Manage an assisted living community? Your biggest question might be: How do I stand apart from my competitors when there’s so much competition? In today’s digital age, creating a strong online presence is critical to attracting and engaging with future residents and their families. If you’re not using an assisted living blog, you’re missing out on the possibilities.
Blogging? You might be thinking that’s a dated marketing tool. It’s not. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how many blogs there are online, marketing experts have stated it’s around 600 million. And those who use it are seeing results.
- Marketers prioritizing blogging are 13x more likely to have a positive ROI.
- 57 percent of marketers say they’ve gained customers specifically through blogging.
- B2B marketers with blogs get 67 percent more leads than those without.
Convinced an assisted living blog could help you find new residents?
Creating an Effective Assisted Living Blogging Strategy
Have you sat down and created a customer avatar? This is a detailed description of your ideal customer. This gives you a better understanding of your market and your target audience. Think beyond “anyone over 65.” Instead, ask more critical questions to get to the heart of who you cater to.
- What demographics do your ideal clients come from?
- What like-minded vendors would be good referral partners?
- How are family members involved in the decision-making?
- What are people looking for when they enter your assisted living community?
There is no end to the questions you can ask. Each one will give you a deeper understanding of your demographics, who your audience is, and how to reach out to them. With this in place, you can utilize other tools to create your blogging strategy.
Starting With Keywords
Those questions can lead to potential blogging ideas. You should also use your findings to do thorough keyword research to identify the right keywords for your assisted living community. Optimizing your content with specific keywords increases the chances of your blog posts ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for those keywords.
Every keyword can become its own blog post. Specific posts will rank high and be there when prospects start their search. And when they find content they love on your site, they click. The longer they’re on your site, the better your chance of connecting with them.
Focus On Long-Tail Keywords
When people start considering assisted living facilities for a loved one, they have a lot of questions. They head to Google to find answers. Do you know what questions they are asking? This becomes the starting point for your blog posts. It stretches beyond the basics, such as, “What is assisted living?” They might ask:
- Who qualifies for assisted living?
- Which assisted living facilities accept Medicaid?
- Why are assisted living facilities so expensive?
- Will assisted living take dementia patients?
You have answers to questions like these. These are your working titles for blog posts. With them in place, you’ll be there to answer searchers’ questions and be there when they’re ready to pick up the phone and connect.
SEO Strategies
There are many ways to use search engine optimization (SEO) to help you gain traffic. On-page SEO involves optimizing elements on your site to improve search engine ranking. Off-page SEO means building connections with other high-quality sites in your niche. Backlinks should be built slowly between your sites over time.
Don’t forget local SEO tactics, which are especially useful when serving a specific geographic area. This means you’ll increase visibility and make it easier for potential residents and their families to find you as they’re searching. Tools like Google Business Profiles help you manage your online presence and include Search and Map functions to make it easier to find you.
While SEO involves many techniques, blogging lies at the center. You’ll need high-quality content to share with your audience as you build and connect. Once you craft a well-written blog post, it sits on your site for the life of your site. You can update the content, change it, add to it, and make it more valuable. Then, share it with your community, whether through email, social media sites, or partners.
How an Assisted Living Blog Can Help You
Are you starting to see the potential of having an active blog? We think it’s the foundation of any digital marketing strategy. People find your assisted living community in one of two ways:
- They know your name and URL and go there directly.
- They find you on search engines, social media sites, or through digital advertisements.
A growth model means you focus on being where prospects are looking. And a blog is the center of that strategy. It gives you direct benefits:
Competitive Advantage
Search engine users typically click on the first three results and rarely move beyond the first page. This means ranking high will provide you with more attention. Blogging creates content that is seen and ranked by search engines. As your site rises in results, you’ll get more visibility over your competition.
More Traffic
Top search engine results get the most attention. They get more clicks, which leads to more traffic and more connections. You’ll need an active strategy to get into those top-ranking positions. Blog posts are one of the best ways to get there.
Higher Conversion
Traffic and conversion go hand in hand. Building a strong digital marketing strategy allows you to learn more about your audience, get to know your target market better, and find ways to give them what they want. When done the right way, people will want to click and follow the link.
Start Your Assisted Living Blog Today
You might be online and having success. But do you have a solid plan? Blogs work. If you don’t have an assisted living blog where you share content with your followers, you’re missing one of the best ways to connect.
If you’re ready to find an effective way to reach your customers, it’s time to rethink blogging. We can help you create a results-driven strategy for your assisted living community. Contact us today.
