It’s a Bird, A Plane, no wait it's a Baby Boomer!

It’s a Bird, A Plane, no wait it's a Baby Boomer! by Jolene Sopalski Edited by Alisha Kruger

Marketing to seniors has to be one of the hardest markets but it can also be one of the most fun!

How do we go from seniors being hard to market to, to being easy?

Ooops, I’m still working on that, if you find out, PLEASE let me know!

I have been working at a Senior Community since October 2010.  (Not very long so I have first hand knowledge-fresh insider look at the struggles & what is working NOW) The senior community is like it's own little world in our industry! Talk about a culture shock going from Multifamily Housing to Senior Housing.

So, how do you market to seniors?  Here are some tips that I have learned and what I have research in. Maybe it will help you out when marketing to seniors!

1) Do not underestimate a senior’s knowledge of the Internet! I have learned this the hard way and let me tell you after getting an ear full from my residents and my grandmother; most seniors today are not Internet and social media illiterates of the past. Today's seniors are one of the largest groups using technology to socialize and for entertainment. Some ways to tap into this market are:

YouTube your seniors having fun at your community: Create a short film or series documenting what you can offer your residents. Remember you want this to be entertaining but stating your message to the viewer. YouTube videos will increase your name being in the top of Internet organic searches. They will always be viewed first before a website.

Facebook your community with a business page: Make sure you tell all your current, past, and future residents of your community to "Like" your page. Include your resident activities on your page in the events section. Have pet photo contests on your facebook page. Put special deals just for your residents to see. The key to a facebook community page is to get your residents talking about your community to their friends etc.

Mobile Apps- Seniors love technology and will buy the newest gadgets out there. Recently when I went into Verizon I was shocked at how many seniors were there (averaging 3 to every 1 young adult.) Make sure your community is accessible via mobile applications. Maybe you can create one that can be downloaded from your community website?

Text Messaging-This is a great way to do an immediate follow up with a prospect. I heard once of a leasing agent sending a video of herself in front of the apartments thanking the prospects by name for visiting her community. Now how cool is that! What a great way to keep it personal and use technology. Plus my residents love that they get a reminder text about their rent and when we are having a resident function.

Community Website- Make sure your website is user friendly and looks inviting! Don't be afraid to put pictures of the interior of your units up or of your staff with cute fun sayings about your community. No one wants to live in a boring community  (FACT!) so why should your website be boring?

2) Seniors LOVE Resident Activities: The first question out of any senior mouth is what kind of activities do you have and how often. I had one phone call where I told a prospect we had resident activities three times a week and the prospect said she was looking for a more active community and hung up. After this phone call, I reevaluated our resident program and it started to make sense why they were not coming out. The activities we had were boring!  Remember, seniors don't like to feel old; they want to have fun & socialize! Give them a party! Make sure your activities are age appropriate yet fun at the same time. Don't forget to include some activities where their children or grandchildren are invited. (WiI or BINGO!)

·        Pet Fashion Show- Almost 50% of my property has pets.  You can host a Pet Fashion Show charity event by featuring the pets in a calendar to be sold for a $2.00 with all proceeds going to a local Animal Rescue Shelter. (or charity of your choice) Your seniors will buy this because they will be proud of their pet featured and they need a calendar to put their doctors’ appointments on. Also, this calendar can be sold to others in the community.

·        Arts & Crafts- Who does not love Arts & Crafts? You have residents with many hidden talents who would love to share them. You can have a Scrap booking day, Jewelry Making, Mosaic Art, Knitting, Crocheting. Whatever you think of there will be people who will come because they like to use their hands and minds. One of the favorite events that we did this year was handmade Christmas cards for the Soldiers overseas. I had a great turn out especially by our retired military who shared great stories of their military life.

·        Science Fair- Have a good old fashion science fair with your residents. See if you can get local celebrities to be judges. The residents will love this I mean who wouldn't love being able to create experiments and show them off.

·        Cook Offs for all the seasons that you can think of. These are fun and are always enjoyed by everyone.

·         Pool Parties- Yes seniors love pool parties during the summer. Have a Luau with hula dancers giving lessons and roast a pig. Have a best Hawaiian shirt contest and a pineapple carving contest. Pool Dive in Movie Night!

·        Farmers Market is also a great way to have your residents involved and let them see local culture also. Remember some may not get out as much so this would be a treat if your community can host one.

3) Know Your Demographics: It is really important to know who you are marketing to. If you don't know your potential clients how can you sell them the value of your community. Seniors want to know what they are getting for the price of rent. Sell your community, company and yourself before you give the price.

4) Follow Up! Seniors are not quick to make decisions it can take them six months and yes they will start looking a year ahead of time. That is why it is important to have the correct information on your guest cards and to follow up with them. You always want to be on their mind, as they get closer to the time of move in. A Follow Up can be a call, text, email or card just saying, “how you are doing?” Something that always makes my seniors happy and I get a return call on is when I send them a birthday card. I don't even stop sending it to them when they become a resident.

I hope that this helps you in the journey of marketing to seniors. One of the best things about this industry is the on-going learning! If you have any ideas or comments about marketing to seniors, I would love to hear them!