Senior living occupancy has decreased again, shedding light on a hot topic in the industry — the middle market. Many seniors don’t have the financial resources to live in today’s senior housing and may have too many resources to qualify for Medicaid unless they spend down their assets. Data shows that residents seeking senior living solutions require a middle ground between luxury communities and those provided by Medicaid. The senior living industry struggles to deliver a middle-market option as we haven’t figured out how to manage the costs of this type of community. 

NIC recently released a middle-market senior housing study, which acts as the foundation for a new webinar titled, “The New Growth Opportunity: Seniors Housing for the Forgotten Middle.” The study analyzes the expected growth from 2014 to 2029 in the number of middle-income seniors. According to the study, at today’s utilization rates, more than 700,000 units of senior housing will be needed to satisfy potential demand from middle-market seniors by 2029. 

Why We Need a Middle Market Solution

With more seniors aging into senior living, the demand for a middle-market solution continues to grow. Middle-income seniors don’t have the ability to pay private housing rates but may have too many financial assets to qualify for Medicaid. This demographic exists without an advocate to drive middle-market senior living solutions. By 2029, the amount of middle-income seniors will grow to over 14 million, 6 million more than today. Projections estimate that of these future seniors, 6.6 million (46%) may have the financial means to meet the estimated $60,000 annual costs of living in senior housing and paying out of pocket medical costs. 

A middle-market solution would make senior living accessible to a wider audience. Additionally, offering a more affordable option may help offset record-low occupancy rates.

How to Incorporate Digital Marketing Economies of Scale to Save Money

During this decrease in senior living occupancy, marketers can incorporate digital marketing to save money and help create a scalable middle-market solution. 

First, assign control to a central source. For example, all of your marketing activities should originate from a single corporate hub rather than on the individual community level. This gives marketers control as well as a comprehensive view of digital marketing efforts. 

Themed Website Design

Consider a thematic approach to your website design. Website design needs to adhere to your brand standards and it should be able to be scaled according to the current market, your geographic region, and target audience. By opting for templated, or themed, websites instead of custom design you can scale the design across all of your locations. Contrary to popular belief, themed websites can still be customized with your branding and messaging to reflect your unique brand proposition and appeal to prospects without the price tag of custom design. 

Focus on SEO for Conversion

Digital marketing economies of scale, including search engine optimization (SEO) and digital advertising, can be utilized to capture existing demand and to generate new demand, respectively. Your website should use SEO in conjunction with your design to optimize for conversion. On-page SEO includes a variety of elements including the copy, title tags, and meta descriptions. As technology continues to evolve, optimizing for mobile and voice searches becomes more important in order to capture and convert organic search traffic. 

Here are three tips to optimize your website for conversion:

  1. Page Speed — When a user visits your website, you have one second to capture their attention and if your pages load slowly, users will bounce immediately. Optimize your website for page speed in order to capture the most qualified traffic. 
  2. Voice Search — Voice searchers are usually longer than typical text keyword search queries. Optimize your website copy to be more conversational and natural in tone. 
  3. Mobile — According to BrightEdge, 57% of all searches come from mobile devices, which highlights the importance of optimizing your website for mobile search. Your website must be responsive and be optimized for mobile devices and searches.  

Drive Demand with Digital Advertising

Digital advertising offers marketers a scalable way to drive demand and brand awareness. Ad campaigns can be turned up or down depending on market conditions, making them ideal for scalable senior living marketing strategies. Try social and display ads to drive brand awareness — staying fresh in the minds of prospects and their families. Search ads can be used to target individuals who are ready to make a purchase decision. Remarketing ads help keep you top-of-mind for those who may not be quite ready to lease from your senior living community. These ads follow users throughout their web browsing experience, keeping you fresh in their minds. 

G5 Lead Insights

Senior living marketers partnering with G5 use our Lead Insights platform to generate better quality leads, which allows your onsite staff to focus on converting more prospects into residents. G5 Lead Insights provides a wealth of data on what campaigns drive the most traffic and convert the most leads. This information helps you direct your marketing spend to the campaigns that work best and decreases the pressure on onsite staff. By qualifying your leads, staff members spend less time returning phone calls and giving unnecessary tours to prospects who aren’t ready to lease. Better quality leads result in increased scalability for senior living communities. 

Create Economies of Scale for Middle Market Senior Living

Digital marketing can easily be leveraged to create economies of scale for middle-market senior living communities. The number of middle-income seniors aging into senior living continues to grow along with the demand for middle-market communities. Opting for templated websites instead of custom design, optimizing for SEO and conversion, and taking advantage of scalable digital advertising campaigns results in better economies of scale for middle-market senior living. 

Download the G5 infographic, Digital Advertising for Demand Generation to learn more about efficiently generating better inquiries.