”, participating in school plays, community theater shows, high school musicals, took voice lessons, joined choirs, played piano and even had the amazing opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall. I dreamed of gracing the stage in a Broadway musical after every trip we took into NYC to see a show. There was something so captivating to me about being able to become a character and enter a new and exciting world. So why didn't I pursuit that dream? Well first of all I am incredibly clumsy and would have made a horrible waitress. I've got a feeling I would be waiting on more tables than I would be starring in feature films. I also don’t think my parents ever would have approved. Not because they don’t appreciate the arts but because they want me to have a successful comfortable career in which I’d be able to take care of myself. I don’t blame them.

Then I got to thinking about the “normal” working world. There are so many people that went the safe route and got a 4 year business degree. The sad thing is that a lot of them are waiting tables as well. So why is it that I, at 22 years old, already have the beginnings of an amazing career in the advertising industry? Two big things came to mind.

     

          1)  Working in the advertising industry (as well as many other business careers) is a lot like working as an actor. You need to be able to build your personal brand image and be able to sell yourself. Having the ability to convince someone that you are the perfect answer to their job description needs is a must. I’m not saying that in order to sell yourself you should sell yourself as someone you’re not. Please don’t ever to that. But you need to study yourself in a sense. What are you really good at? What can you say about yourself (that’s true of course) that will make you the star of the hundreds of interviews that people go through? One simple interview, or even email, is enough to change someone’s mind about you. Growing up and being involved in theater has taught me to use my strengths to my advantage and down play the things I might not be so great at. Being able to sell myself has gotten me some pretty amazing opportunities in the 22 years I've been on this earth. Every interview is an audition and you have to leave the employer hanging with something they just can’t forget about you to get the role.

    2)    Creativity is a large part of what makes someone in the advertising industry successful. I mean let’s be honest. If you can write a piece of copy about duel flush toilets that makes everyone want to run out and buy one the next day you’ll probably do well in this industry. This time it’s about being able to sell an idea. Movies are founded on messages. You might not necessarily agree with the message. You might not have any idea what the message is about. But when you have a character that can bring the message to life on screen things change. You now have the ability to make someone think and feel in a way the might not have originally. That’s exactly what advertisers do with products. It’s amazing what people will buy when they form a connection with it. You have to be able to take yourself out of your own skin and become someone different. By doing this you can grasp a deeper understanding of why someone might connect to a product. Why would this product or idea resonate with “Susan” a 35 year old single mom living in Chicago? When you’re in your own skin it’s sometimes a hard thing to do. Being able to see and feel though someone else’s eyes allows you to understand people on a whole other level. I know what you’re probably thinking. Those darn advertisers are always convincing me to buy things I really don’t want or need. Well that’s definitely not my goal in life. But to one day be able to create an ad that really moves someone or makes them think is a pretty cool thing to think about.

So maybe my advertising career isn't going to land me on Broadway. But it’s pretty neat to think that my love of theater and film can still tie into my career in advertising. At least to an extent. It’s nice to know I've found something that I not only enjoy but that I’m good at. I might not be accepting an Emmy award anytime soon, but I can always hope to be as successful as some of my greatest mentors and take home an Addy one day!

Tortoise Talk

Lately I have been spending my lunch breaks taking my aunts tortoise out for a walk. Partially because I have nothing better to do and partially because he literally will run into the same corner of his tank for hours trying to escape and it is unbelievably annoying. All I hear all day is thud, thud, thud as Poikey attempts to make a break for it. Unfortunately for him he doesn't have opposable thumbs. I have to give credit to the little guy he is always optimistic and never gives up. After a few laps around the porch he is usually tired out enough to nap for a few hours which gives me some peace and quiet to do my work. Today was different though. Today I went out to lunch with my teammates so I decided to take him out for a few minutes when I got home. Typically he will walk around, explore, and munch on some yummy looking leaves. But today he decided he needed a little extra attention. I placed Poikey on the porch and sat down to read though emails on my phone and within a few seconds I felt him tapping on my leg with his nose. Typically for a tortoise this behavior is used to determine whether something is edible or not. But he wouldn't leave me alone. He would tap on my leg than look at me and pose. I'd get up and place him all the way across the porch and within a few minutes there he was again, tapping on my leg, then posing. I finally decided just to snap a picture of him with my phone. As soon as the picture was taken he turned around and headed off on his way. The cheeky little diva just wanted his picture taken. I was able to read his sign language and give him what he wanted. And hence my ability to speak tortoise. I wonder if I can put that on a resume?

Poikey's Glamor Shot 

 Earlier today I met with my teammates for lunch. I've only met one of my team members face to face since I started working. I have to tell you it's a real adventure trying to find out who you're meeting for lunch when you have no idea what they look like. I did have LinkedIn pictures to go by but that was it. Unfortunately those weren't much help. I accidently introduced myself to one of the waiters because I thought he was the guy in the picture. Opps. Luckily I found the one guy that I have had face to face interaction with and he introduced me to everyone else. It's nice to know that there are actually real people on the other end of the phone! 

Overall today was a pretty good day. It’s also been a reminder that my life is, and always will be, an adventure. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Laughing My Dentures Out

Week four: The week in which you start to question whether you actually have any idea what you're doing. It's hard to believe that it's already week four. The past few weeks have been a blur of meetings, new clients, new projects, and learning so many new things. I am starting to become more comfortable in my role as an account manager but I would be lying if I told you there weren't days in which I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I'm not sure if there is ever a point in anyone’s career path in which they feel like they know everything. Luckily I have a reasonable amount of logic and common sense and can usually figure things out. And when that fails I can rely on the comforting words of one of my teammates - "Just go for it! You can't screw it up too badly!” I suppose that's kind of reassuring. 

 One of my most challenging projects has been setting up a Twitter page and creating a following for a memory care living retirement facility. For those of you that don't know these facilities are retirement homes for people dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. You get 140 characters to send a message and considering text abbreviations such as "BTW (Bring the Wheelchair), FIWI "Forgot Where I Was", and LMDO (Laughing My Dentures Out)" probably aren't the most appropriate uses of text I have to be a little more creative. I have to say though I do appreciate the humor of the older Twitter population. I came across one lady whose profile read: "Please follow me. I enjoy followers because all my other friends are dead." I really hope I have her twisted sense of humor when I am in my 80's. I’m also hoping that she was being dramatic and that in reality not ALL of her friends are dead.

In other news I’ve discovered that it costs $2.75 every time I want to wash and dry my clothes. Ain’t NOBODY got time for that! My aunt tried to sign me up for basket weaving at the farmer’s market. You know, just in case this advertising career doesn’t work out. Oh, and I almost died in a horrible storm this week. I’ve never been as terrified in my life as I curled up in a bathtub almost in tears. We were always taught that the bathroom was the safest place to go in case of a tornado. But let’s be honest...if a tornado hits your house and you don’t have a basement to hide in it’s game over. Kind of like the false security you get when someone tells you “You can’t screw it up too badly” so “just go for it!” Funny how these things tend to come full circle.

The good news is that I am alive and well and ready to finish off week four of my first real job. Wish me luck!

Wacky Doo the Clown

Today, after a long day at my computer working, I decided to grab some fresh air by taking a walk to the local Food Lion. I wasn't in need of any groceries but it is a perfecty distanced landmark to take a little hike to. With my IPod in hand I set off on my walk. I made it to the grocery store and decided to continue my walk by going up and down each of the isles. ( Yes I know... I need to find some activities to get involved in!!!). After a nice stroll through the produce isles and some time spent reading through People magazine I decided it was time to head home. 

I made it back to our complex and as I walked through the parking lot I discovered a new neighbor that I wasn't so sure about. Many people have a fear of clowns and honestly after watching "It" (worst life decision ever) I have to say I'm not a huge fan. The un-settling part of this whole clown situation stems from the clowns name "Wacky Doo". I mean seriously who wants to live near a creepy clown named Wacky Doo? This is the perfect beginning to one of those horror films. Just the picture of this guy alone is frightening. Luckily I have yet to see him walking around...but I know he's here! 

For now I am trying to keep an open mind. For all I know he could be a sweet old man with a passion for clowning around. Regardless my clown radar will now be working at full strength at all times! 

Hello North Carolina!

Well...I did it! This 6 year old little kindergartner with the paper hat is all grown up and moved to NC! 

It still doesn't seem real to me that I live in North Carolina now. And I have to admit it was a little hard to leave home. It's so easy to get comfortable in a living situation. Then all of a sudden...poof!...it's gone! My family did have a pretty good send off for me though. Like any good mother my mom sent me off with ice cream cake for breakfast and a bottle of mudslide mix. Thanks Mom! You're the best! 

Best Breakfast EVER! 

With my fish packed up in their travel bowl we started the 7 hour trip to my new adventure! I am happy to report that we made the entire journey with no floaters! Carl and Lenny made it safe and are happy to be back in their normal sized tank! 

Carl and Lenny had fun on their first big road trip! 

I am very fortunate to have my aunt in the area so I made the decision to move in with her for a few months so I could save up for a place of my own. The apartment is nice and I'm grateful to have a familiar face to visit with in the evenings. 

We do have a third room mate. He's a bit slow...and green...but he doesn't cause much trouble so he's ok to have around. Poiky is my aunts pet tortoise. Luckily for me he doesn't need a bedroom and sleeps in the living room! 

Poiky the tortoise 

Sunday I had the chance to do some exploring around Charlotte. The parts of town I spent time in where quite nice. It's funny to see so many mansions on the outskirts of a big city. A few of the surrounding suburbs definitely rivaled Buckhead in Atlanta, and that's saying something! For those of you know who don't know what Buckhead is just think "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and you should get the picture. The mall is also quite impressive, although I don't think I will be able to afford Gucci and Prada anytime soon! 

My aunt and I decided to grab lunch at a favorite local hotspot called the Rusty Rutter. It's a cute place on Lake Norman and it was beautiful. Everything I experienced around the city re-affirmed my decision of moving close to Charlotte. I've only been here for a few days and I am already in love! 

View from out lunch table on Lake Norman

My first few days here have been busy but fabulous! I can't wait to do some more exploring. Unfortunately that whole work thing takes up a lot of my day! But I have to admit I love what I'm doing. I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity! 

I could go on writing forever about the things I've done these past few days but it's probably best to call it good for tonight! This girl is exhausted! 

Pajama Pants Professional

Well... I've successfully made it though day two! Another 60 years to go!  

When I thought about starting my first professional I never imagined I would be doing it several states away from where my office/teammates are. It has been an interesting experience to say the least. Luckily I have a great team that is always in contact with me. They also have some really cool technology that helps virtually bring me to meetings which is pretty neat. It makes sense that things are transitioning to be completely online. It saves money and time. And honestly I have quite enjoyed going to work in my m&m pajama pants!  So far I have been given a lot of instruction in Search Engine Optimization. This is something that is SO important in the advertising industry. I am so lucky that I have teammates that will teach me anything (and sometimes more than I ever want to know) about SEO. I am on my way to becoming a digital expert! I wish I could say more about my work but I don't want leak any big industry secrets! Bet I've got you curious now, haha! Let's just say these past two days I've spent a lot of time on the computer helping to make websites for clients more noticeable.  

The next few days will consist of me doing similar work by day and furiously packing by night! I have WAY too much stuff! Moving to North Carolina this weekend will be quite an adventure!  Well I've better get going. I've got to go decide on which pajama pants I am going to sleep in and then wear to work tomorrow. Just kidding, I’m not really that lazy. About mid-day I'll change into shorts. ;) 

Graduation

May 11th 2013 I graduated from Ferris State University with a degree in Advertising/Integrated Marketing Communications. A mouthful I know, right? I was hoping the title of the degree would make me sound fancy so people would hire me. Haha, just kidding. In reality I wanted a career in which I could be creative, use my strategic thinking skills, and love what I do. So far so good. I also managed to earn a few certificates in E-commerce Marketing, Direct Marketing, and B2B Marketing while at school. It was four long hard years of work but they have definitely paid off. On my way to graduation I got a call from a digital/interactive agency offering me a position as an account coordinator. And this is where my adventure begins. At the end of this week I will be moving out to North Carolina to begin a new chapter of my life. It's a bit scary and intimidating but I know I have an army of friends and family that will always stand behind me and give me the support I need. My life has constantly been an adventure and I don't see that trend ending anytime soon. Wish me luck as I begin my new journey. I'm heading off into the real world with a good work ethic, excitement, many great skills from college and most importantly a sense of humor! Let's do this!

 (Mom, Me, Dad, Daniel ("Flat Danley"), Becky) 

 (Matt, Me) 

My graduation cap decorated and ready for the big day!