Senior Living SEM: Creating a Sustainable Campaign from Matt Fehrmann

When future residents and their families are looking for a senior living community, they typically start with an online search. This is because the buying cycle for senior living is complex and varies depending on the type of senior living services they need. This is not a simple product purchase, but an entire lifestyle change - they need to do a variety of research, talk to the communities, take a tour, consult with family, and figure out financials. As a senior living community, one of the best ways to market and capture these interested leads is to implement  a sustainable SEM campaign strategy.

 

Did you know that there are 6,000 online searches related to senior care made every hour in the US?

Senior living communities need to capture the attention of the targeted prospects that are just starting their search, and stay top of mind throughout the buying cycle that can typically take months to a couple of years.

 

Your SEM Agency’s keyword research should help you identify the exact search terms that are leading to meaningful inbound conversations.

Obviously, if you provide memory care, you’d want to appear for that search in addition to the typical search terms like senior living communities. When you partner with agencies like Zgraph and Canopy, we don’t try to apply a cookie-cutter template to your campaign and expect it to work. We know that the senior living industry is unique, each community is unique, and has key advantages to highlight.

There are a myriad of factors that come into play to optimize your online presence and direct prospects to your sales funnel. Most of these factors have one thing in common: content! As the saying goes, content is king, but that’s only true if you know how to use it properly. When creating ads, blogs, keyword research reports, new Webpages, and more, start with your target audience’s buying cycle.

For senior living, we make sure to have a variety of campaigns to keep you top of mind during all of the following phases:

 

Awareness

• This is the part of the cycle where prospects have just begun the search. They are researching amenities and weighing pros & cons to discover what sets your community apart from your competitors. Having content that answers those common questions, establishes trust, and positions you as a thought leader is key. Geofencing and Programmatic Display Ads targeting buyers in this phase should focus on this very content.

Consideration

• Prospects in this phase are now curious about diving deeper into your unique services, pricing, and tours. With senior living needs, this could be a long process. There may be a variety of key decision-makers you need to meet with before the family comes to an agreement. We have observed that this is a heavy research phase for many families. Your Website should serve as a sort of “online sales counselor” to help assist you and your prospects during this phase, acting as a living resource to answer any questions that may arise. That means, the more content, the better. Prospects are often delighted to find that your Website answers the exact question they had. This is also the phase where most of the Google searches are taking place to compare options leading toward a final decision.

• Our Senior Living marketing clients are often surprised to realize that their community’s Google rankings are important even this late in the decision-making process, as some family members continue to utilize the search engine as a “go-to” resource for random questions that they have.

 

Decision Time

• Now that they have toured the facility, talked to the staff, and met some residents, they are going to start asking more of the complex questions and start asking for the next steps. This is where you want to give reassurance that the transition will be smooth, and that you are fully prepared to help them in any capacity they need. This is a huge decision for family members, and they want to feel confident they are making the best choice.

 

Having content that connects with people from all stages of the buying cycle is key. SEM and SEO make it easier to position your ads and content in front of the right people with retargeting ads, tracking, and keyword research. You are able to position your brand in front of online shoppers within your target markets by focusing on local SEO and SEM.

Digital marketing is a way to have a 24-hour salesperson available to potential leads. No matter what time of day or senior living keywords they search, you can be there as a resource for them and educate them about how your community is a perfect match.

If you have questions about SEM and SEO for senior living, we would love to help. You can call us directly at 877-775-1101. You can also continue to keep an eye out for our newsletters and visit our website for more information catered to your industry.