It’s October 19th! Which means it’s the day to wish our fearless, fun and fantastic leader, Todd Harff, the happiest of happy birthdays!
(Be sure to click through to www.creatingresults.com and check out how our team is honoring this day in a very dignified fashion. If you’d like to send Todd birthday greetings please use the comments section, below, or Tweet him – he’s @ToddHarff. Todd is an incredibly giving person. I hope you’ll give a few moments and in the fun!)
Now on to the “business” of this blog post — our weekly round-up of links and resources that caught the attention of professionals in senior care, 50+ housing and other industries focused on older adults. What resonated with mature marketers like you?
1. MOST SHARED: Senior care burdens are growing heavier for families, reports Amy Baxter of Senior Housing News. Baxter shared results from a Genworth Financial study called “Beyond Dollars.” Beyond is a good word to describe the lengths caregivers are going to in supporting their older loved ones.
- 77% of caregivers surveyed report missing work to meet family responsibilities — this was, as Baxter notes, “a significant jump from 19% who said the same in 2010”
- 11% reported losing a job due to the obligations of caregiving
- 43% of caregivers said the long-term care they provide has negatively affected their own health/well-being
Financial burdens are rising as well. “Caregivers who provide some financial assistance for loved ones pay $10,000 annually, on average, in out-of-pocket expenses, and most have not planned for this cost. Since 2010, these expenses for caregivers have risen 20%,” writes Baxter.
Read the Senior Housing News article: http://bit.ly/1PBY2A9
Download the Genworth “Beyond Dollars” report: http://bit.ly/1NkfzdT
2. MOST ENGAGING: Todd, Beth Spohn and I were at the SMASH Senior Care Marketing Sales Summit last week and shared a number of take-aways from the event. Taken together, they’re an action-oriented story of integrated marketing.
(The following are embedded tweets. If they don’t show up in your email, please click through to see this post on the web. Thanks!)
Objectives:
“Marketing’s goal is to enable self-discovery.” The Internet is the tool. @msweezey #SMASHCHI2015 pic.twitter.com/6GdO1OQVob
— Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 15, 2015
Challenges:
71% of boomers are planning for the future, but only 12% are considering senior living (for themselves or parents). #SMASHCHI2015 takeaway. — Dan Hutson (@dhutson) October 15, 2015
How can senior living get its messages through all this clutter? @SandstormDesign #SMASHCHI2015 pic.twitter.com/hFUYtcW01s — Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 14, 2015
Shifting Landscapes:
43% of searches for keyword “assisted living” came via mobile – are you optimized for mobile? @CSmithSF #SMASHCHI2015 — Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 14, 2015
(Cathy Smith is the Head of Industry for Google.)
Action Items:
“Word of review is now more powerful than word of mouth.” @michaelfertik #SMASHCHI2015 pic.twitter.com/mn9dBp3C72 — Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 13, 2015
(Michael Fertik wrote the book on reputation management. He says the response to negative reviews is to make it super-easy to collect positive reviews.)
“My favorite social media tool is the phone” – @crestodina. Take relationships to the next level. #SMASHCHI2015 — Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 14, 2015
Metrics of Success:
Glad @RiseInteractive emphasizes tracking calls along with web analytics – a top action of mature movers. #SMASHCHI2015 — Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 15, 2015
(How does Creating Results know that phone calls are a top action of your targets? It’s one of the findings of our Social, Silver Surfers research.)
Measuring ROI means asking & answering the right questions – @RiseInteractive#SMASHCHI2015pic.twitter.com/oYzDROmUhv — Creating Results (@CreatingResults) October 15, 2015
Did you feel we missed a key take-away from SMASH? Please share it below, and/or let us know which of these top tips resonates with you.