Building a Positive Reputation for Senior Living Providers: The Power of Public Relations and Thought Leadership

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 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:

1. 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.
2. Take a clear advocacy position on an issue important to the industry that differentiates yourself from others.
3. 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.

Where does AKCG come in?

We work best with senior living communities when we’re considered a partner rather than just a vendor, and we collaborate closely with our clients to identify the stories they wish they had time to tell and the big ideas they wish they had time to tackle.

Senior living  is a good match for AKCG’s skills because we focus on bottom-line impact, which can be achieved through proactive crisis communications, and we draw a clear line between our media relations efforts and to real results.

We are skilled and experienced in providing a range of services that will improve your communication strategies including media relations, crisis communications support, thought leadership, and spokesperson training. These services will help your senior living organization navigate today’s complex media landscape and effectively communicate your message to key stakeholders.

Wrapping Up

AKCG can help senior living providers differentiate themselves in a crowded market by building thought leaders and positioning them as experts in the industry. We can help turn around negative perceptions through media relations efforts and supplement in-house communications services. Lastly, we build smart strategies that align with an organization’s business goals and develop crisis communication roadmaps to pre-plan for challenging situations.

To learn more about our Senior Living PR strategies, contact us today.