Online presence has become more important than ever. If your audience can’t find your website, you might as well not exist. And if your site doesn’t offer compelling reasons to choose your brand, someone else’s will. This is even more important for senior living because your site represents the intersection of one of life’s greatest milestones with one of its greatest fears: retirement and how to afford the life we all believe we deserve.
While the demographic might not seem like the most tech-savvy bunch around, grandparents and their adult children are prepared to take the next step to your website — and we can confidently say first impressions are everything in senior living. A well-designed website serves more purpose than just aesthetics. It is a first glimpse into what life will look like in your new retirement home.
Several components must work together to make a great website. But don’t worry. It’s not as technical as you might think. The first step to engaging prospective residents and their family members is to establish trust. To this end, your website needs to be as transparent as possible. It begins with a clear navigation menu and drop-downs that are easy to locate and use.
In all likelihood, the first time a prospective resident discovers your retirement community is through your website. Give them a reason to see your vibrant community for what it is! Wondering what you need to ensure your senior living website converts initial prospects to genuine sales leads? Angell Marketing has you covered with strategies for creating an engaging experience that’ll take your website to the next level.
UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS OF AGING EYES
Designing for seniors is about more than font size. It’s important to take other elements into consideration as well, such as the contrast between your background colors and font color. Are they readable? Will someone with colorblindness or other vision issues have difficulty? Are your buttons large enough? Without a qualified designer by your side, it really is difficult to create a site that looks and works well. Good thing you’ve got us. You do, don’t you? If not, now might be a good time for us to chat.
OFFER CLEAR NAVIGATION TO COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES
Your homepage should reflect the look and feel of your retirement community. What you see is what you should get! For instance, Longhorn Village, a senior living community in Austin, Texas, incorporates southern charm, feel-good photography and a seamless menu with dropdowns. Prospective residents and their loved ones can easily find the information they are seeking. All while getting a sense of the personality of the community they may soon call home.
PRESENT NEW WAYS OF COMMUNICATING WITH A CHATBOT
Offering multiple communication channels is vital for a successful senior living website, and one way to do that is by utilizing a ChatBot. Few people’s preferred means of communication is with a robot, but this tool is a great way to assist potential prospects in real time and get information needed – fast!
Cottage Grove Place, a senior living community in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, features a chatbot on its website with prompts to schedule a visit, ask questions, view floor plans and much more. It’s not just convenient for users, it’s also incredibly helpful for your sales team. The community can gather prospects’ information and call them at their earliest convenience.
THE POWER OF BLOGGING
Blogs offer a creative and strategic approach to gaining traffic and building trust in your senior living website. Whether users are looking for a specific topic or a glimpse into resident lives, blog posts allow you to feature different perspectives and highlight specific offerings of your community. For instance, it’s important to provide more than just a look into activities and lifestyle programs. Get creative and feature residents who fell in love in the community or how seniors can make lasting memories at nearby landmarks. Blogs are a great opportunity to optimize your website with high-performing keywords and rank high on Google search results.
If you are interested in learning more about the significance of blogs, read our previous post: 5 reasons why blogs are important for senior living websites.
PROMOTE PROSPECT/RESIDENT EVENTS
Senior living communities are all about mixing, mingling and making memories. What better way to showcase these vibrant gatherings than by bringing the excitement straight to the event page on your website?
Beatitudes Campus, a senior living community in Phoenix, Ariz., does a great job of always refreshing its website full of fun and unique events going on in the community. Whether it’s an invite to one of their music and wine series events or wanting to schedule a tour to see the community, it’s as easy as a click of a button.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Angell Marketing knows how to design an effortless website experience that delivers tangible results. Our expert marketing team aids in creating custom websites to connect the right prospects to your unique community. Contact us today to see how you can elevate your senior living website—and bring out all the fun in your community. We can’t wait to connect with you!