I work mostly with Senior Living providers, and educational institutions (schools, non-profits, etc.). There are, perhaps surprisingly, a number of similarities between these verticals, which is what makes it so fun to serve both. One similarity that has become increasingly important throughout this decade, is the need for research-backed methodology. This same framework has helped brands across a number of industries with these same needs — from real estate, to food service, to career coaching, and more.
Research-Based Marketing for Senior Living and Education
Across industries, prospects are becoming more educated, and more discerning. Throughout the long sales cycles native to education and senior living, prospects and their families are becoming expert researchers in their own right. These modern leads expect that:
1. They’ll be able to find the information they want, from your brand.
2. That your brand will be as dedicated to finding out what’s best for their loved one as they are.
It’s no longer enough to show that you adhere to a certain school of thought when it comes to pedagogy, physical health, memory care. It’s now imperative that we can describe why a certain methodology was put in place, and what the benefits are, when compared with the other prominent options.
Prospects are expecting brands — schools, non-profits, service providers — to conduct their own research, do their own due diligence, and make a case to the lead as to why they are the best option.
This research, and how it is presented can take a number of forms (literature reviews; mystery shops; net promoter scores — white papers; infographics; videos) but there is a framework to follow…
Developing Research Content to Support Your Brand
Here’s my personal framework for working with a client to build original research content that supports their brand, builds their online reputation, and brings in new leads.
Step 1:
Identify the need
This usually happens in one of two ways…
A. Viewing the client website content and identifying specific claims that could be made stronger with the support of original research.
B. Keyword research around their primary service/offer, to find what questions are being asked.
Usually, it’s a combination of both of these options. We work together to figure out what we need to prove to the ideal prospect.
Step 2:
Determine research methods
Sound research methods, that can be easily explained, are necessary to build trust through your research.
We work together to define the most straightforward way to gather the information that we need. Understanding research methodology is important here. If your methodology isn’t water-tight, the rest of your work will be less effective. Rather than building trust, you could erode it.
Step 3:
Gather data
This takes a variety of forms, depending on the research methods you’ve settled on. This might involve mystery shopping, customer surveys, literature analysis, etc.
Follow through with your research methods and compile the raw data.
Step 4:
Compile and analyze
Here’s where we start to build a narrative from the data. View the data together with a critical eye and note any trends or anomalies that you’re seeing. Again, this takes some knowledge of research methods and statistics, depending on what form your research and data have taken. The important thing is to be able to explain and defend your analysis.
Sometimes this narrative doesn’t end up looking exactly like we thought it would, but that’s ok!
Step 5:
Develop cornerstone content piece
Once we’ve established the narrative that our data is revealing to us, it’s time to put that story into action. This might be a whitepaper, podcast, video, infographic, etc. Depending on the content and the target audience, you can determine what formats might work best. (Hint: repurpose!)
This cornerstone piece will be used to gather leads (lead magnet) and develop sub-content from.
Step 6:
Develop content calendar and support content
It’s always important to develop a promo/distro plan, including teaser content prior to dropping the cornerstone content. No use in creating a great piece of content if you aren’t going to let anyone know about it.
Using your research and cornerstone content, develop a plan to promote the drop of your new content, a plan to create website content to support SEO around the topic, and a plan to follow up with people who engage with your cornerstone content.
Step 7:
Develop web assets
Now that your content is in place, you’ll need to set up the architecture of the offer. Landing pages, forms, CTAs, and follow up emails. There are a lot of considerations to make with regards to search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, etc, but it generally boils down to: give the people what they want, and make it as easy as possible for them to get it. Make sure your web page is accurate and thorough about what the lead will receive when they download. Make sure the pages and forms work correctly, and load quickly. Test everything.
This process also involves setting up the marketing automation to trigger nurturing emails (or text messages, etc.). This will look different depending on what software you are using.
Step 8:
Launch content calendar, and web assets!
Time to hit publish! Set your landing page live, turn your workflows on, and start publishing your support content. Your research-based lead magnet is ready to start working overtime for your brand.
Bonus step — results!
9. Reaffirm claims made by your brand, build brand equity, and generate leads. Continue to engage these leads as they become more qualified over the course of their customer journey.
Always have a plan! Get in touch if you need help getting your strategy developed and off the ground.
DeMaio Digital Marketing 