Enhancing Brand Reputation: Creating Your Own Positive Media

Many people tend to attach greater weight to negative experiences. As a business, you have likely seen this many times. A user could read multiple positive reviews about your business, but one negative review may turn them away.

This is why reputation management is so important for business success. By being reactive to your brand reputation, you are letting others tell your company’s story. By being proactive, you can focus attention on the areas of your business that matter to you. 

Of course, even with reputation management in place, your business may still have to deal with negative reviews, unhappy customers, or disgruntled employees. But, in a sea of positive press, these negative occurrences may not be as impactful. 

Markentum is sharing digital marketing strategies your senior living community can implement to generate positive attention towards your business.

Resident & Employee Stories

We say it often, but as a senior living community, some of your strongest assets are your residents. We see these stories about seniors go viral all the time on social media – “90-year-old woman graduates from high school” or “WWII veteran continues to run five miles every day.” These stories are impactful and resonate with readers, and you likely have residents in your community who have done, and continue to do, amazing things! 

People love to read a feel-good story, which is why we often incorporate these types of stories in our social media marketing strategy. By creating and distributing these stories, you can shine a positive light on your community, increase brand awareness, and most importantly, highlight the wonderful people who call your community home.

Beyond your residents, find opportunities to highlight your caregivers and team members. Maybe an employee is celebrating their 15th year with the company (showing your team’s dedication), or a team member is training for a triathlon (further exemplifying your community’s focus on physical wellness). These stories can highlight your care team, increase employee morale, and spotlight your community.

Philanthropy ❤️

We know that for most individuals in the senior housing industry, their job is their passion. Many senior living communities go above and beyond their duties and responsibilities, supporting local organizations, donating to reputable causes, and volunteering their time and resources. Showcasing these philanthropic efforts can create positive media around your business and show potential residents and families you genuinely care.

While not every donation or fundraising effort may generate media coverage, larger-scale efforts might. If your community is partnering with other businesses and holding a month-long fundraiser to support cancer research, create a press release and distribute it to local media outlets. “Reporters are constantly looking for good stories that provide value to their audiences. If you have news that is of interest to the readers, you’ve got a good chance of gaining an influencer’s attention. But remember, most reporters get upwards of 50 story pitches a day, so make sure yours stands out by being relevant and newsworthy (sherrilynnestarkie.com).” 

To further leverage your efforts, create “an online media kit where journalists can freely access [your] news releases, quality photos and video, executive bios, technical fact sheets, and statistics they can use to build their stories. (sherrilynnestarkie.com).”

Building Local Presence

“Your efforts to gain positive press don’t always have to be on a large-scale level to be effective. Even individual networking can win you the good kind of attention (entrepreneur.com).”

Build a presence in your local area by connecting with other organizations, media outlets, area officials, or businesses. These types of partnerships can lead to increased media coverage or word-of-mouth referrals. Beyond that, networking with authoritative websites like official city or Chamber of Commerce websites can lead to future backlinking opportunities, improving search engine rankings.

“PR isn’t a plug-and-play game. While results sometimes happen quickly, carrying that expectation can be a recipe for disappointment. Instead, think of PR as a marathon, not a sprint. (forbes.com)”

Markentum is a digital marketing agency focused on the senior housing industry with locations in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. We work with senior living communities to create custom content and manage online reviews and reputation management.

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If you are interested in learning more about digital marketing services for your senior living community, we invite you to reach out for a free evaluation!