An effective PR strategy is a vital piece of the puzzle for care homes. As integral parts of the community, positive or negative press can have a significant effect on public opinion. Ownacarehome marketing partner, Sharp Minds Communications, highlights four key areas where PR can help your care home.

Positive PR gains trust and builds public confidence in your care home

Choosing a care home for a loved one is an incredibly emotional and often agonising decision for a family. As a care home, it is vital that you can alleviate their worries and reservations through your marketing messaging, as well as through highlighting successes and achievements. Your CQC rating is a great place to start. As a mark of care quality standards, a ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ rating brings huge reassurance to families and can attract occupants and staff to your care service.

Has your care home won an award? If so, did you share it publicly? Awards are judged by experts in their field, so displaying them proudly can boost your credibility with your target audience. This can make them a key part of your marketing and PR strategy.

Local and national press coverage can provide the greatest reach, visibility and kudos for your care home — but there is no guarantee they will cover your story. Posting on social media is a free and easy way of getting your message out in-house, especially if it is shared by the right people. With any outbound communication, keep your target audience in mind and avoid simply shouting about how great you are. For example, winning an award could be angled towards recognising the important work that your carers do for residents — not just a chance to flash a trophy.

Boost recruitment for your care home

Recruitment is an ongoing issue within the care sector. It can be expensive and time intensive and finding the best candidates can be difficult. However, once you have begun to build trust and credibility within the community, you may find that the right candidates will begin coming to you.

An effective strategy to boost recruitment is to share honest company news on social media or in newsletters. Linkedin research has shown that opening up about your company culture and ethos is much more likely to attract suitable candidates that align with your values.

Position your care home as the go-to expert          

Becoming a thought leader in a field is a longer-term strategy — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t as successful. This helps to elevate the position of your care home as a professional service with you at the helm as the go-to expert in your area. The key is staying on top of current trends and industry news, keeping your finger on the pulse of where discussions are being had in the sector (and where they matter to your staff and residents directly). An effective channel we have seen is through a weekly ‘experts’ corner’ column in the local newspaper. Of course, your views can be posted on social media at any time, however print content is seen by many to be more trustworthy and is guaranteed to reach a wider audience than your social media following. A weekly advertorial column will come at a cost but would be a wise investment.

Navigate a care home PR crisis

Negative PR has the potential to undo a lot of your care home’s good work. We recently came to the aid of one of our care provider clients who had a negative story published about their service. We guided them through the process of identifying the issue, how to correctly respond to the damaging comments and gave them the resources needed to soften the situation. While rare, bad press can be extremely harmful to a care home that is deeply embedded in the community. Our next article will delve deeper into dealing with a PR crisis.

Good examples of care home PR