There are many different types of retirement communities in Florida, from active adult and independent living communities to assisted living and continuing care communities. With well over 100 Florida retirement communities alone, it can be hard for one to get noticed, let alone attract new customers. However, online marketing may be the key to increasing business. Here are the reasons why retirement communities in Florida need to invest in online marketing.
Related Blog: Online Marketing Strategies Retirement Communities Should Invest In
A Wider Audience
In modern society, technology has invaded every aspect our lives and now over 3 billion people have access to the internet. Internet marketing is a chance to reach out to all of those people, especially the younger generation who are searching for a community for their parents. This younger generation grew up with technology or was introduced to it at a young age, making the internet their primary source of information.
A Targeted Audience
Retirement communities don't necessarily need to target everyone. Through search engine optimization (SEO) and utilizing keywords, it is possible to target a specific group of people in a certain market. For example, the target audience might be adults looking for active adult communities in Florida for their parents that have a golf course or the care their parent needs.
Inbound Marketing for Retirement Communities
When attracting customers, a sales funnel is often used as a representation of the steps required to gain a new client. The top of the funnel contains the largest group of people, considered random strangers. Next is leads, then prospects, and finally a new client. Internet marketing is a way to attract random strangers through inbound marketing. Blogs, podcasts, social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, videos and other content marketing, are considered inbound marketing. Not only does content marketing promote a retirement community, but it is a way for random strangers to find the company and eventually become potential clients. The flip side of inbound marketing is outbound marketing, such as radio and television ads, telemarketing, and fliers, which is considered buying attention. Inbound marketing is more effective these days because the younger generation is more likely to search for products online rather than listen to ads on a television or radio.
Education Based Marketing
There are two different types of education based marketing. The first is when a company is keeping track of what sort of advertising and content marketing is working to attract audiences. By doing so, they can make better informed decisions about future marketing. The second type is educating customers.
Technology and internet research have changed the way people buy. Consumers have never before had the ability to be more educated about the items they wish to purchase. People like to buy what they are familiar with and they get familiar with a company through content marketing. Blogs, videos, and podcasts can show off what sort of amenities, experience, and other attractions and expertise a retirement community has as well as promoting positive experiences of people already living in the community.
Personal recommendations have the most influence on decision making when it comes to making a purchase. This process of personal referrals has exploded on social media. For example, a friend with good taste in music might share a YouTube video of a song by a band they like, and this post reaches hundreds of people. The friends of the initial poster trust their judgment and are more likely to check the link. If they like it and share it to their friends, the post reaches hundreds more people. It doesn’t have to be a Facebook friend, celebrities on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites have the ability to start trends and influence the purchasing decisions of others. Social media is now a tool for purchasing habits through simple promotion and familiarizing people with a particular product. In this case, the product is a retirement community. Having a strong online presence, therefore, is the first step in getting noticed.
Online marketing is the future. With more people depending on technology and more people gaining access to the internet everyday, marketing online can reach a wider, but still targeted, audience for any retirement community.
