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Your Long-Term Care Social Media Ambassador Program

Social media is a powerful tool that can help your senior living community generate quality leads and future employees, and it should be part of your business development strategy moving forward.

One way for social media to support your long-term care marketing strategy is to incorporate brand ambassadors to further your social reach. Ambassadors speak highly of your brand, services and events on their own social media channels. They can provide quick shout-outs to your senior living community, highlight upcoming events and recommend your brand to their social media followers.

Here are three key elements to start building your own brand ambassador network to generate quality leads.

Who ‘Likes’ you?

On your social media channels, you may notice certain individuals who are consistently ‘liking’ or sharing your posts. This is one easy way to identify who is naturally falling into a brand ambassador role for your community.

Check out your @mentions, post likes and comments to see who is already promoting your brand. You can also see who is using any of your company or industry-related #hashtags. If there is a particular resident who you routinely recognize on your social media channels, chances are that person would be a good brand ambassador.

Maybe you’ve noticed that people who ‘like’ you on social media and share your content are mostly employees of your community. Some of your employees should be brand ambassadors based on their professionalism and connections.

A mix of perspectives on your social channels allows you to speak to different audiences, which can help gain new referrals and recruits.

Employee Brand Ambassadors: When your employees are active on your community’s social media, this helps to boost community engagement and retention – so it’s a double-win! 

Criteria for Brand Ambassadors

You don’t want just anyone, even if they do engage with your content, to become your brand ambassadors. Think about these key factors when determining who you want to represent your brand on social media.
 
    • Current Social Media Following – Are their followers your target audience? If not, they are not a good brand ambassador for your community. Also look at the size of their social media following, how their audience engages with their posts and if they naturally use a tone that you think fits your brand.
    • Dedicated Resident or Referral Source – Can they speak specifically to your community’s differentiators? Make sure an ambassador you select knows all the ins and outs. This makes their promotional efforts more authentic, especially when they’re referencing actual events and amenities at the community.
    • Networking Opportunities – Make sure your brand ambassadors have networking opportunities on social media. Chat with your brand ambassadors about what social media networking groups they participate in and how your brand or service could be shared among those groups.

Guidelines to Move Forward

Since the brand ambassadors you’ve identified already understand your independent living or long-term care community, you may not feel like you have to tailor specific messages for them. But being clear about how you will collaborate with your ambassadors will help them avoid misrepresenting your community on social. Here are a few long-term care marketing tips to build strong relationships with brand ambassadors.
 
Regularly discuss topics or upcoming events that you would like to see brand ambassadors promote: 
  
“I’ll never think of exercise the same. I had so much fun splashing around with my friends at XYZ Home’s aqua class last week. In case you missed it, sign up for next week’s class here:” [insert link]
 
“I am now living fancy free at ABC Community in Maple Grove. They even have a barber shop and salon, and you KNOW how I like to keep my hair nice! I can hear you laughing, @BetsyLou!” [insert link to company homepage]
 
  • Clearly identify how often you would like your brand ambassadors to promote your brand. Maybe set a standard of two posts a month.
  • Give back to your brand ambassadors! Offer free coffee at the community café for a month, free registration for a special event or lunch discounts to thank them for promoting your brand on their personal social media channels.
  • Create a ‘thank you’ post from the community’s social media account to publicly recognize them. This is an easy way to boost brand loyalty for your community and the individuals promoting it.
Social media is a powerful way for potential residents and candidates to learn about your brand, your amenities and your work environment. Don’t miss out on this marketing opportunity to help your senior living community stand out from the rest! 
 
Need more information? Send me an email and let’s chat about additional senior living marketing opportunities.