Digital advertising and social media marketing for retirement villages and over 50's property.

Amanda Graham, Director of leading retirement property website www.SeniorsHousingOnline.com.au asks: "Are you getting the most out of your online advertising and website?"

Online advertising can be very cheap and highly effective.  So you've invested in your own website - that's great.  But building a website is just the first step – the hard part is getting the website visitors there and generating real enquiries.

It can be very expensive to rely on display ads, Google Adwords, Facebook ads and some of the major real estate websites to generate worthwhile website traffic and enquiry levels.

The alternative is to invest in some serious SEO technical upgrading (which is expensive), and manage social media marketing activities in-house (which is time consuming) – OR just take advantage of what we offer, with these features already built in and designed to work for you.

Let us do the hard work for you!

The Seniors Housing Online website is Australia’s leading retirement property website. We generate more traffic than the major real estate websites’ retirement sections, at a fraction of the cost.  Our clients receive highly targeted traffic and enquiries at a much lower per-click cost than they would pay for Google and Facebook ads.  Why bother managing this yourself or paying consultants when we can do it for you and you save money too?

Take advantage of our specialist expertise and technical investment in online retirement and aged care advertising.  For more than 8 years, we’ve constantly upgraded the website and optimised our search engine results to make sure we attract genuine enquiries from people who are actively searching for retirement and aged care services in Australia.  When you advertise with us you have the added bonus of optimising search results for your own website, and getting the benefits of the social media marketing tools we have built in so your ad can be shared by visitors using Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and more. Best of all you don’t need to do a thing and this doesn’t cost any extra!

We now have more than 35,000 people per month actively searching the website and a database of subscribers receiving over 22,000 email newsletters and property alerts each month, generating high volume, high quality enquiries for our clients.

Advertise from just $225!

A single location can be advertised for just $225 for 3 months, or $720 for 12 months (inc GST). This includes a whole webpage for your property or service, with unlimited text and up to 10 photos or images and access to account statistics. The listing also features google maps location, social media and email sharing tools, a link* to your website, and a “new property” alert is emailed to subscribers. (*Link with 12 month rates only).

We also advertise community based support and in-home services too, so these come up in consumer search results – recognising the growth in this part of the sector.

If you have multiple locations, we offer an annual subscription account at extremely competitive rates – contact us today for a quote on enquiries@seniorshousingonline.com.au or call +61 2 4963 1625

www.SeniorsHousingOnline.com.au

The benefits of light exercise built into senior living communities.

If you are one of those people who thinks there’s no point to exercising or that you’re too old to start, then it’s time to change the way you think about exercise.  Have you ever taken the stairs instead of using the lift?  Has pulling the weeds in the garden made you work up a sweat?  Did you walk a mile when window shopping at the mall?  Well, these are all forms of exercise!

The most rewarding part of incorporating exercise into your life is noticing the difference to your health.  Even the smallest of changes can help boost your energy and even manage symptoms of illness or pain.  Remember that these types of activities are not only good for your body; they’re good for your mind, mood and memory.

Many retirement resorts and retirement villages are designed to actively encourage opportunities for light enjoyable exercise, such as communal gardens.  Find out more on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

What next? Online consumer reviews for senior properties?

It’s happening now in the US so it will be here in Australia too, very soon. We’re all accustomed to the benefits of online consumer reviews influencing our buying decisions on travel and online shopping sites, and while retirement villages and aged care facilities may resist, the reality is that - like other types of social media marketing - they’ll have to embrace it sooner or later.

Online transparency is going to happen one way or another, so senior living operators will need to look for ways to ensure their reviews are mostly positive, as there’s nowhere to hide when they get a negative review.  Like travel operators, they’ll need to fix any problems quickly and publish a response online to avoid damage to their reputation, and also encourage their satisfied customers to publish their reviews too so the rankings are balanced.

Yet another example of the shift the internet has created in favour of the consumer!

Web-based technology is developing so fast that just a few years ago not many operators even had a website. Now they are actively engaging consumers with social media marketing campaigns, using Facebook pages, Twitter and more. The logical next step is consumer-driven activity, like online reviews. It’s already happening on corporate Facebook pages and elsewhere in an ad-hoc and piece-meal way.

So the question becomes how do you centralise this information, standardise rating criteria, verify the reviews and know they are genuine? How do you manage this information or provide a meaningful platform that consumers can access easily and trust?  One young man in the US has been working on these issues since he helped his grandmother find an aged care facility and became frustrated with the lack of transparency and difficulty finding practical information. (Precisely the reason the Seniors Housing Online website was established in Australia.)

The US Silver Living website officially launched in December, but they have been collecting information on communities for months from a variety of sources: the community itself, residents of communities, and mystery shoppers. It currently has agreements with three major senior living chains and report a range of reaction among communities the start-up has approached for partnership.

Tal Ziv the website founder says “we’re coming at it from a totally different perspective than anyone else. This transparency is going to happen, whether we do it or someone else does. Our best partners have been ones whose marketing departments have seen this [sort of model] in other industries,” he says. “They see [this information] is available in other industries and how it’s helpful in terms of conversion rates and getting the word out, and recognize it will also happen in senior care.” (Senior Housing News Jan 2013).

See Senior Housing News article.
Link to Silver Living website.
Link to Seniors Housing Online website.

What do you think?  Comment below:

Looking for a pet-friendly retirement property?

Did you know 61% of people searching for a retirement village or other type of over 55's property are looking for pet-friendly accommodation?

A recent survey of 1,000 visitors to the Seniors Housing Online website showed 38.4% considered "pets allowed" to be an essential criteria when searching for a retirement village or other type of senior property; a further 22.7% said it was desirable; while only 39% said it was not a factor in their search.  This means that more than 17,000 people each month are using the website to search for pet friendly properties!

We've set up a quick link so you can immediately locate pet-friendly retirement properties in every Australian state. See the article and link on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Discrimination Against Older Drivers?

Being able to continue driving is an important part of retaining your independence as you get older. It means you can more easily access work, health care and social and community activities.

The issue of deciding when older people present a danger on the roads and should stop driving is a difficult one, and one which is addressed very differently in various jurisdictions.

Is more frequent testing based on age justified?  Or is this simply discrimination without more evidence of impaired ability to drive safely?

In the state of Victoria, Australia, reviews of older drivers are undertaken following reports from other people. Concerns have been raised about whether this is justified, and whether it operates in a discriminatory manner to disadvantage older people unfairly.

A survey has been undertaken by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, in partnership with the Council on the Ageing Victoria (COTA), and a report on older drivers’ experiences in being unfairly treated because of their age, together with recommendations for change has just been released. Read the full article on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Retirement Villages - 90 day "settling-in" period.

If you buy a retirement village unit and then find you really don't like it and want to move out, under retirement village laws in NSW, SA and the ACT you have a 90 day “settling-in” period which allows you to change your mind and get a refund of the purchase price.  These retirement village laws are state based, so each jurisdiction enacts separate legislation outlining the charges which may apply, including a market rent for occupying the unit during the 90 day “settling-in” period. New residents who permanently vacate their unit within the first 90 days of moving in are only required to pay a fair rent for the time the unit was occupied and a reasonable administration fee to the operator in New South Wales retirement villages. The maximum administration fee the operator can charge is $200, departure fees do not apply, and you are entitled to a refund of your purchase price plus any recurrent charges paid under the contract. Similar laws apply in South Australia and the ACT, and the issue of introducing a “settling-in” period for retirement villages has recently been under review in other states such as Western Australia. If you are in one of the other Australian states which do not currently have a "settling-in" period, or if you have occupied the unit for more than 90 days, you will need to consider the termination provisions which apply under the terms of your contract and the relevant retirement village legislation in your state. If you have bought a retirement property which is not in a designated retirement village, then different legislation may apply, and you will also need to carefully consider the terms of your contract with the operator. As always, it is essential to seek legal advice before you agree to buy a retirement property, to make sure you are fully informed of all the legal and financial consequences. More in the article plus helpful website links on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Setting up your own Self Managed Super Fund.

Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSF’s) are rapidly growing in popularity as people seek to control their own retirement investments.  This is partly driven by consumer dissatisfaction with low or negative returns earned by the commercial Superannuation funds in recent years following the GFC and continued worldwide economic volatility, but there are also tax and other benefits which can make setting up a SMSF attractive.

Experts say you need to weigh up a number of things and get professional advice before setting up your own SMSF, so we've summarised a range of considerations and links to useful online resources on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

WANT TO BE A FILM STAR FOR A DAY AND EARN $1,000?

A casting agency is seeking older couples willing to talk about their retirement plans and experiences. You need to be in the Sydney region and available for a day's filming. If you are interested in participating find out more and contact them via the article on the Seniors Housing Online News and Information page.

NEW in-home care and community support services search for older people..

There are now more than 28,000 people each month searching website www.SeniorsHousingOnline.com.au for accommodation and support services, everything from independent living, low care, high care, respite and dementia care, to community support services and in-home care. 

We have just introduced a new type of listing to display community based support services in search results. This includes all types of in-home care and community care services, day programs, respite care and more.   This new feature enables website visitors to easily search for community based care and support by area and suburb, reflecting demand and the shift towards in-home care with the new aged care reforms.

So now you have the option of knowing you can stay in your independent living unit or home, and if your health declines, you will be able to apply for in-home support services to either avoid, or at least defer a move into a higher needs aged care facility later on.

Find out more about this new feature and search for support services available in your area.

Age-Friendly Cities.

The World Health Organisation is running a program to create more age-friendly cities. They are offering training and support for a five year program for those cities and communities willing to join up, as well as other resources such as a global guide to Age-Friendly Cities.

The program aims to encourage the development of physical and social environments which are conducive to citizens remaining healthy and independent and continuing to make a positive contribution to their community long into their old age.

It is estimated that 60% of the world's population will live in cities by 2030, and the proportion of people aged over 60 will double to 22% by 2050.

More on the Seniors Housing Online website News page.

NEW report "Ageing in the 21st Century".

For International Day of Older Persons, a new report "Ageing in the 21st Century: A Celebration and a Challenge" has been released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and HelpAge International.

The report includes new data, success stories and robust recommendations to help countries unlock the potential, wisdom and energy of the rising numbers of people over age 60.

Read more on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

FREE online university courses.

Some of the world’s top universities are now offering FREE online courses, known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's). At Princeton University you can study the History of the World since 1300; or take a Mathematical Biostatistics Bootcamp at Johns Hopkins University; study Probabilistic Graphical Models at Stanford University; take an Introductory Astronomy course at Duke University; study Critical Thinking at Edinburgh University….the list is endless!

Find out more with helpful website links on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Deals of the Month! $5,000 bonus packages available.

Looking for a retirement village in Queensland or South Australia? Check out these bonus package deals worth up to $5,000 to be spent on moving costs, new furniture, travel or even a new mobility scooter.

For a limited time, a bonus package is being offered on the Carlyle Gardens Village in Bargara Queensland, with villas priced from $219,000; and on three Adelaide villages, with units priced from $109,000.

Find out more on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

MoneySmart week - free online financial planning tools.

Take the free online financial health check and get your own personal action plan to better manage your money and achieve your financial goals sooner. There's also a mobile app available!

This MoneySmart questionaire asks about your goals, budgeting, savings, investments and debt, using the information to assess your situation and then outline what steps to take to make sure you're on the right financial track.

Find out more about this and other helpful online money management tools on our News page.

MoneySmart Week 2 - 9 September 2012

Check out the great tools and events on offer for MoneySmart Week!  Free online tools and mobile apps to help you manage your money better and more easily!

You can take the free online financial health check and get a personal action plan to achieve your financial goals sooner. There's even a mobile app for this available!  A questionaire asks about your goals, budgeting, savings, investments and debt to assess your situation, assesses the results and then identifies steps you can take to make sure you're on the right financial track.

You can also watch a video on using the MoneySmart Money Management Kit, and see what MoneySmart Week events are on!

More on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Insulting older people is NOT smart marketing!

Patronising stereotypes of older people are all too common in advertisements, but hopefully this will change as marketers start to understand that insulting the target market doesn't actually work. And with a rapidly ageing population, older people are a much bigger target market than they used to be.  This generation of over 50's (now one third of Australia's population) are very different to older generations, with very different expectations and aspirations.

A report conducted by Sydney advertising agency Senioragency shows today's over 60's are a cashed up demographic with more than $3.5 billion in disposable income each week.  The report "What Seniors Want" is outlined in an article on the B & T website which comprehensively demolishes the stereotypes, illustrating that today's seniors are well educated, well travelled, cashed up and technologically savvy.

The article says "the truth is that 90% of over 60s access the internet daily, 25% currently own a smartphone and 45% have engaged with a brand/organisation/product on social media, according to Nielsen's report, 'Mature Australians and the internet'.  Furthermore, research from Senioragency highlights that the over 50s account for 31% of bloggers, 30% of Tweeters, 29% of YouTube users and 26% of Facebook users in Australia."

Read more on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Share properties using Facebook, Twitter, email and more.

Did you know you can easily share your favourite retirement village and other retirement property listings from the Seniors Housing Online website with your family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, email and more using the sharing tools at the top left hand side of each property details page under the heading "Property Tools"?
 
Find a property you like and send it to others so they can see it and comment. 

Or you can "Like" us on Facebook to help other people find the website more easily, or follow us on Twitter to get regular updates. 

More on these social media tools on the News page.

NEW mobile Apps for budget tracking and more.

Now there are new free Apps available for your iPhone and iPad and other mobile devices to help you manage your money better in real time.

These are produced by the excellent ASIC MoneySmart team to help you manage your money, achieve financial goals and keep track of spending.  They include interest free deal calculator, mortgage calculator, superannuation calculators and more.

You can go to the App Store to download these or see the MoneySmart mobile Apps website link.

And see the article about these and other handy Apps and more issues on the www.SeniorsHousingOnline.com.au website News page.

Register by 18 May to get your extra seniors' payments.

Even if you are a self funded retiree you are entitled to the Government carbon tax compensation payments on 25th June -- and you may also be eligible for the seniors' supplement too if you have a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. The Seniors' Supplement is $842 per year and the carbon tax compensation (known as the "clean energy advance payment") is $250 for singles or $380 for couples. The Seniors' Supplement is paid quarterly to help pay regular bills such as power, rates, phone and car registration.

$55 million is available to be paid before July 1 - but you need to be registered with Centrelink to get your payment on 25th June.  There are still around 9,000 self-funded retirees who have not yet provided their details and Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin is calling for them to come forward to get the extra assistance they are entitled to. People have until 18 May to update their details with Centrelink to ensure they get their advance payment on 25 June. 

This payment is in addition to the ongoing household assistance starting in June next year to help self-funded retirees make ends meet an extra $338 for singles and $510 extra for couples combined.

Find out more on the Seniors Housing Online News page.

Seniors stamp duty exemption ends 30 June 2012.

You can save up to $22,490 in stamp duty when you buy a newly constructed home or an off-the-plan purchase before 30 June 2012 in NSW, if you are eligible for the senior's principal place of residence exemption.

To be eligible you must be aged 55 or over; have owned and occupied a home in NSW for the past 12 months which you are selling and must occupy the new home for a continuous period of at least 12 months. 

For more information and relevant links see the Seniors Housing Online News and Information page.