Key marketing challenges for care homes in 2023

Care home marketing can be complex. As different messaging is required for staff and residents, this creates the need for a coherent and well-planned strategy to reap the rewards. Ownacarehome marketing partner, Sharp Minds Communications, looks at the obstacles your care home will likely face this year and shares advice on how to overcome them.

The cost-of-living factor

Whilst there are many challenges facing social care specifically, other economic factors are likely to have a growing impact. Families who may have originally planned to place a relative into a care environment may now be looking to manage their outgoing costs and provide care for their loved ones at home. This makes it vital for care homes to demonstrate their value if they want to continue attracting new staff and residents.

Try highlighting the positive experiences within the care service, such as resident and staff wins, or any noteworthy achievements that draw focus to the quality of care that is being delivered. It can also help to give clear and accessible answers to common queries or hesitations that families may have, so that they can make an informed decision based on the benefits your care home can offer. This includes comparing the value of care received to alternative support services, such as domiciliary or 24-hour care.

One practical solution could be to hold an open day and invite people into your care home. First impressions can have a great effect, so getting people through the door — whether it’s for occupancy or recruitment —allows you to demonstrate the standards of care first-hand. For many recruitment candidates and families, having direct experience can be enough to help them make that all-important decision!

Recruitment is still key

Finding the right staff remains a challenge for every care home. Without skilled care workers that understand the sector, care homes may struggle to provide the same standard of care for residents or meet their commercial goals — especially at a time when care worker turnover is high nationally.

For a step-by-step plan on how to boost your messaging to attract new and experienced care staff, please read our comprehensive guide to recruitment marketing strategy.

Marketing resource

From our own experience of working with care providers, the number of resources available for marketing can be small relative to their goals. Most care home owners are likely to have their own marketing hat — but it’s probably a little unloved and tucked under a huge pile! Plus, creating dedicated marketing roles may not yet be commercially viable or needed as part of their core service. If you’re like us and can see the value that intelligent marketing can bring (but aren’t sure how to do it), this can be a frustrating position to find yourself in.

From here there are two options: continue as you are until you can increase your commercials to the point that you can recruit a marketer — or hire an external marketing agency. The best agencies integrate seamlessly to become your in-house marketing department and, if combined with cutting-edge sector expertise, can deliver great results.  

Lack of PR

An effective PR strategy can deliver incredible value for care homes on multiple fronts! Enhanced brand awareness is a great way to build trust within a community, through thought leadership and expert content. Company news can also help to increase interest from potential care worker candidates, by giving an insight into team dynamics and how staff are nurtured. That’s why gaining media coverage is a powerful tool in positioning a care home as a go-to provider, helping it stand out against the local and regional competition. Interested in learning more? Click here for our in-depth look at the value of PR for care homes.

Effectively leveraging social media

The best way of reaching target audiences in 2023 is through social media. As most social media apps and websites are completely free, this requires less resource and skill than PR and can sometimes even deliver similar results in the right conditions. The key to an effective social strategy is consistency. Content does not need to be carefully crafted or meticulously designed; in 2023 we see a continuation of authenticity winning the attention battle across social media platforms.

Need ideas for social media post topics? We recommend highlighting staff, such as carers and admin teams, to highlight daily routines, interactions and activities, as well as testimonials from residents and their families – as long as they have given their consent to be included. Any successes, like awards, positive CQC ratings, staff milestones, events and anniversaries are a great way to boost a care home’s profile. Encourage your staff to take part and identify opportunities for photos and videos (with the relevant permissions of course) as this will make content creation easier. Our upcoming social media guide will contain further recommendations on how to optimise your social marketing – so watch this space!

Quick wins: tried and tested methods

Creating a long-term marketing strategy is always going to be more successful than playing everything by ear. However, there are a few things you can do to get the ball rolling quickly:

·         Revisit previous enquiries — it doesn’t take much effort to look back at old enquiries and get in touch to see if they are still considering care. They may not have been ready to commit to a decision before but are able to now.

·         Keep in contact — if you aren’t already keeping in regular contact with residents’ families and the community, setting up an email newsletter is a simple way to do so. All this requires is a short message and some care home news to get you started.

·         Ask questions —social media is a great way to build engagement as well as learn from your audience. Use questions, polls and competitions to encourage your followers to take part – and find out more about what’s important to them, to help shape your next messaging topics.

If you need help marketing your care home plan in 2023, or just want some advice from an experienced team click here to contact us.