2023 marketing trends for aged care

The aged care industry has undergone major upheaval in Australia in the last few years and this impact has certainly been felt within the marketing disciplines. Even the savviest of marketing professionals have had to adapt their strategies to suit the changing environment, and a strategy of ‘test-learn-optimise’ is the mantra of those riding the ups and downs of the sector. 

There are, however, several key trends having an impact on the industry that dynamic marketers can implement to see growth in brand recognition and marketing insights in 2023. 

Below is Hello Leaders’ key market trend insights for aged care providers in the new year.

Optimise your digital presence

For many years the aged care sector lagged behind in terms of digital marketing adoption, due in part to the fact that it’s an older demographic of potential consumers who were less digital-savvy than their younger counterparts. 

But as our population ages and technology becomes more and more a part of our daily lives, this cohort of potential consumers are increasingly comfortable with the internet and digital technologies – making now the time for organisations to catch up with digital marketing trends and best practice.

Websites originally developed to merely satisfy the need for a digital presence no longer make the cut – consumers are seeking relevant and tailored information that is right for them and serves their journey within the aged care system. 

A website with generalised information and little depth is no longer appropriate. Users want to be able to have their questions answered immediately and not have to make contact via other means (i.e. making a phone call) to get answers.

By developing informative and interactive tools on your website, you will not only keep users on your site longer (benefitting your website SEO) but your brand will impress a positive association on the user which increases consideration and conversion. 

Brands may wish to consider the following:

• Real-time vacancy listings
• Automated bookings for appointments or facility tours
• Virtual tours of facilities
• Live chat for real-time queries
• Testimonials from current residents and families
• Single-step forms to request further information or printed material

A resource like the Aged Care Guide is a prime example of a data-rich website where users can find answers to their questions, search for residential care or nursing home availability, as well as make contact with relevant service providers. 

The need to navigate offsite or offline are minimised by the wealth of information and guidance provided and facilitated by an intuitive user experience. Something that you should consider incorporating into your own digital marketing.

Diversify your offering

Every good marketing plan targets multiple facets of a consumer’s journey, and in the aged care sector this means diversifying across advertising mediums to maximise your reach.

Not every older Australian is digital-savvy, and even those that are often wish to supplement their information search with tangible resources that can be referred to again and again. 

Printed materials serve an important role with this cohort of consumers who prefer to compile physical documentation of their options and choices.

Printed guides, booklets and leaflets are the ideal way to distil your brand message in a concise and compelling way. What do you want a consumer to know about you, and what is the most important information you wish to communicate? 

This tangible medium also has the benefit of having a stronger impact on brand salience (recognition and recall) than many fleeting digital formats.

Distribution is the challenge with printed materials, but by choosing a format with established reach and recognition you can ensure your message gets into the hands of the right audience. 

A publication like the Aged Care Guide is distributed nationwide via a network that includes ACAT/ACAS, hospital discharge planners & social workers, all who have face to face interactions with potential consumers who seek or need information relating to aged care. The guide can get your brand directly in the hands of those that need it, and with the 2023 launch of their Support at Home guides their reach is comprehensive yet targeted.

Advertising in reputable publications is the way to reach your consumers and has the additional benefit of aligning your organisation with the authority and influence of another. When your desired audience finds your brand in a relevant context and environment, you cement your place as a provider of choice and trust. 

Facebook groups are the new community hubs

18.7% of Australian social media users are over the age of 55, with Facebook by far the most popular platform. And Facebook groups are one of the areas the platform has been prioritising and developing over the past few years, in no small part due to the 1.8 million users of groups every month globally. 

Facebook now allows brand pages to engage with and contribute to the conversation in groups, so no longer do your employees need to lurk for insights using their personal accounts. 

Aged care brands can use groups as a valuable way to listen in on the conversations happening in their industry and truly understand the needs and wants of their consumers at a grassroots level. 

When approached with care, brands can also interact within groups to solicit feedback which can in turn lead to improvements in operations or marketing. 

Finding a relevant and engaged Facebook group in your sector that is open to brand communications is a valuable asset, and if delivered with an appropriate value exchange -users see a value or benefit from providing their feedback – it can be a rich source of data with which to push your organisation forward.

Greater competition requires a greater focus

The aged care sector has been under greater scrutiny since the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and this has had a flow-on effect to marketing activities too. Consumers expect honesty and transparency when interacting with aged care organisations and the platforms on which we advertise have implemented strategies to support this.

Google holds YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) websites to a higher standard, due to the impacts on individuals of information (or risks of misinformation) on these topics. 

This makes marketing activations like SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) harder – or rather puts pressure on businesses for their SEO and SEM activities to be more relevant, targeted and useful for the end user. 

This has the effect of making relevant keywords and topics more competitive, which in turn drives up costs. 

Marketers need to be aware that within this new ecosystem, CPMs (cost per mille) are going to be higher and that an objective to drive down costs may have a detrimental effect on quality of traffic and leads. 

Focus should instead be on the relevancy of content, optimal core web vitals (page load speed), mobile friendliness/responsiveness and site security to gain search engine favour and page rankings. 

Ad placement on authoritative sites is another way to manage ad spend costs, as native placements are more commonly a fixed price model versus the auction buy of PPC and therefore not at the mercy of competitive fluctuations. 

Native advertising allows you to control the content beside which your advertisement is placed, so you can ensure quality and relevance. Sites like Aged Care Guide, Aged Care Online and Villages are all reputable, respected sites in the industry that receive volume of quality traffic each day. By placing your brand in a contextual environment you invite more qualified leads and a higher click through rate. 

And by choosing authoritative sites, i.e. those who are at the forefront of the industry with high brand recognition, you also drive high quality traffic to your own platforms which in turn positively influence your own search engine optimisation rankings. 

Showcase the people behind your business

And finally, at the core of any care business is the real people who deliver that care. And for any consumer, they want to get a sense of the real culture and people who are potentially looking after them or their loved ones. 

Showcasing your organisation’s personality and the people behind the brand enables consumers to assess their cultural fit with your brand, as well as conveys transparency which in turn builds trust.

Share highlights from your facility’s lifestyle activities (with staff and resident consent of course) to express the fun and enrichment your organisation prioritises. 

Show the positive relationships built between residents and staff, so current family members of residents, as well as potential consumers, can see the care being demonstrated. 

And promote the community activities and initiatives your business participates in to express your valuable position within the broader community.

This level of transparency also has the effect of enticing potential hires to your organisation and can be helpful from a human resources perspective. 

By showcasing the employee culture, perks and camaraderie that exist within your organisation you can better recruit individuals who align with your values. This in turn results in greater passion and alignment for your brand, and a higher level of care for your residents or participants.

2023 will see the evolution of the aged care sector continue and be a learning curve for marketers to adapt to the changing requirements and expectations of both consumers and communications platforms alike. 

But with a focus on authenticity, transparency and relevance, brands can reach their intended audience and connect on a meaningful and fruitful level.

What marketing trends do you believe will dominate in 2023? Tell us in the comments below.