Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Now or Never: Long-Term Care Strategy is a podcast for all those seeking answers and solutions in the long-term care space. Too often we don’t fully understand the necessity of care until it’s too late. This podcast is designed to create solutions, start conversations and bring awareness to the industry that will inevitably impact all Americans.
Rachel Hill: This is where you
can highlight the community and
you can catch those people that
are actually looking that are
actually prospective residents.
And it's really helping kind of
weed out the people that are
like, Oh, no, this is not for me
right now or I'm not doing this
as opposed to the ones that are
like, hey, I really liked what
this this community is offering.
And I want to dive into this
because this is really cool. And
I'm seeing it and you catch
their attention while they're
already like locked in.
Caroline Moore: Welcome to Now
or Never Long-Term Care Strategy
making. themselves. with Kosta
Yepifantsev a podcast for all
those seeking answers and
solutions in the long term care
space. This podcast is designed
to create resources, start
conversations and bring
awareness to the industry that
will inevitably impact all
Americans. Here's your host
Kosta Yepifantsev.
Kosta Yepifantsev: Hey, y'all.
This is Kosta. And today I'm
here with my guest, Rachel Hill,
podcast host and creative
director for senior living
foresight, providing new
perspectives on Senior Living
practices to improve culture,
reduce turnover and increase
occupancy. Today we're talking
about senior living in the
social media era. Rachel,
welcome to the show. It's an
honor to interview another
podcast host working in the
senior care space. Would you
start by telling us a bit about
Senior Living foresight,
foresight radio, and how you
started working in the industry?
Rachel Hill: Absolutely. Well,
first of all, thank you for
having me. This is my pleasure.
Awesome. I am amped up. I'm
thrilled. I've only had a cup
and a half of coffee. So like,
you're getting a lot for me
right now. I'm very excited to
be here. So first of all, thank
you. And yeah, let me tell you a
little bit about foresight. So
really, really cool company. I
see that it is you know, all
things media. So okay, written,
we do foresight radio, which is
my podcast. Thank you for
sharing. Now, I've had some
really, really great guests. So
quick little plug for that y'all
go check it out. After you
listen to Costas, please. Sure.
But the company was started by
Steve Moran. And he was actually
a former owner operator. And,
you know, started taking to the
interwebs back in 2008. And, you
know, he was like, Hey, here's
what I did. That worked. Here's
what I did that didn't work. And
I think why he was so successful
is I think, people tend to not
want to be vulnerable, right? Or
talk about their failings,
especially in this space, where
you're, you're caring for
people, this human to human
connection, right. But again,
the person on the other side is
human, and they're flawed,
they're gonna make mistakes, and
you're not out to hurt anybody.
So you want to make the space
better. And that's what I love
about, you know, your podcast
and what you're doing here. So
fast forward, you know, about 12
years now the company has been
in existence. And, you know,
he's built up this incredible
fall. I know, we're gonna be
talking about social media, but
he's got almost 30,000
connections on LinkedIn. And
there's almost this like, micro
influencer, but I don't like
that icky, it's because there's
some substance there. So we, we
partner with, you know, the best
of the best vendors in the
space, and we talk about what
they're doing. But then we also
have non sponsored content and
very much same kind of thing for
for the podcast. So that's,
that's a little bit about
foresight.
Kosta Yepifantsev: And Rachel,
how did you find your way to
foresight in, you know, in the
long term care space as a whole,
Rachel Hill: oh, my gosh, so
this is the most like,
interesting windy path there.
But I So, to back up a little
bit, like I will tell you a
little bit off air, but my mom
was actually a nurse in skilled
nursing for, you know, 20 plus
years. And, you know, she she's
no longer with us, but this
guiding moral force for me,
where I saw how much she dove
into this career and that that
never left be and I spent a lot
of time as you know, a teenager,
you know, visiting her work and
sitting with the residents and
it it really changed my life. I
still feel so privileged, I got
to have those conversations with
that and so I am in the creative
space, but let's fast forward
now. I got to foresight. So over
the pandemic, like so many of
us, I mean, I felt lost, right?
We're like, what is happening
what's going on? We're all
trying to make the best of this
very bizarre situation that
we're in
Kosta Yepifantsev: to describe
it bizarre sounds about right. I
was gonna say chaotic, but I
think bizarre is even more.
Yeah, it was, you know, and
honestly, throughout that whole
entire period, the world was so
was just shaking. changing so
rapidly. And none of us were
prepared for. I mean, the new
life, I mean, it's always like,
it's, it's kind of like 911 It's
either before 911 Or after 911.
And the same thing with the
pandemic too there before the
pandemic wrap, like 2019 feels
like, you know, 1989 and 2022 or
23, after the pandemic has
officially, you know, sunset.
Yes, it feels like, you know,
2003, something like that.
Rachel Hill: Oh, yeah. 100%.
Right. And, and I think, to sort
of calm whatever was like going
on inside of me, I wanted to
kind of go back to my creative
roots. So I went to the
University of Pittsburgh for
writing and film. And of course,
my parents are like, well, what
are you gonna do with that?
Because my mom was a nurse, my,
my dad actually served in the
military for about 19 years, got
up to a staff sergeant. So these
really, you know, hard working
blue collar jobs, and there's
light. So you want to write
still reviews for a newspaper,
you want to be this female?
eeper and Roper, so I was like,
yeah, yeah, I do want to do
that, like, so with their
blessing. You know, I that was
my career path. And I've always
loved the art. So during the
pandemic, I picked up a camera
again, and started filming. And
I actually made a demo reel of
just different footage around
the city and talking basically,
the the narrative of this short
little video is coming out of
the darkness and dealing with
kind of the things of the
pandemic very short. Someone
hiring for Steve actually solid.
So they were originally just
looking for a social media
person, kind of the basically
like, Hey, can you run all of
our feeds, because you want to
be everywhere, do all the things
and we could of course, talk
about, is that a good idea or
not? I have thoughts. And then,
you know, I talked to Steve
about my mom, and I feel so
grateful that really resonated
with him, he's like, you'll hear
someone I think, you know, not
to speak for him. But I think he
was like, well, here's someone
that's creative, but also has
some, some roots is grounded in,
in this space that I'm trying to
make better. And then it just
continued to grow. So from, you
know, just scheduling out posts,
and sort of these, you know, run
of the day tasks that you do as
a social media coordinator Aker,
to, you know, editing videos for
our partners. Now, these video
interviews a way to, you know, I
go to our Gen team every year
and make these cool little demo
reels and get to have these
really cool conversations I took
over our podcast about a year
ago now, um, and that's sort of
how things escalated. So
Kosta Yepifantsev: it's
interesting, you've been able to
merge both modalities, so the
seniors, the background that you
have in your, with your mom,
being a nurse, and also
obviously, your creative side,
you've been able to bring it
together and to this really
amazing product. So I think
that's awesome.
Rachel Hill: I really appreciate
that. I think it's, it's tough.
And I would encourage anyone,
you know, looking to if, you
know, hire in the space, you
know, I, I hope to be that
example of some outside the box,
thinking of who you're hiring,
why you're hiring them. And and,
you know, what are your goals
for your, your community, your
company, your residents, and
that kind of engagement. And,
you know, I hope in the next,
you know, five to 10 years,
especially with Gen Z, you know,
coming up here in this space,
hopefully that, you know, we can
kind of do that outside the box
thinking for hiring. So I, I'd
love to see it. Yeah,
Kosta Yepifantsev: let's get
into it. Yes. Today, we're
talking about two things that
people probably don't associate
together that often social media
and senior living. What role
does social media play in the
marketing and community building
of senior living today?
Rachel Hill: Oh, my gosh, I, I
love this question. And I kind
of want to break it down this
way. Right? Because it's like
you were you said so
beautifully. There's sort of
this like, time before COVID And
time after right and not as
dramatic or laziness, you but I
think it's really applicable to
marketing, right? Where it's
sort of you have this old guard
where it's like, hey, let's get
everything in print and on a
billboard and all these things,
because that was the time right,
like, so let's fast forward. How
do you want a community
engagement? Think about your
audience think about who's who's
looking at your community, and
typically it's going to be
people are age costed I, you
know, ideally, is your target
audience. Okay, so where do
millennials waste the majority
of their time? It's all social
media. However, you can spin
that into something, you know,
productive, where if, you know,
their mom or dad needs, your
their, you know, your help your
community, and they're looking
for them? Well, that's exactly
where social media plays plays
this role. And it's sort of
getting out of your comfort zone
a little bit, because it's, it's
not easy, right? It's not easy.
Kosta Yepifantsev: Well, I think
I think in a lot of ways, right
now, when people advertise like
an assisted living facility, for
example, or a nursing home, a
lot of times they do look at,
you know, billboards, they look
at some of the traditional ways
of marketing, their facilities
or their services. But I think
what's interesting is, while
you're while you're looking
through social media, and you're
looking at specific areas,
specific facilities, specific
services, you can make it a lot
more personable. And you can,
you can show more of the
environment, it's a lot more
detailed. So you know, a
billboard can offer two to three
to four pictures, right? social
media posts can offer 15 to 20
pictures, almost like, like a
real like a listing on Zillow or
realtor.com, you know, and so I
think you can really explain
what services you're providing
and also set people's
expectations so that they're not
confused about the services that
you offer. Because, you know, in
our industry, and long term care
space, the name may be home
caregivers, but we also build
wheelchair ramps, you know, and
nobody would obviously know
that, because our industry is so
compartmentalized.
Rachel Hill: I mean, you you
said it beautifully. And I love
that you said explain the
services you offer. And I don't
just look at it like I would I
would piggyback off of that
saying, show your your visibly
showing, right, like going back
to my writing days in college.
It's like, no, no, like, you
don't need all that exposition,
because that's not what's going
to get people right, especially,
you have about like, that much
time like a nanosecond to catch
someone's attention as they're
looking at your space. And I and
I think so much of it, like I've
always believed in storytelling,
because I love I love movies, I
love the arts. And I love that
storytelling aspect and how it
can bring you in. But, you know,
I think working for Steven for
Forsyth has really really helped
me hone that even more. And that
understanding of if you want to
highlight like you said, what
you're offering or show that
this is somewhere you're
providing somewhere where this
is going to be someone's home,
like you have to tell a story.
What's How about a video? How
about a short video of one of
your residents, you know, that's
open and willing to talk about
their experience or show in a
quick day in the life? You know,
taking that time out, it can
help you make huge leaps in your
marketing, because we know it's
a time it's like what are the
two issues? Right? It's
retention for your staff. And
then recruiting. So it's not
only highlighting and engaging
your your your residents, but
it's also a recruiting tool,
again, for millennials and Gen
Z. So yeah. So I
Kosta Yepifantsev: think that
there are still so many
misconceptions about who and how
we use social media that cuts
out our senior population and
doesn't really give them the
credit that they deserve. So in
your opinion, how can seniors
use social media to find better
care options, or even a new
place to live?
Rachel Hill: Oh my gosh, I love
this even more because this is
this is over like past two years
with foresight. This is another
way I've really grown. Right? So
again, like I said, I run all of
our social accounts. And believe
it or not, a lot of older adults
are actually on Instagram, and
they're really enjoying it. So
to get let them give a little
context, right? So likely,
again, they have grandkids that
are Gen Z or millennial
children, right? And they're
like, Hey, mom or dad get out of
this thing, because it's now
pretty much I mean, yes, there
will be older adults on
Facebook, let me not leave that
out of the equation, right? But
it says new shift or it's like,
hey, you know, if you want to
keep up with Johnny and Susie
and all the activities and all
the things they're doing and you
want to see what's going on with
our family? Well, I'm going to
be posting pictures on my
Instagram account. So what role
does marketing play on this?
Well, it's there's the algorithm
this this beautiful thing of the
algorithm right and as they are
on their older adults, you know,
checking in with their family.
They're gonna see ads based on
other things that they're kind
of scrolling through that are on
their feeds, right. And this is
where you can highlight the
community. And you can catch
those people that are actually
looking that are actually
prospective residents. And it's
really helping kind of weed out
the people that are like, Oh,
no, this is not for me right
now. Or I'm not doing this, as
opposed to the ones that are
like, hey, I really like what
this this community is offering.
And I want to dive into this,
because this is really cool. And
I'm seeing it and you catch
their attention while they're
already, like, locked in. So I
think I think Instagram is a
great space for that. And
they're on there. I mean,
there's older adult influencers,
this this woman I, I I'm
blanking on the first part of
her handle, but it's something
Babs, and she's hilarious. She
does all these little, like,
cleaning and cooking hacks
around your house. And it's
like, no, they're, they're
there. And they're living in
OTL, that, that, that space so
Kosta Yepifantsev: well, and
it's free. You know, it doesn't
cost any money to consume this
content. And I think that's
extremely important. There's,
you know, we've talked to a lot
of people who, one of the
biggest tenants that we pull out
of each conversation is that
it's so important to stay
connected to your community. And
using platforms like Instagram,
and Facebook, allow you to
access those groups of people
that you know, and even to make
it a little bit more technical,
and take it a step further, that
may even share some of a similar
disability that you share. You
know, I mean, like, for example,
if you have, you know, diabetes,
you can discuss the problems and
some of the solutions that come
with having that type of
diagnosis, suffering from that
type of illness. And so social
media is where you can, you can
answer a lot of the questions
that come up. So, but and then
same, in the same vein, I want
to kind of talk about how these
facilities or the service
providers can use social media,
to Well, honestly, to improve
resident engagement and family
communication. Do you think that
that is a major factor and
making sure that families get
their questions and concerns
answered? And if they can't do
it face to face, because they
may be, say, for example, in a
different state, but they want
to have that level of engagement
that they can do it using social
media?
Rachel Hill: 100%, and I
couldn't agree with you more. I
love I love this so much.
Because think about it, right?
Like you said, these these
families are states apart,
right? And maybe they only get
holiday visits. Right. So how
cool would it be to go through
lino? Well, there's a big
activity going on? Yeah. And,
you know, you get like a quick
15/32 clip. And that family is
following your your community?
Yep. And they see their mom or
dad on there have been the time
of their life, whatever it is
that they're doing whatever that
activity is, are they gardening?
Are they singing? Are they and
think about the amount of
anxiety that that reduces? On
the family? Because there may be
I mean, we talked about this a
lot, right? There's, there's
some, maybe some guilt, that
they're not being the home, take
taking care of their family
member at home. Right. And
that's a huge responsibility.
There shouldn't be guilt around
that just to be very, very clear
on. So I think one it alleviates
that. And then too, it's like
your residence gets it to
actually be a part and mold and
shape your marketing? And is
that how it should be?
Kosta Yepifantsev: Yeah, for
sure. Like face, even Facebook
Live, you know, like those types
of live videos of certain events
that are going on where people
can tune in and see. And I'll be
honest, I think that that, that
that specific component will
alleviate a lot of the isolation
that people have, especially if
there's two way communication.
So and then another aspect that
I think is rather interesting in
terms of how facilities can use
this is when you're not able to
explain to people, specifically
family members, how you overcome
some of the challenges that that
that come up with, you know,
long term care, running of a
long term care facility, but you
can point to interactions on
social media to show kind of the
thread of how you handled a
person's concern. It gives
people like you said earlier a
reduction in their anxiety
because they know like okay,
well this facilities encountered
this isn't had this
administrator handled it. I can
see that you know, they're
committed to their quality
You've care. Those things
mattered
Rachel Hill: 100% I mean, this
is getting them this too, I
think can be a great resource
for for recruiting too, right?
Where you're, it's sort of that
two birds one stone situation
where it's like, okay, you're
showing how you handle a
problem. So the family can see
that, but then you're also
showing the day in the life of
this position, which I think one
of the biggest issues our
industry has is we are not
opening up the the eyes to Jesy
so that we can build a
foundation and how cool would it
be to post a quick day in the
life you're like, I get it,
you're, you're busy, but 15
seconds, 20 seconds of your day,
what you do, and that catches
the eye of you know, someone
about to leave high school, and
enter college. And they're like,
Oh, this is interesting. I
didn't know I could do something
like this, or Oh, look at La saw
that or look at the area that
they're taking part in. And and
this is really, really cool. And
something I want to be a part
of. So I think, I think it's a
two birds one stone situation
with that.
Kosta Yepifantsev: For
communities that are not
currently using social media,
what are some actionable steps
that they can take to start
building their online presence?
Rachel Hill: Oh, I love this
question. Um, you know, I think
so often, you know, when I talk
to my, my, my peers that are
that are running these accounts
and doing this, you know,
everybody wants to know the
secret sauce, right? And how do
you go viral? How do you do
this? Right? That's always it's
like, it's, there's no middle
ground. It's either we're not
going to do it, or we want to go
viral. Like, in between,
Kosta Yepifantsev: because that
does exist, like so long. Right?
Rachel Hill: Right. And, and you
make that is the point I was
going to make, and you said it,
it makes me laugh, because it's
just about consistency, right?
It's about showing up two to
three times a week, and posting
a lot of feed deciding where you
want to be. And you can always
expand that journey. Like I get
it. Everybody wants to be on
Instagram, tick tock, Facebook,
LinkedIn, why are we on here?
What are we doing here? Should
we do YouTube short? So we post
full length videos on YouTube?
What do we do? It builds and
builds and builds, right? So
what I recommend is, you know,
first and foremost, you're,
you're here to take care of your
residence and run run your
community, right, so that that
that's your first priority. But
what you can do is there's a lot
of great scheduling apps, I use
Hootsuite, but you can of
course, you can post natively.
But what's great about these
scheduling apps, though, is it
does sort of, it's like a set it
and forget it. If you know your
listeners aren't familiar with
that. So it's basically, you
know, take Monday, schedule out
your posts for the week, it
could be a photo now who tweets
doing video clips, which is a
great update to that. Go ahead,
set up your your calendar for
the week, move on about your
day, and caring for your
residents. Like it needs to be
start simple. I mean, it's it
doesn't have to be these these
grand productions, it's going
and taking some photos with
your, your phone of of your
residence engaging, and maybe a
short little video clip and just
get those scheduled out for the
week. And then do it again now
and do it again. Correct. And do
it again and, and take one of
those days to set out about you
know, 15 minutes of of each week
to go through and respond to
comments. Again, that's where
the algorithm comes into play.
If people are like, Oh, I love
that, you know, your residents
are doing this, or I do this at
my community or Oh, wow, like
I'm looking for a community and
I love what you write back.
Because that's huge. Don't
there's this funny saying don't
post and ghost or Hey, like
ghosting in the dating world. So
don't post on social media and
then just think like it all
handle itself. You still have to
do a little bit of work there.
But there's ways to sort of make
that more manageable.
Kosta Yepifantsev: As a creative
director, how do you approach
creating content for a topic as
sensitive as senior living? And
how do you balance providing
insight while also being
respectful and considerate?
Rachel Hill: Oh, man it's it's a
tricky balance right? Because a
lot of the content that I
personally consume content to be
like well edgy Lilian, you're in
your face. And you know, I think
I'm, I'm lucky that my my boss
isn't afraid to have those
difficult conversations in a
respectful way. So I think to an
extent I approach it like I
would like I'm talking to
anybody else, right, like
getting out of my bias and
talking to older adults or
people in the space like, how I
would want to receive that that
information. So for me, it's
like, I want to be light hearted
fun, maybe a little cheeky, but
not to the point where I'm
really like stirring up
something that's not not right
and pushing buttons just Push
it. That's, that's that's not my
goal. And yeah, you'll get
engagement that way. But that's
not the way to
Kosta Yepifantsev: do engagement
and the right kind of
engagement.
Rachel Hill: Exactly, exactly.
So, you know, I, I want to
storyteller, I want to do it in
a fast paced way. And in that
respect, I'm okay making
everyone around us adapt,
because that's how you make real
change. So it's like, if you're
not used to consuming this kind
of content, where it's fast
paced, it's got the captions,
I've got some music, I'm doing
something fun. It's like, well,
your brain, your, you know, your
neurons are gonna have to start
working in a different way your
ad because we're offering value,
and you're gonna miss out if you
can't adapt to sort of that that
chain so that I kind of get
rooted in that. And I'm not
afraid to be entrenched in that,
Kosta Yepifantsev: let's talk
about that adaptation is ever
changing landscape of digital
media? What do you envision for
the future of social media in
the senior care space?
Rachel Hill: Is? Oh, my gosh, I
mean, again, I think it's gonna
continue to play a heavier and
heavier role in in marketing. I
mean, that's how this is gonna
get get done. And just I think
it's the future
Kosta Yepifantsev: do you think
that there's going to be if we
look at it from the perspective
of individuals who interact with
social media that aren't on the
on the industry side, but that
are just looking for services
and looking for companionship?
Do you think that situations
like the metaverse may end up
coming to fruition to where
seniors can exist? Obviously, in
reality, yeah, at the same time,
they can also exist maybe in
virtual reality and find
comparing and ship it. In that
capacity.
Rachel Hill: Yeah, no 100%. And
real good pursue that, because I
was also going to talk about
because it's funny, you said, I
was gonna talk about how AI two
is going to continue to play a
bigger role in social media
marketing, I mean, I'm looking
into some things that basically,
auto generate and create
captions for me for my my
videos, and they do it in a
really cool way that's so
succinct and quick, where it's
like this, this is an incredible
tool. So that's one of the
things to using AI to make your
social media marketing more
manageable. And then quickly,
they're they're not a foresight
partner, but it's a really cool
company on I don't know if
you've heard them, but they're
called Bren Devere. And they are
in in that sort of VR space. And
one of the cool things they can
do is, they can create these
really tailored experiences. So
let's say that, you know, a
resident is taking part in this,
they have had someone that has
gone and filmed at a location
where this resident may be
gotten married at, oh, wow. And
they can put on this headset,
and relive that. So no, 100%.
And I just wanted to touch on
quickly, because you keep
bringing it up. And I think it's
awesome is that, you know,
online community can be a
genuine and real community, in
addition to these real, you
know, IRL connections that we
have, right? I think that's
something that's often missed
and a perspective that needs to
be changed. Because yes, social
media can be really toxic. But I
think it's also you got to
curate your feed, right? To get
rid of that nonsense, because
there's a lot of good,
Kosta Yepifantsev: right. And I
think in this fast paced world,
that's not planning on slowing
down anytime soon. You know,
this is and as we grow with,
with an aging population, more
and more people are, are being
at risk of feeling isolated. I
think that this is a huge tool.
I don't think it's the only tool
but I'd say it's probably going
to be used more times than not
to try to continue the
connection, the human
connection, whether it's on a
platform like Facebook, or it's
in a virtual reality world, like
like Mata, you know, or if it's
just having this type of
inclusion where two people are
talking about the long term care
space that somebody is
participating in, you know,
somebody that receives services
from or has a family member that
does, that's, I think we're all
a part of building that
community. So we always like to
end the show with a call to
action. What is your advice to
listeners that would like to
start utilizing social media as
a way to build community and
enrich their life as they age?
Rachel Hill: Oh, man, I love
this. I mean, again, I think it
it goes back to what I was
saying, right? It's like it's
the basics. It's, it's
consistency. I would say my
takeaways would be find your
yourself a scheduling tool. If
you can't hire someone, let's,
you know, I know the economy's
weird. Er, it's doing weird
things. But if you're fortunate
enough and have a small budget,
please or get an intern treat
them right but get an intern and
you're if you're trying to open
up eyes to this space, have a
social media intern. So let's
maybe start there. But if you
can or don't have a budget, get
get a scheduling tool like
Hootsuite, but there's other
ones that you can use and, and
be be consistent. You know, get
your residents involved, the
ones that are open to it and let
let them tell your story. And
you don't have to
Caroline Moore: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of
Now or Never Long-Term Care
Strategy with Kosta
Yepifantsev.If you enjoyed
listening and you wanna hear
more make sure you subscribe on
Apple podcast Spotify or
wherever you find your
Podcasts,leave us a review or
better yet share this episode
with a friend. Now or Never
Long-Term Care Strategy is a
Kosta Yepifantsev
production.Today’s episode was
written and produced by Morgan
Franklin.Want to find out more
about Kosta? Visit us at
kostayepifantsev.com