As potential referral sources, patients, clients and family members become more search-centric when they need products and services, they are looking online, specifically to social media to help make purchase decisions. There is no quicker way to evoke influence than via visual image, which is why home care social media marketing just got Pinteresting.
With the meteoric rise of social media newcomer, Pinterest, home care and private duty marketing has the opportunity to transform itself and create fresh and more visual campaigns that resonate with users, while driving the agency’s website up in the search engine rankings.
However, social media itself is changing. With platforms emerging monthly, social networking is becoming a more visual medium giving companies the chance to bring the graphic-based aspect of their brand to the forefront. Get to know the site that is driving this visual marketing revolution.
Pinterest: The New Face of Social Media Marketing
Businesses that haven't yet been introduced to the highly addictive and wildly popular Pinterest, should be aware that since its soft launch to developer Ben Silbermann's close friends and family in early 2010, the site has skyrocketed and is currently the third most popular social media network in the U.S. A highly visual site, Pinterest allows users to create boards and “pin” interesting photos from other sites around the web to those boards. These “pins” link other users back to the website from which the image came, creating the potential for a vast network of prospective new clients for companies who previously had a more limited reach. For more information about Pinterest and how it works, visit www.pinterest.com/about/. For a real life example of how to use Pinterest as a marketing tool, visit www.pinterest.com/corecubed/.
While the connection between Pinterest and home care marketing may not immediately leap to mind, the site offers agencies a great way to display information about their services, caregivers, and more in a fun, more visually dynamic way. People seeking information about in-home care are seeking a way to trust and build confidence that the home health agency will care for their loved one. The soft touch of Pinterest and its visuals can go a long way to accomplish just that. Tap into current and potential clients' needs by creating pinboards like:
- Healthy Recipes: Many home care clients have special dietary needs, and the families of these clients are constantly searching for heart-healthy or diabetes-friendly meals. Pin images of tasty, yet healthy recipes that your clients can enjoy on a Healthy Recipe pinboard. Should a client find a recipe interesting, the photo links directly to the site from which it was pinned, so finding the actual recipe is easy.
- Home Health Products: Many agencies either sell in-home care products or work closely with a specific manufacturer whose product line they recommend. A pinboard with recommendations for home medical equipment gives clients a convenient spot to find what they need from a source they trust. Plus the visuals make the product “spring to life” with the opportunity to show a product in action as opposed to just a sales photo.
- Health- and Caregiver-related Articles: Pin news articles that your clients and caregivers might find helpful or interesting. This is another great way to demonstrate that your agency stays current on industry news, which will in turn engender trust from potential clients. The more interesting the article, the more the possibility that someone will repin it, thus giving you even more social media clout.
- Exercise Routines for Seniors: The web is full of short work-out videos, many geared toward seniors. Pin some exercise videos to help inspire clients to get up and get moving.
- Images from the Agency's Website: One of the biggest benefits of marketing through Pinterest is that pinning images from your website will lead users right back to your virtual front door, so don't leave out your own visuals. If your agency maintains a blog, pin any images that go with blog posts to a “Blog” pinboard. Have an image that goes along with a Senior Resource page? Pin that as well. And make certain to share the people behind the service. Personalization is what Pinterest is all about.
corecubed's MOST program has a skilled team of social media marketing experts who know how to make Pinterest work for you. For more information on the MOST program, contact us today.