Home Care Pulse
Marketing can be a wild beast to tame. It’s often intimidating and at times expensive.
According to CMO Council, the average U.S. marketer spends 2.5% of the company’s total revenue on marketing. While there are plenty of effective ways to spend money on marketing, it doesn’t have to consume a large portion of your budget.
Sending out 12,000 emails or landing a spot in the local newspaper may sound pricey, but these marketing activities can actually be free or at least, budget-friendly. If your marketing budget is small or you’re simply looking for more ideas on how to reach out to your community, these options are a great choice.
1. SEO
If your business is not listed on Google and Bing yet, take a quick minute to add it to their listings. This is a simple way to begin generating traffic to your office and your website. SEO or searching engine optimization is one of the most important and potentially cheapest ways to reach out to customers since so many clients are now using web searches to find a provider.
Simply put, SEO is a marketing practice used to drive traffic to your website through search engines. The higher your rank on websites like Google and Bing, the more people you will have learning about your business and signing up for services, which in turn, translates to revenue growth.
The key to proper SEO is patience, so once you’re listed on search engines start publishing content on your site and social media accounts to create a community around your brand without costing your company anything more than time.
Another key point while using SEO is to commit to using industry keywords repeatedly throughout your website, social media accounts, and other company-related pages. This will help your company to get recognized, and once again, start to rank higher.
Outsourcing website and SEO to a marketing agency such as ChoiceLocal, Corecubed, or Providentia may be a good idea unless you have a background in digital marketing and the time to do it right.
Read The Best Way to Market Your Home Care Business to Consumers: SEO
2. Contact local media
Local reporters are always in need of a story and oftentimes it can be hard to find one, which means they’re open to story pitches. Every company has a story, so take a moment to think of yours. What sets you apart in your community? What stories do you have to tell about your clients and caregivers? As you find out more about them, ask them if they’d be willing to share their stories with a local news source.
Once you have a few stories to pitch, contact your local radio stations, newspapers, and community sites. These sources are always in need of new content and will often be interested in publishing your event updates and unique experiences. Depending on your city you could end up with an article in your daily paper or an interview on a local station.
Utilizing common advertising efforts through local media sources will give you a foot in the door to attracting more clients, caregivers, and company followers. Media companies love to support local businesses and can be of benefit as you seek to expand your brand.
3. Email marketing
According to a study by ExactTarget, 77% of consumers prefer to receive permission-based marketing communications via email. Fortunately, many email marketing services, like Mail Chimp, are free and allow you to send thousands of emails each month.
You can use your Facebook or WordPress account to collect email addresses and then begin to send information to your clients or potential clients.
As you start collecting more email addresses and build out a contact list, you can create a simple newsletter to send out on a monthly basis to share news and provide updates for current clients and their families.
4. Get involved in community groups
The Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and other local groups are great places to make connections with community leaders and members of your target clientele. Most clubs meet on a regular basis and offer opportunities to establish roots in the community and meet potential contacts and referral sources.
Depending on the club, you can also offer to teach a class or hold a Q&A about a home care topic that can draw in even more contacts and participation. Consider showing off your expertise in-home care by hosting classes that discuss safety and health and caring for loved ones.
5. Offer to be a speaker
Many university classes, conventions, conferences, and events welcome speakers who can provide insider information on their topic. Consider your personal expertise and pitch possible presentation topics to conference organizers or professors. Public speaking can establish you as a local authority in aging and home care and widen your network with local professionals in the health and home care fields.
By establishing yourself as an expert in the industry and marketing yourself through speaking engagements, you’ll start to form connections and build a rapport that will help your agency grow and become more recognized.
Building relationships is a huge factor in successfully marketing and events like conferences, conventions, and even university courses can help to form those bonds.
Read Marketing Your Business to Consumers: Where to Start
Marketing doesn’t need to be complicated or costly. Getting involved in your community and using free online services are great ways to get started. Whether you have a tight budget or unlimited resources, these marketing strategies are a smart way to establish your name and strengthen your brand within your community.
