Building a Positive Reputation for Senior Living Providers: The Power of Public Relations and Thought Leadership
Senior living providers can strengthen reputation management by combining strategic public relations, media relations and thought leadership. Developing distinctive viewpoints, taking meaningful positions on industry issues and generating sustained positive media coverage can differentiate senior living organizations, build trust with residents and families, counter negative perceptions and strengthen crisis communications preparedness.
By Mike Gross, AKCG – Public Relations Counselors
In the senior living industry, standing out from the crowd is essential. With so many providers vying for attention, it can be challenging to differentiate one organization from another. That’s where AKCG comes in. We understand the trends associated with the senior living industry, and we differentiate our clients in the crowded senior living marketplace by building thought leaders and sustaining programs.
When advising senior living organizations and leadership, we often lead with two questions:
- What approach do they bring that is different from the market competitors?
- How can we be strategic in the stories we tell that align with that vision or direction?
What does it take to be a thought leader in the senior living industry?
If you want to be a thought leader, you need to have a point of view. It’s not enough to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President of an organization. You need to have a distinct vision, and an approach or contribution that sets you apart from your competitors. At AKCG, we help identify what makes a client’s leadership team different and build stories around that vision or direction. By doing so, we position our clients as experts in the industry and distinguish them in the crowded senior living market.
Being a thought leader in the senior living industry often includes having a clear advocacy position on an issue and standing behind it. This could be related to legislative change, workforce development, pay structures, or other topics that are important to the industry. It’s essential that this position can be disagreed with; you should have a clear stance that emphasizes your intimate knowledge of the industry and insight for the future.
To earn recognition, AKCG utilizes various public relations tactics such as bylines, opinion pieces, and other thought leadership pieces to establish themselves as an authority in the field.
To summarize, these are the three main requirements for being a thought leader in today’s competitive marketplace:
- Have a clear vision that sets you apart from your competitors. AKCG helps identify a client’s distinct leadership vision and builds stories around it.
- Take a clear advocacy position on an issue important to the industry that differentiates yourself from others.
- Utilize various public relations tactics to establish yourself as an authority in the field and showcase your deep understanding of the industry
How does thought leadership work alongside other public relations strategies?
Working in tandem with a well-constructed thought leadership strategy is a repetitive stream of positive, external media coverage. The more that your audience sees hopeful, optimistic stories from your senior living organization, the better the brand will resonate. The sales cycle in senior living is lengthy, with individuals and their loved ones often looking for years before they commit to a community. Therefore, the repetition and sustained programs are critical.
In addition, the senior living industry continues to have an unwarranted, challenging reputation, especially coming off the COVID-19 pandemic. Although one organization, or one community, isn’t going to change the brand perception of the entire industry, it’s important to reassure your core audiences that what you’re offering is different and better. Public relations and reputation management efforts help chip away at that negative perception by focusing on good news stories, and highlighting the positive work being done by staff and residents.
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