Social Media Truths: Part II
Putting a Plan in Place

The real power of social media tools is to engage in conversation and collaboration. That’s easy to say, but it’s a real change for companies to go from message creation and dissemination to a true conversation and dialogue with consumers.

It's important to have a mechanism for listening regularly, responding when others speak, challenging and asking questions. The most difficult hurdle to overcome is allowing multiple voices in the company to be heard without continuous censorship and oversight.

It's important to actively engage on social network venues to understand how your reputation can be impacted by interactions. Gather information on the social media activities that your company is considering. Then assess the areas of vulnerability, create counteraction plans and communicate them to employees.

It will be necessary to dedicate an employee or an outside resource to the management of your community's online reputation and make sure whoever you choose is avidly looking out for conversations, both good and bad, about your brand.

You will want to build a process to identify new reputation risk elements as social media evolves and to have a crisis plan in place. Ahead of time, think of every "what if" and determine what course of action you will take if anything goes awry.

It's important to create a social media policy for your employees and to communicate it well; the nature of social media is to be unfettered, so your policy should be carefully thought through and designed to gain buy-in from your team.

A strong social media program includes some or all of the following elements carefully integrated:

• Web
• Search
• Facebook
• YouTube
• QR codes
• Location media
• Twitter
• Mobile
• Listening and response
• Analytics

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Selling a Longer, Healthier Life

If a pharmaceutical company came out with a pill that could extend seniors’ lives by five healthy years, would they buy it? That’s exactly what CCRCs are selling. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, people who live in CCRCs live five years longer than those who stay in their homes. There are many potential reasons for this, including early intervention, rapid emergency response, good nutrition and access to exercise, but the most important reason might be the “community” part of retirement communities. Research shows that low social interaction has a negative impact on health equivalent to smoking, alcoholism, obesity or lack of exercise*. CCRCs offer an ever-expanding circle of friends – something seniors in their homes often have difficulty accessing as time goes by.

*John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago and coauthor of a new book, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection

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Campaign Spotlight

Oakwood Twins Campaign

Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries has two CCRCs in Madison, Wisconsin. Until now, the two communities have been together in all of their advertising. Because each of the communities is unique and has its own special appeal, Oakwood decided to develop a brand identity for each one and began by replacing the old designation of Oakwood Village West and Oakwood Village East with campus names: Oakwood Village University Woods and Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge, respectively. This ad campaign was designed to introduce the idea that while both communities are Oakwood, each one has its own exceptional personality.

>> View Ad #1 | >> View Ad #2

The Cedars Collateral

The Cedars in Portland, Maine, offers a full spectrum of lifestyle options on its campus, but in the past, each level of care had been marketed separately. This collateral package was designed to appeal to the individuality of “Mainers” while showing the benefits of living in a community where there is access to wellness, rehabilitation, Assisted Living and health care, as well as exceptional apartment and community spaces.

>> View Brochure

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