Social Media Marketing for Senior Living Centers: A Beginner's Guide
Social media may be considered the younger generation’s preferred method of communication and leisure, but it still holds value for senior living facilities. As roughly 80 million Baby Boomers enter retirement and transition out of their traditional lifestyles, senior living social media marketing is a great way to reach these potential clients.
Building Your Online Presence in the Senior Community
It’s a common misinterpretation that baby boomers aren’t online or using social media. In fact, 82% of boomers who are online have at least one social media account, with an average of 4.6 social media accounts. Facebook and LinkedIn are their preferred platforms, according to a study published in Forbes.
Assisted living facilities that utilize social media marketing can significantly expand their reach to potential clients and their families at a critical decision-making stage.
These platforms provide an opportunity to showcase the community’s unique amenities, activities, and care philosophy through authentic content that resonates with seniors and their adult children, who often influence housing decisions.
Strategic social media engagement builds trust and establishes expertise before prospects even visit the property. By providing valuable content about aging, health management, and transition planning, facilities position themselves as knowledgeable partners in the assisted living journey.
Let’s delve into how to implement a sophisticated social media strategy to reach the baby boomer generation and why social media marketing is increasingly essential for assisted living providers seeking to maintain occupancy rates.
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How to Target Older Demographics With Social Media Marketing?
Visually rich platforms like Instagram and Facebook allow facilities to humanize their brands by highlighting resident stories, staff dedication, and their vibrant lifestyle, helping to overcome common misconceptions about assisted living environments. Senior living marketing can effectively target older demographics through strategic social media marketing that acknowledges the growing digital literacy among seniors.
Centers should focus on creating accessible content with larger text, high-contrast colors, and straightforward messaging that resonates with their life experiences and values. Content highlighting community activities, wellness programs, and resident testimonials performs particularly well, especially when it emphasizes independence, dignity, and the social connections formed within the community.
Facilities should also consider paid social media targeting options that allow them to reach seniors based on age, location, interests in retirement planning, and health topics.
The timing and frequency of social media posts are equally important when marketing to older adults. Research indicates that seniors typically browse social media during morning hours and early evenings, making these optimal times for engagement.
Creating educational content that addresses common concerns about the transition to assisted living—such as maintaining independence, managing finances, and accessing healthcare—builds trust and positions the facility as a knowledgeable resource rather than just a housing option. This approach recognizes that the decision-making process often involves adult children, who frequently research options online before discussing them with their parents.
What Social Media Do 50-60 Year Olds Use?
While people in the 40 to 50-year-old age range may not enter an assisted living facility in the near future, they may be looking for centers for their parents. Adults in this age range typically use a mix of established and emerging social media platforms, further highlighting the benefits of social media marketing for businesses.
Here’s what their social media usage generally looks like:
- Facebook remains highly popular, with a significant majority of this age group maintaining active accounts. They use it primarily to keep in touch with family and friends, participate in groups, and follow brands or news.
- Instagram is widely used, especially among those who are more digitally engaged. Many in this age bracket enjoy sharing photos of family, travel, and life milestones.
- LinkedIn is particularly important for this demographic, as they’re often in established career positions or seeking new opportunities. They use it for professional networking and industry insights.
- YouTube is heavily consumed by this age group, though they may engage more as viewers than content creators.
- Pinterest is popular for home decor, recipes, and DIY projects, particularly among women in this age range.
- TikTok has seen growing adoption, though at lower rates than younger demographics. Those who use it often do so to follow trends or keep up with their children’s interests.
This age group tends to be more selective about their social media usage than younger demographics, often preferring quality engagement over quantity of platforms.
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What Is the Fastest-Growing Social Media Platform for Seniors?
TikTok is currently the fastest-growing social media platform among seniors. While Facebook still maintains the highest overall usage among seniors, TikTok has experienced the most rapid growth rate in this demographic over the past two years.
The factors driving this trend include the platform’s algorithm-driven content discovery, making it easy for seniors to find content relevant to their interests without building a network first.
The short-form video format is also accessible and engaging, and many seniors have discovered communities of like-minded individuals sharing content about retirement living, health tips, travel, and grandparenting.
What Percentage of Elderly People Use Social Media?
Nearly half (47%) of online users aged 50 to 64 and one in four (26%) users aged 65 and older are now active on social networking sites, according to the Pew Research Center. This represents a significant increase from about a decade ago when only around 10 to 15% of seniors were engaged with social media.
Several factors influence these statistics, including education level, income, proximity to family members who use technology, and previous career exposure to digital tools. Seniors with higher education levels and those who use smartphones are significantly more likely to engage with social media. The COVID-19 pandemic also increased adoption rates among seniors as digital communication became essential for maintaining social connections during periods of isolation.
As older generations continue to demonstrate an increase and mastery of digital technology through smartphones and computers, the benefits of social media marketing will only increase. The assisted living facilities that can leverage the growing influence these platforms have on potential clients will be the ones much better positioned to grow and thrive in the future.
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Digital Marketing for Assisted Living
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Access Senior Living Social Media Marketing Services From Blue Interactive Agency
Senior living social media marketing enables more cost-effective targeting compared to traditional marketing methods, allowing communities to connect with exactly the demographic they serve based on age, location, interests, and life circumstances. While the benefits may seem clear, how and where to start a social media marketing campaign may seem like a challenge.
Luckily, the digital marketing experts at Blue Interactive Agency provide online marketing services to help assisted living facilities take their marketing to the next level. Our Fort Lauderdale-based digital agency knows the local community well, and our services are designed to reach consumers where they frequent the most—online.
To discover more about how to enhance your assisted living community’s digital presence with our social media marketing services, call 954-779-2801 today.
External Sources
- Forbes – Social Media Matters For Baby Boomers
- MarketingCharts – Which Social Media Platforms Are the 50+ Age Group Using?
- Pew Research Center – Older Adults and Social Media
