As communities around the world respond to COVID-19, we know this time presents unique challenges to your home care business. We’d like to share a few ways you can keep your website and social media updated with the latest information.

Several weeks ago we introduced a new way for our customers to quickly post an informational banner at the top of their website. This means you can easily let your customers know if your business hours or services have changed – or even just reinforce that you are still open to serve them – and where they can find more information.

Add a Message to Your Website Using a Notification Bar

By using a notification bar at the top of your website you can quickly draw your visitor’s attention to this important information.

We recommend you use a color that stands out from the other content on the page. You can also select on which pages of your site the banner should be shown, for example only the homepage or on every page of your site.

In addition, we recommend that you add a link to the notification bar that brings the user to a page specifically dedicated to your COVID-19 updates and tips.

You can see an example of that here.

Consider some website best practices

Here are some additional recommendations to consider while updating your website during this time:

  • Reduce distraction on your site. Avoid automatic image carousels or animation on your site. If you have information about how customers can call you on the same page, the carousel or animation could draw attention away from that message.
  • Adjust your FAQs page. Your frequently asked questions might be different than what they were before COVID-19. Make sure this page highlights what is currently top of mind for your clients, their families and your caregivers.
  • Change your message for mobile devices. Adding longer messages to your customers may display fine on desktop but they probably will be too long on mobile devices. Limit your messages on your mobile site to less than 50 characters.

Update Your Google My Business Properties

If your business is affected by COVID-19 (we know it is!), update your Google My Business profile to provide the most accurate information to your customers. You can provide updates about your business to customers such as:

  • Your adjusted hours of operation, for instance if your phone support hours for potential clients have changed
  • If your business services are experiencing delays.
  • Extra services you are providing for the community.
  • The updates will show on your Business Profile on Google Search and Maps.

You can learn more about Google My Business in the article How a Free “Google My Business” Listing Contributes to Home Health Marketing Success!

To make sure your clients and caregivers have the latest information:

  1. Update your business hours
  2. Add a COVID-19 update post to your profile (Tip: link this back to a blog article on your website)
  3. Connect with your clients
  4. Edit your business description and details
  5. Hours & services disclaimer
  6. Use attributes to highlight service options
  7. Recommendations for healthcare providers and other senior services

Update Your Facebook Page

Home care businesses may be struggling to keep customers informed right now. And information is critical to your clients, potential clients, their families and your prospective caregivers as you continue to recruit help.

Facebook released a new feature for Pages that lets businesses communicate changes to their available services. Once normal service resumes, you can easily remove the service update from your Page.

Update Your Blog On Your Home Care Website

Communication is critical during this time. We teach our clients that their website is the foundation of all of their online marketing and important communication. It is where all information about your business originates. And it is where you eventually want every prospect to end up before making contact with you. Any updates regarding COVID-19 that you want to share can first be posted as blog posts on your website.

Once you have posted your updates as blog posts, the posts can be shared on Facebook, Google My Business, LinkedIn, and in your email marketing. You can even link to these updates from your notification bar as we mentioned earlier.

This is a very challenging time for everyone

Home care companies have been working hard filling a critical need for their communities. We commend all of you for the hard work you are doing during these times. If you have questions or need more suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us – no obligation – and we would be happy to point you in the right direction.

Stay healthy, stay safe!

-Your Friends at Home Care Marketing Pros

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