As a marketing agency with a wide range of solutions, we work with a lot of different businesses. These fit into multiple industries and sectors, and all have their own unique brand that we help them to enhance. This means that no day is the same in our offices, but sometimes we find ourselves working with similar companies.
This is the case with care homes. We worked with one, they were thrilled with our help because of how we were able to take the hassle away and create engaging content so they could focus on doing what they do best, looking after their residents and the business. As a result they referred us to others, and we were also able to promote our services to other care homes and care providers.
So, since this is a niche we’re very familiar with now, we decided a new blog talking about how marketing can benefit care homes was in order.
The Importance of Marketing for Care Homes
The decision to put a loved one in care is a difficult one. Even if they are willing, it’s still tough to ask them to leave their home and move into a large building full of strangers, albeit with access to better care.
To make things easier, care homes try to be as welcoming as possible, showing their best side to potential new residents. Or at least that’s what the most successful ones do. Many care homes have poor marketing and are therefore not as appealing as they could be. This leads to empty beds and poor turnover whilst their rivals are full to bursting and profitable.
There are over 16 thousand care homes in the UK, all trying to find new residents. It’s a very competitive industry; you want the best staff that can provide the best care possible for your residents. It’s a tricky sector when it comes to marketing; the tone has to be spot on.
Don’t worry, that’s where we come in.
Branding for Care Homes
Your company’s branding is about more than its logo and typeface. Branding is all about the message you’re putting out into the world. This can be done visually, via your videos and images, but can also be done through content and the structure of your website.
When a business owner approaches us looking to boost their brand, one of the first things we do is establish what makes them special. In many industries, this can be a difficult question; it’s hard to put a different spin on things when you’re one of thousands all trying to stand out. But your brand doesn’t need to be unique. In fact, for care homes, a little predictability can go a long way.
Picture a care home you think an elderly loved one would enjoy living in. Is it sterile or medical? Or is it full of warm colours, smiling faces, and plenty to do? Your brand should make those imaginings a reality, or at least as close as you can get to the dream care home people will look for.
Web Design for Care Homes
Most people will discover your care home via your website. There will be a few who hear about it from a friend, and if you have a social media presence that will drive some interest too, but all will check out your website to find out more.
If they’re greeted by a drab, dated site full of stock images and a distinct lack of content, it won’t sell your care home, no matter how good it may be. And if your branding is lacking no number of positive reviews will save your website.
Let’s start with the images. These are the biggest selling point for a care home. People want to see the rooms, the gardens, and the facilities available; just telling them about it won’t be enough.
In every image there should be people. It shouldn’t look crowded, but still contains multiple residents enjoying themselves, and the staff close by supporting them. Showing happy staff is just as important. Full-time care is a tough job, but you know that hiring people passionate about it makes for better care overall. Make sure this comes across in your images. After all, your website will be used to find new staff too!
When you’re choosing a care home for a loved one, you also want to get their input. Elderly people, or people with learning difficulties, won’t be able to understand the content, even if you read to them, but all can comprehend images in some way. So use the visuals as much as you can, backed up with the relevant information.
These images should be high quality and up to date. Our professional photographers will bring out the best of your care home, and since they’re part of our company, they’ll know what’s needed to promote your brand more than hiring someone who’s only a photographer.
Videography for Care Homes
There’s also video content too. A short, well-produced video tour or introduction will provide all the essential information in one place while giving viewers an insight into what it would be like to live there.
This brings your care home to life. Written testimonials are great, but a short video of staff and residents talking about their time living/working in care goes a lot further.
However, making these videos yourself isn’t easy. You may be able to invest in a camera, or stick to a phone, but the former will be out of your wheelhouse, and the latter will be lacking in quality. This isn’t a quick video for social media, this will be front and centre on your website and will be seen by thousands of people.
Our video production team will not only create high quality video content, they’ll also give you ideas and guidance so that the video itself is as good as it can be. They’ll help you and your team to look their best and will edit it in such a way that it’s engaging and digestible on your website. Plus a day of filming is fun for residents!
The Best Marketing Solutions for Care Homes
As you can see, there’s a lot a care home owner can do to maximise their marketing. Knowing where to start and what to focus on can be difficult, and you want to spend your time and money wisely on the services that will help the most.
Not only are we experts in all things marketing, we have every solution a care home needs to thrive. We’ll work with you to establish what’s best and work out the perfect package that covers all bases.
Care homes are some of our favourite businesses to work with and seeing them provide such an important service makes them the most rewarding client base too. With our marketing help your care home will be far busier in no time and will have a glowing brand to match.