Mobile use in the US continues to increase.  According to Google, more people today use a mobile phone than a PC. In the U.S., 76% of respondents report using a mobile phone whereas 68% said they use a laptop or desktop PC. As many people migrate to smart phones, this means mobile traffic will continue to rise as well.  Traffic to websites from mobile devices is now around 10% in the US (according to StatCounter).  

Here at New LifeStyles, we are seeing the same trend, with around 7% of our site visits coming from mobile devices, and that’s not counting App usage, which is why we invested in a mobile site and iPhone app in 2011.

What is your site’s mobile traffic? Most web statistics programs should track mobile usage. They should also be able to tell you which devices are accessing your site, so you know for which you need to optimize. Check your site on an Android phone, an iPhone, a Blackberry, an iPad, and other tablets. Do you have to scroll a lot? Is it difficult to complete forms? Are they too long?

Don’t miss out on 10% of the traffic to your site! Make sure it is optimized for mobile use today!

This can be done in a number of ways:

• You can build a mobile site focusing on your main goals, with shorter forms and less options.
• If your site changes according to window size (responsive design), optimize it for mobile views.
• Consider building an App for the devices that most access your site (you will need a separate App for each device).

This trend will only continue. Stay ahead of the curve and make your site friendly for mobile visitors!

Less Than 10% Of The Web In 2012 Is Mobile Ready

Search Engines Drive Mobile Traffic

Do you know what visitors to your site are doing?

We knew how many visited, where they came from, that they were searching for care, ordering and viewing guides, viewing client records, etc… but we found one surprise. We ran some queries on our site and were surprised to learn what our end users are searching for now:

One person’s views on fixing issues in the senior housing industry:

http://seniorhousingforum.net/2012/02/fixing-the-senior-housing-crunch/

Do your residents have pets or are they thinking about a pet?

http://blog.carecyclesolutions.net/tips-for-the-elderly-puppy-love/

Do you have Happy Campers?

http://tinyurl.com/79rsz3w

One good source is living all around you!  Your residents have stories to tell and many are more than happy to tell them.  They may want to share tales of their lives, how they made the decision to live there or discuss great activities or outings at the community.

Getting the residents involved in a community’s social media adds the human touch to the property, tells the story of their past and promotes many of the positives at a community.  It is a great way to stimulate the creativity of residents and promote a community, all at the same time.  If you have a social media program, discuss it with your residents and see how many volunteers come forward.

If the residents at your community are involved in social media, tell us about it here.  Has it been a positive for them and the property?  Has there been any downside?  Please share your experiences!

Thanks, Doug

When you do business with New LifeStyles, what should you expect, even before you decide to make a purchase?

Responsiveness – if you don’t reach your intended party, you should hear back from them within two hours, unless they are on the road.

Clarity – you should always expect to know exactly what you are receiving, all the components included and what the price is.  Timing of all advertising should be conveyed to you, as well as payment terms and materials needed from you.

Ease of business – we should be providing everything you need,  making the process a minimal time investment on your side

Information – whether its before, during or after your relationship with New LifeStyles, we can provide a number of statistics to help you make your decision, evalulate the performance of your investment or decide on continuing with us.

Solid Return – you should know what you expect from us and we will do everything we can to meet your expectations.  We don’t promise or guarantee results, but if we are not meeting your goals, we will do everything we can to raise our level of value, based on feedback we receive from you.  Sometimes, we will not be able to meet your standards, but we will do everything in our power to keep your business.

Quality Products – Our print publications, online products and tools and website design and development will be of the highest quality, utilizing years of industry experience

Customer Service – We realize that your business determine’s our success or failure.  You will find highly professional treatment during all aspects of your relationship with New LifeStyles.  Our employees have on average over ten years with the company and in the industry, so we know how to listen and meet your needs.

There are other things that we will bring to the table and other things that you expect from us that are not named here.  If New LifeStyles doesn’t meet your expectations in any of these areas, please let us know and we will do everything possible to rectify the current situation and exceed your expectations in the future.

Thanks as always for your business and partnership over the last 25 years!  Doug

How to Build a Fan-Worthy Facebook Page

Selling to Your Clients’ Kids

Do You Have Happy Campers?

Why You Need A Video Marketing Plan Right Now!

Are You Missing “Nostalgia” Triggers in Your Marketing and Sales Strategies?

Is your community green?

There are so many options out there for those considering senior communities, and so many considerations. For those who feeling particular environmentally friendly, there is a new movement spreading through senior living facilities to cut back on environmental impact.

Green senior living facilities can do a number of things to help the environment. From regulating the quality of indoor air to using green building materials (recycled or locally produce), green senior living can really make a change for the world. Other steps green retirement communities have taken include reducing carbon emissions, implementing a water conservation plan and following EPA Energy Star standards.

An invaluable tool for discovering green senior facilities in your area is GrayIsGreen.org. A unique resource, GrayIsGreen.org offers tips to better green senior living as well as helping greenies find a retirement community that fits their lifestyle. The group also has helped set the standard for green senior living, creating a number of guidelines and auditing tools to really help determine the effects of environmentally friendly actions.

Consider implementing some of the tips to make your community a choice for those going green and gray.

Do you show off your community on your web site with video, a tour or slide show? If not, you are missing out on traffic and an opportunity to bring in a new lead!

Take a look at a few of the tours New LifeStyles just shot for senior living communities:

Bentley Manor (in Dallas): http://www.tourfactory.com/815992

Arnold House (in Stoneham, MA – Boston): http://tour.circlepix.com/home/X3RDE9

Riverwalk Commons (Noblesville, IN): http://tour.circlepix.com/home/D5BV5R

We also shoot residential homes.

Tours on New LifeStyles get an average of 50 views/mo., up to >100/mo.

This is one of our best buys at only $675 for the year ($56.25/mo) we will send a photographer to your community to shoot the 5 areas of your choice, + 25 stills. We will post all images on our site for a year and send you a master disk with the tour and slide so you can make as many copies as you need to use as a marketing tool. We will also send you the images for use in your marketing material, and you can link to the tour online or the YouTube video so you don’t have to load it on your site.

Call us today to schedule your shoot and show prospects what you have to offer in 2012.

Great tips on building and managing your team:

http://tinyurl.com/6ugbm4j

Senior Living Art Showcase:

http://tinyurl.com/7d6htr9

Never hurts to have a common sense refresher!:

http://www.boomerplaces.com/common-sense/

A couple of things that we recommend are a mobile presence and maximizing your web site’s traffic.  If financially feasible, creating a mobile version of your site, or even adding an iphone app for your site is a great idea.  Today’s society is always on the go and often time demands immediate information.  Your existing site may not be user-friendly on the platform of mobile phones.  A mobile site or app can make your community or business’ information easy to access, getting the key points across to the user.  If you cannot afford these options, make sure you are listed with a company who has a search engine in a mobile or iphone app platform.  This is usually a very inexpensive or free option to make sure your company is receiving traffic from every source.  At New LifeStyles, our iPhone App just received a 2012 Silver Medal for New Products and Technology.  You can download it for free at the App Store.  Our web team can also create a mobile version of your site!

Having a web site is great.  It  provides real time data on your community or business at anytime during the day or night.  But, make sure you are using some form of Search Engine Optimization to guarantee solid traffic to your site.  Many companies are stopping at the building of the site and forgetting to maintain its presence on the web.  Its a great investment to maximize the value of your site.  New LifeStyles is among the many reputable companies that provide this service and we focus on the senior industry.

As always, make sure you are constantly updating your marketing programs to stay ahead of your competition!