Launching a Facebook contest by Amy Schuster, BA, and Cara Slider, MS
Social media has grown as a useful tool to engage customers and develop relationships in the senior living industry. For organizations with multiple locations, however, most marketing and public relations efforts focus on individual communities and cluster markets. Managing a Facebook page for each community could require a full-time marketing team to make updates and gather information, potentially disrupting daily community operations. Atria Senior Living, a national provider of independent and assisted living communities in the United States, opted to create a corporate Facebook presence in 2010 as a way to connect with a diverse audience, including families and employees. To increase engagement and brand awareness on this page, the Louisville, Kentucky-based organization held its first social media contest in 2012.