BOOSTING OCCUPANCY RATES - Essential 5

Sharing Resident Birthdays

When it comes to our residents’ birthdays, we often share the news on our social channels, especially when it comes to milestone celebrations like 100, 90 or 80. Families of the residents take comfort in the fact that we make sure we make their day as special as possible for them, and this always results in great feedback from the relatives of potential future residents when they are perusing our social media. For those who want to, we throw parties to celebrate the big day and this always provides great content for our Facebook page, offering lots of interaction and allowing people to see how we go the extra mile.

Documenting Days Out

Sometimes there is a false assumption that, when people go into care, they then never leave the home. For and our residents who are able, regular days out to the cafe or down the sea front, which is on our door step, is essential for wellbeing and mental health. When we take these trips, we feel it’s important to capture the moment with a photo so our resident’s families can see. Unfortunately, some of our residents living with dementia often forget daily occurrences, so a photograph is a great way to spark a memory, and also allows our social media audience to see the events our residents can enjoy.

Offer Activities

Activities are, and should be, a huge part of any care home and, for us, have been one of our main USP’s when it comes to boosting occupancy. We have a singer called Jon who comes weekly, and our in-house team member, Freya, who does painting and arts and crafts with our residents. Whenever this is happening, we make a conscious effort of getting content for social media, including videos and photos. It’s all well and good introducing activities to a care home, but you must ensure you’re shouting about them so people are aware, as it’s a great way to show you go the extra mile in making people’s residency enjoyable.

Therapy Animals

Animals are known for being a great form of therapy, especially amongst the older generation and those who have previously owned pets at their homes. We have a pat dog, and also welcome the relatives of our residents to bring in their pets too, for the benefit of our tenants. The animals spark a great sense of joy in the home, and their visits make up a substantial chunk of our social media feed, as our followers love to see them. Along with this, it often puts potential residents’ minds at ease, as many of them have to leave beloved pets when joining the home, so knowing they will still have a furry companion is comforting.

Be Honest About Food

With food being massively important to residents and their families, we make sure that we share what our meals look like on social media. We make a conscious effort to be authentic and take pictures in real time, rather than using stock images on our channels. Residents have previously commented on their appreciation of this, as it provides a realistic idea of what they will be eating when staying at our home.

Care Home Magazine » Publication for Residential Care Industry