Page 6B—
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
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April 20-May 3, 2016
T
he market today is
flooded with players
who want to reach
the burgeoning market for
senior housing and care. The
challenge is increased by the
need to reach not only seniors
in need of housing and care,
but also to effectively reach the
baby boomer and millennial
children of seniors. The strategy
to reach those targets is through
skillful use of signals and
sentiments. These two objectives
help you provide what prospects
and search engines are looking
for: expertise, authority and
trustworthiness. Signals to the
search engines will ensure
that your message gets found.
Sentiments make sure that
prospects look favorably on
your product. This combination
of different but closely related
messages will assure results
for those appealing to the
increasingly crowded senior
marketplace.
Signals are the sure way to
invite search engines to show
your website – both on desktop
and mobile devices – where
folks are looking for your
products. The online marketing
landscape has changed in the
last six months as the search
engines have changed their
objectives. The content on your
website is key. Long, well-written
informative pages are required
in today’s online environment.
There’s a misconception that
we live in the age of bullet
points and brief text. When
buyers are making long-term
decisions, they want – and
need – information and lots of
it. The search engines reward
long, well-researched pages.
Consider offering 600- to 800-
plus words per page for your
key product offerings. For
example, this article is 800-plus
words. Also, consider that long
text demonstrates expertise and
authority.
So you have well-written pages
on your site with lots of text.
Are you finished yet? Nope.
Now you need to prepare
your website in a way that
presents information the way
search engines recognize and
appreciate. While designers
and agencies say their sites have
search engine optimization, very
few firms take the time to study
the trends of search engines –
and what they’re looking for.
Are your tags formatted well?
Is your sitemap inclusive and
well curated? Are you appealing
to the specific localities that
are likely to be searched for?
These objectives are possible
to achieve with the requisite
research and planning. We see
so many examples of sites with
pretty pages that sadly never get
found.
Some of the most powerful
signals you can send the search
engines are not located on
your website at all. The reviews
that customers leave for your
business have an increasingly
influential effect on your site’s
ability to get found. These
reviews are not to be confused
with “likes” on Facebook. The
power of reviews is that they
are by verified users on well-
trafficked sites. Reviews give
you a marked advantage over
the competition. Systematic
cultivation of user reviews on
the right sites effectively builds
a strong foundation over time
that competitors may never
overtake. It also helps establish
your expertise and authority.
When facing vacancy or
leasing up a new property, you
may want to rely on a vehicle
that delivers immediate results.
A pay-per-click advertising
campaign guarantees that
your advertisement is found
on page one of search results
immediately. The strength of
your website can actually extend
the reach of your campaign
and increase effectiveness while
reducing costs. Plus you can
turn it off when you’re full. PPC
is a powerful and immediate
signal to consider tactically.
Sentiments establish
trustworthiness with both
prospects and the search
engines. Do you ever shop
online? If so, do you ever read
the reviews? Why? We are social
creatures who want to learn
from the experience of others.
Cultivating reviews systematically
on websites that matter can
distance you from the others
in a crowded market. Make
sure you target review sites
that matter, and don’t bother
with the unimportant ones.
There are software-as-a-service
products that will make posting
reviews easy for customers
and assist your team to get the
reviews you need. The power
of reviews is growing in the
marketplace. Just as importantly,
the significance assigned to
them by the search engines is
growing, too.
We previously looked at
website content as a way
to establish expertise and
authority. Well-written content
also goes a long way toward
creating positive sentiments
for prospects. Spend time with
your message. Often website
copy is an after-thought. Make
it front and center. Content
also has to serve double duty.
It has to appeal to seniors and
their children. Both will be put
off by off-the-cuff text written
by someone who doesn’t relate
to the nuances of these two
mature audiences. Writing for
senior housing and care isn’t
the same as for writing for “hip”
advertising products.
An unprecedented number
of seniors are currently trying
to navigate an increasingly
crowded online environment.
A well-crafted website with
thoughtful text, together
with reviews and PPC when
needed, sends strong signals
to the marketplace. Together
they create a foundation of
consumer sentiments that
provides the expertise, authority
and trustworthiness both seniors
and their children need to
make a decision for housing
and care.
F
or years the leaders in
senior health care and
housing have been
skilled-nursing operators with
over 15,700 facilities and 1.7
million licensed beds, according
to the Centers for Disease
Control, currently operating
nationally. Over the past few
years, occupancy trends have
shown movement of seniors into
a broader spectrum of health
care and housing options paired
with declining census trends in
skilled-nursing occupancy in most
markets (National Investment
Center). This has included
residents with high-acuity medical
and memory care needs.
Senior industry experts predict
that this trend will continue to
grow, as new models of service
are offering seniors more
health care choices in state-of-
the-art living environments.
Construction of senior housing
for independent and assisted
living remains strong in most
primary real estate markets. As
a result, many skilled-nursing
facility operators have seized the
opportunity to bring their proven
expertise to the senior living
market space. SNF operators
are now active players in new
construction and operations
management of independent
living, assisted living and memory
care.
In Colorado’s hot senior
housing construction market,
developers and investors have
sought out proven operators to
partner with in creating designs
and services with the future needs
of seniors in mind.
“Selecting a seasoned operator
that clearly understands not only
the market, but the true needs
and expectations of today and
tomorrow’s seniors is critical
to the success of each multi-
million dollar investment,” stated
Jay Moskowitz, CEO of Vivage
Senior Living. Opening a new
senior community requires a
solid understanding of design
features that foster wellness
and independence, as well as
state and federal regulatory
requirements. Technology
features are also a fast-growing
area for senior housing and
health care and the quality
operator will be able to bring
technology features to the
operations that support the
residents and the workflow of the
staffing model. With the current
focus on memory care, a top
operator also be able to provide
a holistic and well-versed team
of dementia experts to memory
care services, offering a wide
array of memory care programs
and features that offer life
enrichment, optimal health and
safety assurances. More than half
of today’s assisted living residents
are over age 85 and have several
chronic health conditions. Forty-
two percent of AL residents
have memory care needs, and
37 percent need assistance
with three or more activities
of daily living (Argentum).
An experienced operator also
will bring proven clinical and
wellness management programs
and services, including a robust
therapy and rehabilitation team
for post-hospital episodic needs.
John Schick
President, Better Links Media,
Denver
Nancy Schwalm
Chief business development officer,
Vivage Senior Living, Lakewood
