The field of senior living and senior care is complex. So complex that content is necessary to educate, build trust and credibility, and answer questions consumers have. We know today’s consumers have access to much more information online, and because of this, we as marketers must determine the best way to create and distribute relevant content that attracts, acquires, and engages our target audience, of course, with an eventual goal of increasing sales and the bottom line.

How do we reach the content marketing trifecta of delivering the right message at the right time to the right audience?

Here are 5 steps to success:

1.) Develop a strategy.

Meet with key leaders and determine:

• Your organization’s main goals for the year. These must be measurable.

• Who you want to reach. Spend time defining your consumer persona(s).

• What your audience needs from you. If you don’t know, ask them.

• What your organization’s biggest needs are right now.

All content you plan for should align with your organization’s defined goals, as well as the anticipated needs of your consumer.

What to ask Why will your consumers care? What do you want them to hear, feel, experience and do in response to your message?

2.) Identify content focus.

Take inventory of content you already own and determine how you could leverage or repurpose it. You might be surprised at how much existing content you have. Next, begin sorting your content into “buckets” that align with your overall messages. Photos, videos, presentations, web articles, news releases, testimonials, event invitations, and social media posts – all count as content.

What to ask Does your content fall into the categories you defined in your initial strategy? If not, consider eliminating it. If so, determine how you can get maximum mileage out of it.

3.) Create content. After you’ve assessed what content you have, it’s time to generate more content to help tell a complete story about your organization at each stage of the buyer’s journey.

You have a variety of subject matter experts within your organization. Find them, interview them, learn from them, and let them help show and tell a bigger, better story about your organization. Telling the story through the cumulative stories of residents is one approach that has great impact on senior audiences.

What to ask Which core business objective will each content opportunity align with? What is the anticipated impact of this content? How will you share this content with your audience?

4.) Organize, publish and distribute. Keep generating, promoting and refining content that aligns with your content focus. Once the process is in motion, you can further define your success metrics, your personas and your content. This will lead to consumers who are much more engaged with your brand.

Content marketing is more than building brand awareness. It’s about nurturing leads and converting those leads to sales.

What to ask Which key performance indicators should you use to measure ROI? Which channels are creating highest conversion rates? Which messages are resonating best with your audience?

5.) Test and analyze. To keep raising awareness, building your brand and creating new advocates, you have to continue fueling the fire and refining your message, based on what data is telling you. It’s a continual process. The more quality and engaging content you create, the brighter your results can be.

What to ask How can you make content work harder? Is there any content missing that you need to consider creating? Is this content working – why or why not?

By following these 5 steps, you’ll build smarter content marketing plans and reach prospects who are looking for your organization as a possible solution to their needs.