I’ve been busy preparing for the Senior Care Content Chicks 2014 planning days. Preparing for the brainstorming sessions we have every quarter is one of my favorite things to do. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, we are tweaking our website again. We want to make sure our site always gives readers a positive first impression and conveys our unique selling position. A large part of our meeting this week will be finalizing our punch list for the developer.
For us creative types, planning time usually includes activities like visiting the House Beautiful paint finder app to pick out a new front door color. Which got me to thinking how much easier it is to make a positive first impression when people only come in to your house through a few different doors. But on a website, readers find us any number of ways. Our blog drives most of our traffic. Many of our clients’ analytics show it is the same for them. The senior care resources we develop for them have content that meets families where they are in their senior care decision journey. Great content pulls families in. Don’t you love inbound marketing? People who need your help find you! It has brought us some of our best clients. But clients do find us other ways and land on pages less traveled.
So the challenge… how can you make sure your site creates a positive first impression no matter what door readers come through?
- No tricky headlines. People do all kinds of crazy things with headlines to get traffic. Understandably since they are so important. But if you make a promise in a headline that you don’t deliver on… what is the point? They will just bounce on over to another site.
- Consider the context. This one is high on our list to improve with our site refresh. Here’s an example. If an adult daughter came to you through an online guide you developed for your Senior Care Resource Center on caregiver fatigue, what other resources might she need? How about a list of questions to ask when interviewing an in-home care provider or an article on the informal and formal types of respite? Suggest other blog articles or resources at the end of each piece of content that a reader might be interested in as the next step on the senior care decision journey.
- Be useful. Senior care dictionaries, FAQ, Ask the Expert series, and targeted guides answer questions families have. They also help with your SEO and position you as a senior care expert.
- Hospitality. Since you can’t offer readers a glass of sweet tea and a lemon bar, what else have you got? Do you have any guides or tools you can share in a download? An invitation to join your newsletter, follow you on Facebook or Twitter for notices exclusive specials?
- Shareability. Judging by the reaction of my Firefox browser’s built-in spell check, I may have made that word up. But you know what I’m referring to here. People love to share their finds with their peers. When you have useful content that rocks, they will want to be the first one on their block to share it. Make it easy for them by having social sharing buttons on every page.
Hope these tips help you prepare for the busy senior care holiday rush ahead. If you are in Ann Arbor this week, stop by Zingerman’s and say “hey” to our team. It’s Spanish Drinking Chocolate month! We’ll be camped out there for our planning days… 
Oh, and in case you thought this article was going to be about front doors and how to pump up your curb appeal, I’m following my own advice. Here is the House Beautiful link I was referring to earlier. I’m leaning toward Fine Paints of Europe Tulip Red. This is my favorite paint company. Those Hollanders know paint! It’s #16 on the slideshow. Check it out and let me know what you think…
Related Content:
The Senior Care Decision Journey