Well, February looks to be history, a month that seemed to last about 4 hours.  Now, we look toward March, and warmer temps with spring coming quickly.  It’s a time of change, so have your community or business ready for new prospects and make sure you are being seen by those that are in the market for senior living and care.

If you missed the Academy Awards last night, you missed out on several wins by New LifeStyles”

• Best Senior Living Supporting APP – now live and FREE through the Apple store, the New LifeStyles APP is being downloaded daily and used as an additional way to access your community.  This lead source is included in your print marketing package.
• Best Director – New LifeStyles online continues to direct seniors, their families and professionals to thousands of communities and care providers each day.  Traffic is up over 20% and there are options for every budget.
• Digital special effects – Thousands of people used the digital versions of New LifeStyles in February, complimenting its timeliness and ease of use.  All print advertisers are included at no additional costs.
• Best Web Design – TAHSA recently named the CC Young “Web site of the Year”.  It was designed and built by New LifeStyles Media Solutions’ web team and we host and do search engine maximization for them, as well!  Our group can design a new site, perform full search engine optimization services AND now they can set up your SOCIAL MEDIA presence.  Contact Luke Jansen for details.
• If you are interested in knowing more about both the print and online advertising options at New LifeStyles, our interactive media kit  is on the web site.  After reviewing everything available, you can contact us for closing deadlines, rates, statistics and more. 

March is the space reservation deadline for some of our best guides:

• SF Bay Area – already a number of new advertisers for the next edition.  Not too late to join them!
• South Florida – one of our largest distributions, almost 75,000 copies per edition
• Pittsburgh – extensive coverage of SW PA and Pittsburgh
• Orange County – One of the big originals, coming up on 25 years in print with a great selection of senior living and care providers.
• Santa Barbara – fantastic area, great way to promote your community or business
• New Jersey – distributed statewide and also in PA, NY and DE.  A great value for your advertising dollars.
• Central Massachusetts – join the great variety of providers that have been long-running participants in this guide

New copies of our guide should be arriving for the following markets:

-          Austin/San Antonio

-          Sacramento

-          Kentucky

-          Fresno/Bakersfield

-          Phoenix/Tucson

-          Colorado

-          Maryland/DC/No. Virginia

For more information, contact us immediately!

To get the latest information, friend New LifeStyles on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn, or follow us on Twitter.

However they choose to search, they’ll find you in New LifeStyles!  Make sure you are sourcing leads from all four of our great products.

 Doug

As most of you hopefully know by now, New LifeStyles recently underwent some small renovations.  We’ve added Media Solutions to our name to represent all of the marketing options we now offer, tweaked our guide and site logo and honed our tagline.  There will be other small changes as we go forward, but we all make a vast array of changes as our businesses progress and morph over time.

Our tagline had been “The Source for Seniors”, which we felt was too broad for our offerings.  It has since been changed to “The Source for Senior Living”, which encompasses the range of senior living options, from retirement/independent living to home and hospice care.  We chose a tagline that defines our business, which is only one of the many options when choosing a tagline.  Our partners use many different forms of taglines.  It is a tough decision for companies, one that should be thought out carefully, taking into account the culture and mission of the company, as well as the industry segment (s) in which they hope to prosper.  Below are a few categories of taglines to use when looking to adopt a tagline or change the one you have:

-          Defining your business or market segment

-          Promoting your expertise

-          Appealing to the emotions of your demographic

-          Comforting or creating assurance for your audience

-          Affirming the user’s decision

-          An extension of your mission statement

-          Appeal to the sensible side of the reader

-          Promoting the “lifestyle” you offer

These are just a few options.  Another option is not having a tagline, which we see often and don’t see as a detriment.   How did you choose your tagline?  Which category did you use?  Have you ever been with a company that made a mistake with their tagline and had to change it?  Share your experience, it can be a tough process and your advice can really help others.  Thanks!  Doug

Have you signed up for our free webinar this Thursday (12:00 CST)?

As a value add for our advertisers, we hosted a webinar on marketing your senior community & service last month. We had such great response that we are offering another this month. Join us Thursday, 2/24 and “Uncover the True “Needs” and Meet Them with Powerful Questions“.  Click here to reserve your seat.

We will record the webinar, so if you can’t make it, Let us know and we’ll send you the link to listen at a later date.

Have a great week & Happy Marketing!

Positive Attitude — Positive Impression

Mature Market Experts Gem of The Day: Death of the “Continuing Care Retirement Community”

In the Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health and Support, and Independent Living business, we HAVE to be available when the customer needs us, but are we?

Social Media Can Make a Difference in Your Digital Marketing

I am just back from using my vacation days to move (what a horrible waste of “free days”!).  But I feel good that we can now function in our new house.

I have to say that the hardest part was going thru everything as I packed (which is why I chose to pack the house instead of paying to have it done). I wanted to clean things out!  I was so careful and sensible at the beginning. Had we used/worn the item in the past year? If not, in the charity pile it went!  Or is it a keepsake (move to Keepsake box area). But even though I thought I had given myself enough time to pack, I found myself dumping drawers in boxes and handing them to the movers as they loaded the truck.  Thank goodness we only moved a few miles away and have a couple weeks to truly vacate the old house.  At one point my husband said, “Can you imagine if we were leaving the house for the last time today, moving out of state or something?” I can’t! As I’ve already been back twice (one or 2 more to go). I would have left many things behind not to be seen again! It made me think of when we will have to move our parents, which will most definitely involve downsizing!

What can you do to make this easier for new residents and their families?

Recommended movers, local storage centers, downsizing, estate sales, donation pick-up services, etc…? Are these providers in your network? They should be! You could be a great referral source for them, so they should be helping you!

How about a checklist of items the resident will need and more important, not need in their new home?

A checklist of things for the family/senior to do (turn off utilities, change of address, update driver’s license, etc…)

Packing list for “move bag” – personal items, medications, clothing with shoes, etc…

A floor plan with measurements so the family knows what will fit in the new residence?

A suggested timeline for the move: Maybe a room a day to go thru, then another day to pack it and another day to un-pack?

Maybe even some funnies about moving? There are anecdotes & jokes about moving all over the Internet! Just search Google.

Tips to make the move easier on the senior, like setting things up similar to their original placement, 

How else can & do you help senior & their families moving in to your community?

More and more senior communities, care and service providers and product companies have a  presence in the world of social media.  However, many clients continue to come to us every day for advice on getting started, the extent of what they should do, how to measure the benefits, etc.

We can help you in this process.  The main thing is to put your initial thoughts down on paper and then take action.  Ask yourself a few simple questions:

-          How much time to we have to devote to Social Media?

-          Do we feel qualified to put a plan in place, set up pages, etc

-          Is our competition using Social Media?  If not, great, get ahead of them, if yes, you better catch up and pass them!

-          If you work with a company to get everything set up, such as New LifeStyles, is there someone at your company that can maintain your presence, keep things updated, respond to leads and perform other basic functions?

Once you get these questions answered, you are ready to go.  Just contact New LifeStyles and we can get your Social Media plan in place!  You can e-mail or call Luke to get started (800-961-7750).

Where do you need the most help with Social Media?  Let us know so we can make sure our plans are covering the needs of our clients.  Thanks!  Doug

As communities begin to use social media, they often say to us, “What happens when we don’t have any content.”  Great question, as you always want valuable or entertaining content that keeps the reader coming back for your next post or bit of information.

All communities have plenty of content, as a great source of content can be your residents.  Many companies involve their residents in their ads and marketing pieces to create a sense of community and portray the culture or personality that exists.  Do the same through social media!

-          Post pictures on Facebook of activities or post an upcoming event

-          Profile a resident, along with pictures on your Facebook page (with consent, of course)

-          If you have a Twitter page, you can post the comments of residents regarding activities or just everyday life.  Get them familiar with the concept and you may find some budding promoters of life at your community. Tweets can be as simple as posting the winner of an afternoon game.

-          Talk about events or activities on a blog, discussing the benefits of new activities, how the residents enjoyed them or other things that came out of them.  Look for comments that may spur ideas.

-          There are many ways to keep your residents involved.  The benefits are huge, starting with keeping families informed and portraying the great sense of community that would attract future residents.  Once you get started and get people involved, you might be amazed at how well it works.

Let us know about social media at your community or business and how you involve your residents or clients!  If you need help getting your social media program started, let us know, we can help!

Cheers, df

What can we do for you?  How can we help our partners with increased leads, greater web traffic, higher exposure and ultimately more customers and new move-ins?  These are questions that we have been asking ourselves for years and especially over the last few months.  Now, as we become New LifeStyles Media Solutions, the answers are clear:

• The New LifeStyles APP is live and available FREE through the Apple store.  It allows users to find nearby senior living or search throughout the nation.  All current advertisers are included in the APP database at no additional cost!
• Web traffic investments are starting to pay dividends for our customers, January traffic was up 20% over the 2010 monthly average.
• The digital guide’s latest version is compatible with iPads, with future versions coming soon with compatibility with other digital products.  All print advertisers are included at no additional costs.
• If you are interested in knowing more about both the print and online advertising options at New LifeStyles, our interactive media kit  is on the web site.  After reviewing everything available, you can contact us for closing deadlines, rates, statistics and more. 
• TAHSA recently named the CC Young “Web site of the Year”.  It was designed and built by New LifeStyles Media Solutions’ web team and we host and do search engine maximization for them, as well!  Our group can design a new site, perform full search engine optimization services AND now they can set up your SOCIAL MEDIA presence.  Contact Luke Jansen for details.

February is the space reservation deadline for the following markets:

• Nevada – distribution expanding due to our local connections.
• Portland – many options in this beautiful area of the country.
• Seattle – demand is high in Washington for senior living and care
• Northern New England – be part of one of our fastest growing areas
• Connecticut/Rhode Island – Distribution and online traffic is extremely high in this population dense market
• Atlanta – one of New LifeStyles’ most popular guides, extensive distribution and great content.

New copies of our guide should be arriving for the following markets:

-          Dallas

-          Michigan

-          Alabama

-          Philadephia/ Eastern PA

-          Boston/E.Massachusetts

-          Austin/San Antonio

-          Louisville/Lexington

For more information, contact us immediately!

To get the lastest information, friend New LifeStyles on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn, or follow us on Twitter.

All of our work is coming to fruition and we hope you see the results and take advantage of the value and return on investment that New LifeStyles Media Solutions offers!

 Doug