Strategies for Managing Social Media With Limited Staff Time

John Cammidge, managing director, JTC Consultant

Social media is a valuable element of any senior care organization’s marketing strategy, but it can also be highly time-consuming. Here, social media and marketing experts share their favorite time-saving strategies to help you stay on top of social media, even when you have limited time and staff resources.

Cut Down on Research Time

Timing is essential when it comes to effective social media marketing. John Cammidge, managing director of JTC Consultant and a premier Google Ads consultant, notes that it’s important that your posts are relevant and well-timed. “The relevancy of your posts paired with well-researched market personas will determine how successful your content is,” he says. “However, trends are short-lived in today’s digital environment, meaning you’re always racing against time.”

Using the right tools can help you to stay ahead in both timing and relevancy. He explains that Buzzsumo allows for quick market research that’s based on relevant parameters, so you can see the topics that are most shared and most popular across different social media platforms at any one time.

Plan Ahead

Shannon Briggs, founder, Campfire Collective

There will be situations where you need to promptly post or respond on your social media platforms, but when able, Shannon Briggs, founder of Campfire Collective, suggests that you plan ahead. She uses a content calendar to plan content ahead of time. “This way we’re not waking up every day wondering what we’re going to post,” she explains. “This content corresponds with the business’s activity schedule.”

She recommends scheduling posts ahead of time. “it’s much quicker to schedule a week’s worth of posts at one time than to remember every day to login and post on different platforms,” she says.

If your pages receive public comments or private messages, Briggs recommends responding within the hour whenever possible. “While it’s not ideal, the nature of social media has encouraged people to correspond over these platforms with important information,” Briggs says. “Monitoring social media these days is akin to answering the phone at your place of business.”

Monitoring your accounts is easier when you install social media apps on your phone and turn the notifications on. Splitting these responsibilities between multiple people can help to make the process more manageable.

Share Strategically

Jessie Koerner, Novitas Communications

Effectively sharing content can help to make your social media more effective and engaging. Jessie Koerner is a certified death doula working in public relations at Novitas Communications. She explains that there are several strategies that make it easier to share content on social media.

Start by ensuring that multiple people have login details and administrator roles for your multiple platforms. “Spreading out the responsibility with a strong brand voice and guidelines makes it easier on everyone,” she explains. “That way, too, when someone leaves, the social accounts aren’t lost.”

She also recommends that you create templates and post similar types of content on certain days. You might share a quote from a caregiver on Mondays, share senior fun moments on Wednesdays, and feature a service on Fridays. “This cuts down the overthinking that can come with managing an account,” says Koerner.

When it comes to the actual content you share, look inward and don’t be afraid to get personal. Share content that features people and stories that they know or want to be associated. “That new facility feature is cool, but the profile of who came up with it or who will use it is better,” she says.

Don’t forget to share content from other pages, like medical associations, partner hospitals, and hospices. Sharing content reduces the burden and time involved with creating your own. As a bonus, Koerner explains that sharing content helps your senior care organization to look like a “team player” in the community.

Staying on Top of Social Media

Social media marketing requires a daily time investment, but your social media doesn’t have to take up all of your marketing hours. When you create a plan, involve multiple staff, and focus on streamlining your social media use, you can make the most of this valuable marketing opportunity even when you’re balancing it with other marketing priorities.

Paige Cerulli

Paige Cerulli is a contributing writer to i Advance Senior Care.