StephenWinbaum
Communications Coordinator
/ Moderator
Aug 22, 2005, 9:16 AM
Post #1 of 1
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The Internet is becoming the first choice when seniors and their families seek out retirement facilities. Traditional word of mouth is less reliable now that fast, dependable, and accessible information is available online.
This trend changes the way the senior housing industry works, with providers of retirement services responding to the growth of computer literacy in the older generation.
Twenty-two per cent of Americans 65 years and older now go online, and their numbers are growing.
Plus, the children of seniors are generally Internet-savvy and prepared to do a lot of the work for their parents.
There has been a growth in Internet sites geared to retirement where online seniors visit, including
elder advocacy groups like AARP
not-for-profit sites like the Alzheimer's Association, American Society on Aging, SeniorNet (a website dedicated to training Seniors to use the Internet), and many more
educational sites for caregivers, health and wellness, travel and entertainment
elder law and insurance sites government and professional
These educational sites make seniors better consumers when it comes time to choose retirement facilities.
This trend works in favor of facilities that are geared to meet the expectations of seniors, and especially, their children, who often take on the role of caregivers.
The newest and most effective Internet sites for seniors serve multiple roles:
offer online listings for users (seniors and their families) on an Internet directory of retirement homes
create a search tool for website visitors to perform various evaluations of facilities by types and locations
provide educational material through an online library
create free memberships for new users that give access to all listings on the website
update the website content, membership, and listings on a daily basis
offer job opportunities to retirement health care professionals
The benefit of digital communications provides retirement homes with a means to reach out to seniors and their families in a way that was never before possible:
Internet directories provide a free membership area. RetirementHomes.com has nearly 23,000 senior members, a number that grows daily
retirement facilities listed on RetirementHomes.com can be easily found by these seniors and their families
when they find your listings, online visitors can go to your personal website, or forward their information to you
RetirementHomes.com can build a website for a facility within a day
Through this process, RetirementHomes.com leads seniors and their family to your facilities. There are many advantages to this method:
seniors and their caregivers are more educated than before, and approach retirement facilities with greater insight, information, and knowledge during tours with facility staff
seniors who enter their new environment are more stable and composed. Elderly newcomers and their families benefit from easy access to information about your facilities
seniors, their children, and retirement facilities can meet online before arranging costly communications, such as phone calls, tours, and brochures
Since RetirementHomes.com is the highest-ranked retirement-based website on the Internet, more traffic flows to it than to any other. That means more online users will make their first visit to you not by word of mouth or on the phone but through RetirementHomes.coms expanding Internet presence.
Retirement home owners and directors can expect higher occupancy rates when they go online with RetirementHomes.com.
Stephen Winbaum is the Communications Coordinator of RetirementHomes.com
stephen@retirementhomes.com
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