Internet and online marketing is critical for every business. This presentation outlines an online marketing strategy for reti and how SEO and social media fit in. Originally presented by Agnes Stawicki, managing editor with Our Kids Media and Comfort Life Media, at the 2011 BC Seniors Living Association Conference.

1. Online Marketing :
social and new media
Comfort Life Media
www.comfortlife.ca

2. Canada’s online population
Canada’s online population is one of the
highest in the world (71%), and 62% of them
are active on social networks.
Google is the #1 search engine
80% of online activity begins with a search engine
Adults aged 65+ are fastest growing segment in social media
16.7 million Facebook users in Canada
2.9 million aged 55+
436, 260 living in British Columbia
SOURCES: eMarketer, September 2009 Report.
Pew Research Centre 2011 report
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

3. A shifting landscape
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

4. Canada’s online population
Google it
Look for third party
comments and referrals
“
I
can’t
explain
it—it’s
just
a
funny
feeling
that
I’m
being
Googled.” Research employees,
owners, partners...etc.
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

5. Internet marketing campaign
1. Listen
2. Keyword strategy
3. Optimize your website
4. Promote content via social media
5. Convert site traffic into leads
6. Nurture leads with email marketing
7. Be mobile friendly
8. Analyze and refine
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

6. Before you start
analytics.google.com
Visitor types
locations
top pages viewed
referral sites
referral quality
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

7. 1 Listen
People are talking
about you.
Do you know what
they are saying?
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

8. 1 Listen
TOOLS
Google.com/reader
Google.com/alerts
SocialMention.com
Twilert.com
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

9. 2 Keyword strategy
A word or phrase a person enters into a
search engine. It may NOT be the term you
use to market your business.
TOOLS
adwords.google.com
google.com/trends
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

10. 2 Keyword strategy
retirement homes
nursing homes
assisted living
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

11. Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

12. 3 Optimize your website
80% of website
searches begins
with a
search engine
Users trust
organic results
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

13. 3 Optimize your website
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

14. 3 Optimize your website
PAID
RESULTS
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

15. 3 Optimize your website
GOOGLE
PLACES
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

16. 3 Optimize your website
Submit each location to Google.com/places
On page SEO
Page titles, descriptions, keyword tags
Heading tags <h>
Photos and alt descriptions
Off page SEO
Incoming backlinks (forums, blogs, directory sites)
Age of domain and length of registration
Activity on social networks
TOOLS
WebsiteGrader.com
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

17. 3 Optimize your website
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

18. 4 Social Media
Listening to your customers, being helpful
by sharing your knowledge and giving them
interesting content to talk about.
Improve communication (internal and external)
Amplify word of mouth marketing
Build brand awareness
Drive website traffic
Increase sales
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

19. 4 Social Media Platforms
Newsletter - lead generation
BLOG Blog - content creation for SEO
Facebook - connect with people you know
Twitter - connect with someone you don’t know
YouTube - stimulate emotion and build excitement
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

20. Why Blog?
Start your own blog, or guest blog on other sites
An easy way to share information
Executive director, activity manager, or resident blogs are an easy way
to share information and keep families and community informed.
Positions you as an expert
Builds your brand online, and allows you to have a voice on the
world wide web that can be picked up by traditional media.
Helps your website SEO and increases website traffic
1. Build keyword specific pages to increase SEO ranking
2. Grow your social capital (online reputation)
3. Can be shared by others via RSS or social networking sites
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

21. Is it worth it?
Case study: V!VA blog
Launched 2008
New posts weekly from all locations
Greatest success: builds sense of community
Prospects, community members and families
visit the blog often for updates
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

22. Is it worth it?
Case study: Comfortlife.ca blog
Launched October 2010
New posts daily (google crawls daily)
Promoted via website, facebook & twitter
Greatest success: increase in SEO rank
Accounts for 5% of our site entrance pages
(generates traffic!)
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

23. Why Facebook?
Showcase your community
An easy way to share information
Quickly share photos of activities and programs, sweet comments
from residents and weekly schedules or menus.
Improves branding and top of mind awareness
Keeps you in front of your current customers, and provides a
more friendly view to prospective customers.
Increases SEO and website traffic
Content is easily found in search engines and Facebook is fast
becoming a powerful content discovery platform.
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

24. What can you do on Facebook?
Domain insights
A consolidated view of key metrics for any website
(even if you do not have a company page on Facebook)
Access sharing metrics
and demographic
information
Per domain (website) and
per URL (website page)
developers.facebook.com
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

25. What can you do on Facebook?
Domain insights
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

26. What can you do on Facebook?
Targeted advertising
Target users by age,
location, interests
Set daily spend limits
Track click throughs and
conversion rates
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

27. What can you do on Facebook?
Build your community
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

28. Who are you reaching?
Fans and friends of fans
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

29. Case Studies
Facebook Social Plugins
ABC News
referral traffic increased 250%
NHL.com
referral traffic increased 80%
92% more articles read
Global News
#2 source of traffic
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

30. Your residents... online
One of the greatest challenges or losses that we face
as older adults is not about our health, but about our
social network deteriorating on us.
- Joseph Coughlin, Director of the AgeLab at MIT
Email friends and family
Share photos and video
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

31. More than just marketing
Internet use among older adults exercises the mind,
lifts the spirit and boosts moral.
Social networks are a gateway
into technology for seniors
30% decrease in depressive
symptoms among older adults
Increase in perceived world size,
no longer feel left behind
- Senior citizens learn social media (theatlantic.com, Aug 31, 2011)
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

32. Social media set up
1. Setup your social networks
Facebook
Twitter
Linked In
Blog
TOOLS
2. Setup google reader (RSS)
Company name
KnowEm.com
Industry keywords
Competitors
3. Update website to promote
Social networks
Blog feed
4. Start networking
Staff
Residents
Interns and volunteers
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

33. Social Media Schedule
Daily (1/2 hour)
Scan twitter, Facebook & blog comments in morning and evening
Schedule tweets a minimum of 3 times throughout the day
Post something new to Facebook
Like or comment on another Facebook group
Weekly (one hour)
Scan your Google reader for relevant news (comment if possible)
Post a video or photo to Facebook
Write and post a blog/news article
Share the article on twitter and Facebook
Monthly (two hours)
Compose a newsletter from your weekly posts (send to media!)
Review analytics from Facebook and twitter
- look for new referring sites
- what generated most clicks, what didn’t
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

34. Guiding Principals
1. Post at least one item every day (facebook)
2. Generate varied content that reflects all programs/activities
3. Appeal to a broad audience
4. 33% rule - you, your topic, your fans/followers
5. Set respectful and inclusive tone, but keep it fun
6. Respond promptly to comments, feedback and inquiries received
7. Monitor what is most popular and build on your success
8. Promote the page and invite your network to join
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

35. In action
BLOG
NEWSLETTER
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

36. Examples
Adelaide Place Retirement Community, Ontario
Palisade Gardens Retirement Community, Ontario
Caretenders Retirement Communities, British Columbia
V!VA Retirement Communities, Ontario
Schlegel Villages - Village Voice, Ontario
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca

37. Online Marketing
Social Media
@ComfortLife @AgnesStawicki
Facebook.com/ComfortLife.ca
YouTube.com/ComfortLifeTV
agnes@comfortlife.ca 1.877.272.1845 x31
Comfort Life Media | www.comfortlife.ca