Marketing is about knowing your audience and building strong connections, but not every trend is relevant for care. Following the right trends will help you stand out from the crowd, attract the right clients, and recruit the best staff – not to mention getting the best return on investment.
Join us as we explore the 7 most relevant digital marketing trends in the care sector.
1. Localised SEO
Digital marketing is all about your online presence. Most people start their search for a care provider, new job – and, let’s face it, pretty much anything – online. If they’re familiar with your brand, they might go straight to your website (jackpot!) but the chances are, they’ll start with a search engine.
How do you make sure your company is not just on page 1 of the search results, but near the top? With search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO improves the visibility of your website using relevant keywords (the words people type into a search bar).
Localised SEO will help to capture all those searches for services ‘near me’. You can use third-party tools to research what people are looking for in your area. The sweet spot is finding relevant keywords with low competition and weaving them naturally into your copy.
Search engines also rank your website higher if it’s technically sound, which leads us onto point 2.
2. Modern Website
Your website is often your first opportunity to connect with prospects. It’s like putting your business on stage and showing off everything that makes you unique, so naturally, you want people to have a good experience when they’re visiting.
Before you even think about content, that starts with having a professional website that’s easy to navigate and works well on any device – lots of people browse websites from their phone, and if you haven’t optimised your website for mobile, they’re going to bounce straight onto a competitor’s website. If you don’t have the skills to do this in-house, work with a partner.
Next, make sure you have all the right information on your website. It should clearly explain your services, your story, how to get in touch with you, and it’s a great opportunity for some content marketing.
3. Omnichannel marketing
Omnichannel marketing means engaging with prospects on your website and socials, through relevant partnerships, and out in the community. It’s basically meeting your prospect or ideal recruit where they are with a range of relevant communications (which we’ll be covering in points 4-7).
So, how do you know which channels your ideal client is using? Luckily, this is well studied. If you’ve created buyer personas, you’ll know which demographic you’re targeting. As a rule of thumb, the channels that are most relevant for care will be Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You could connect with prospective young recruits on TikTok, but consider whether it’s worth the effort for your business.
Once you’ve established your channels, it’s important to follow your brand guidelines to create a consistent look and feel, while tailoring what you post for each platform. Instagram is a lot less formal than LinkedIn, for example.
4. Blogs
Posting regular, SEO-optimised blogs on your website will help with search engine rankings and position your business as a trusted authority in the sector. Nominate a member of your team to be in charge of blogs and social media (or work with a partner) and put a strategy in place to make sure you’re posting often enough to stay relevant without overloading your audience with too much noise.
If you think of your website as your business’ greatest hits, your blogs are where you can go into more depth. Use them to show your reader that you understand their challenges and can address them. After all, looking for care is an emotional, worrying time, and people will be looking for reassurance and a personal connection to a care provider as much as they need information.
Equally, someone looking for a care job might be searching for a company they can stay and grow with. They might have had bad experiences or felt underappreciated before. Your blogs should highlight more about your services, what it’s like to work for you, and act as a resource for people navigating care.
5. Social media
Where better to advertise your blogs than on social media? But you can use it for so much more. This is an opportunity to show what life is like at your company. Share industry news or your latest announcements, post about your services, or share snaps from team socials.
Be mindful that if you want to share any photographs of your clients you’ll need their written permission. If they’re happy to be featured, this is a great way to add authenticity and differentiate yourself from other providers.
You can also share your best reviews on social media. It’s worth having a standard format and design so they all look consistent and eye-catching. There are plenty of free tools available to help you create simple layouts.
Social media also gives you a direct line of communication with your audience. Make sure you respond to comments, engage with the accounts you follow (i.e. like, share, and comment on their posts), and if someone starts a conversation that shouldn’t be in the public eye, move it to direct messaging or ask if you can call or email them.
6. Video marketing
A few short videos can have a big impact on your audience. Even the best copywriting can’t capture the heart of your business the same way a video can – especially in the age of AI when it’s not always possible to tell if a human had any input in what you’re reading.
Care is intimate and personal, so it’s really important that your audience feels like they’re connecting with real people. People they can trust to look after their loved ones or treat them with dignity and respect if they’re looking for care themselves.
We recommend creating a short video for the about page of your website. Feature some of your staff (especially if you have long-standing carers your clients will recognise), talk a little about your business, and if clients are willing to be filmed then let them advocate for you.
While it’s worth getting the professionals in for a video that will go on your website, you can use your phone to film more casual content for social media.
7. Newsletters
You’ve got a blog, you’re posting regularly on social media – you’ve basically got everything you need to start sending monthly newsletters. Use these to keep in touch with your mailing list of clients or family members.
Newsletters are a great way of letting your contacts know what’s happening every month. You can share links to blogs and include photos you’ve posted on social media. If you run a care home and have permission from residents, newsletters are a great way to share pictures of trips, activities or events. This can be very reassuring for the families of the people you care for, and is more private than sharing them on social media.
Your newsletter will be going out to contacts who are familiar with your business and have signed up for them, so they can be a bit more intimate and personal than when you’re marketing to prospects. Having one of your team write them can give them an authentic and friendly feel, just make sure they’re checked for typos and use an appropriate, professional tone.
Get in touch
Stay ahead of the digital marketing trends in care with marketing expertise from Cahoot. We can build you an SEO-optimised website, kickstart your omnichannel marketing campaign, and help you make a splash in your local community.
