Across the ages, stories have been passed down to build culture, entertain, educate and inspire. Storytelling started as an oral tradition, evolved to pictures then to writing.

A memorable story discloses previously unknown information, offers a new perspective on known information or reveals an unforeseen twist or development. Today, many of our stories live online.

How can you apply storytelling to enrich your community, the lives of those you serve and your approach to business?

At Big Buzz, we are strong proponents of having a sound referral strategy and always recommend it to our clients. Year after year we see it pay off with higher move-in numbers and minimal spend compared to other marketing efforts. It is also easier than many might think, even for those who may initially feel reluctant to ask residents and families. Big Buzz has trained countless senior living organizations on how to develop a referral strategy that quickly became second nature to their entire team and kept numbers humming in a way that felt both simple and natural. Read on to learn more about how to implement or improve your own referral strategy and grow your occupancy numbers.

You have a database full of prospects, some of which you and your team have been nurturing for months or even years. You are having all the right conversations and doing all the right things you have done before to fill occupancy. Still, tours are down, move-ins are dwindling and census is low.

Imagine this: The team has gathered around the meeting table to discuss a new campaign. It’s early, but the smell of fresh-brewed coffee is in the air and several members of your team from sales to marketing have arrived in a shared collaborative spirit. Everyone is clear on the company’s big important goal, objectives and strategies that will give them the traction to succeed. The energy is high, and you know that the brand has been developed to represent the true essence of the organization. It’s clear through differentiation that your competitors have got nothing on this team and what you do for your target audience.

If you’re beginning to think about taking your practices's marketing plan to the next level with an advertising campaign, then it might be time to think about the message you want to send. In advertising, there are six messaging strategies that are most commonly used.

A solid marketing plan should contain everything you need to achieve and even exceed your organizational goals. The priorities for your plan are that it is actionable, understandable and concise.

How do you know you are not overspending on the wrong marketing communications and leaving money on the table with unrealized ROI? How can you be certain there are not any gaps in marketing budget allocation that might only be revealed once you have failed to meet your annual revenue goal?

In this article we illustrate the opportunity to tell a cohesive story across the full experience of the resident and family journey into your community. At each point, we detail how to expand on that story at various points in the journey.

There are many common misconceptions about marketing plans that can lead organizations to critical missteps that ultimately harm their bottom lines. Here are some of the common misconceptions about marketing plans and why they are false.

People defined storytelling primarily as a means to evoke feeling or elicit an emotional response. The feeling may be one of pleasure, a sense of belonging, a sense of loyalty or confirmation of previous experiences, thoughts or feelings.