Engage Prospects Through Content Marketing with Tim Sprinkle
Engage Prospects Through Content Marketing with Tim Sprinkle
Tim Sprinkle is the founder of Layup Content, a thought leadership agency in Denver, CO that helps financial services companies tell better stories in order to connect with their customers on a deeper level. A journalist for 20+ years, his work has appeared in Wired, Entrepreneur, Outside and many other publications, and he is the author of Screw the Valley: A Coast to Coast Tour of America’s New Tech Startup Landscape. More information is available at www.LayupContent.com.
www.seniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com
Full Transcript Below
Roy (00:02):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of senior living sales and marketing. I'm Roy. Uh, today we have a guest that's gonna talk to us about, um, content and content as, um, especially Darren tougher times. And, uh, you know, as this industry progresses and grows and gets to be more competition, I think that the, um, the opportunity or the gonna have to be able to tell the story of, um, the senior living community, not from a bricks and sticks, uh, type of aspect, but more from the, the lifestyle aspect. And if you've listened to me before, you know, um, that's one of my things that I try to talk about all the time is that, you know, we have to, to, uh, kind of build the dream, what is life gonna be like? And so, uh, Tim sprinkle is with us today. He is with layup content.
Roy (00:58):
Uh, they are a thought leadership agency out of Denver, Colorado. They help, uh, small to midsize, small to midsize businesses, tell their stories in order to connect with their customers on a deeper level. Uh, he was a journalist for 20 plus years and has appeared in wired entrepreneur outside and many other publications. He has also authored a screw the Valley, a coast to coast tour of America's new tech startup landscape. Tim, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, Roy. Hey, it's great to talk to you again. And, uh, you know, we talked a little bit in the pre-show about this, but, uh, this audience that we're talking to today is the senior living based, which can run the gamut from, uh, assist, uh, from, um, independent living assisted living, uh, nursing or Alzheimer's care and, or some combination of everything in between there. So, uh, you know, we, I think we, um, we're getting better, but a lot of times we're in a habit of telling the story, like, you know, we have an apartment where you live and this is where we go eat. And, you know, I think our consumer not only have they become an they're smarter, the, um, you know, this, this generation is very much research based and research focused, but we've got the internet and with the internet, they do a lot of research before they even make that phone call or come onsite to visit. And so, you know, that's why I feel that content is not only content is King, but it is it's going to be the master of driving traffic to the, uh, communities
Tim (02:47):
That's right. I mean, really what it comes down to is that everyone right now is living online. I mean, would it without a digital president's presence, you don't, um, do you have exist? And I think, uh, what a lot of, you know, senior living being just one of them are kind of realizing kind of waking up to you right now is that, you know, it's not necessarily enough to, you know, put your best foot forward and engage with kind of your customers online and on social media. That might be their only impression of you. They may not necessarily even meet you or talk to you on the phone until they're ready to buy. And that really kind of put really high bar for kind of the quality that you're putting out. And it's not just about, you know, just attracting inbound traffic and SEO and putting out content and all that, all those kind of buzzwords, it really is like telling, telling a true story that engages with someone who may only know about you from an Instagram story or, you know, whatever platform they're on, um, really kind of building those connection, that it, it's the kind of thing that we do as human beings in person all the time.
Tim (03:49):
It's not difficult when you're talking face to face with someone, but when they're just on their phone or on their computer, it's a whole different ball game and you really need to kind of step up kind of what you're doing to, to really resonate with them.
Roy (03:59):
Yeah. And I'm not sure what the metric is anymore, but it used to be, you got like about six seconds to capture somebody's attention. And so while we've, you know, got a lot of pretty pictures, uh, you know, the story that goes behind that is important. I think people have learned to, um, realize that B businesses post the best pictures that they possibly have up there. So we know what is the story behind that, you know, what is life going to be like in one of these communities? And, you know, that's where we talk about, you know, building the dream. And the examples that I typically use are that, um, you know, somebody is not going to have to chase a lawnmower in a hundred degree heat, or they're not going to have to actually, you know, be behind a snowblower. So, you know, there's that physical aspect and the work aspect, but then also, you know, I think is this, uh, you know, we have to tell the story, is this a lively community, a lot of seniors, they're not looking for a place to go sit in a rocking chair and not do anything else.
Roy (05:04):
They still want to live an active and a very social life. So I think that the opportunities to tell that story are just endless.
Tim (05:14):
Yeah, exactly. I mean, really at the end of the day, differentiating between a couple of different places you need beyond location, let's say that it just, it might seem like they're all dime a dozen. And obviously there are many differences that people can point to, but if you're not talking about those differences, you're not highlighting kind of what you're really putting the person who is looking for a place to live into the, into that story. Uh, they don't really feel any connection to you. It's the same as, you know, another Philadelphia, Philadelphia on the block. Yeah. There's really no differentiator.
Roy (05:45):
Right. Right. Yeah. And the, you know, the other thing about, uh, that's a little difficult too about this business is sometimes we're not only reaching the person that's going to live there. You know, we may be reaching, uh, a spouse of somebody that needs to move in, or we could even be trying to reach out to a, um, an adult child or, uh, you know, somebody else that is going to help be involved in that decision. So it's, um, it's good in a way, because it gives us a broad range of messages to put out, but on the other hand, you know, it can get complex and trying to manage that. And then, uh, you know, we want to have an, and I would assume that what we want to try to do is build kind of a, a longer vertical with all the different topics that it may be activities, safety, you know, the meals that, but then, uh, make it where you can go very deep into it to get a lot more information than what we'd call the superficial information that you just see on a webpage
Tim (06:54):
That's right. I mean, you really are talking to such a wide audience, you know, the folks who are retired and it could be moving into their, their kids or their grandkids. I mean, the age range is really staggeringly large. And it's between the generations, that the ways that they communicate are all very different and, you know, to speak to all of them kind of in the same way, the same voice, but, you know, kind of the brand and the whole, you know, all of the stories that you're telling them, the content you're creating, it all feels universal and United, even though you're going after a different way is it's, it's, it's, it's a bigger problem than I think a lot of people actually appreciate it. And it takes a lot of kind of forethought and planning to make it work.
Roy (07:33):
Right. Right. Yeah. And, you know, and I guess what I was kind of, um, I wasn't very clear, but, uh, I kind of allude to the fact that, you know, we've got that short little time to get their attention. And so while we want to have, um, you know, like I like to have bigger blocks that try to have the keywords or catch words that may, uh, you know, on a single page, we may have, uh, you know, image four or five images that will capture their attention. Then they're able to click on that. If it's security that they're interested, then they click on it. You know, it takes them a little bit deeper. So just want to make sure that I clarify that, um, I, you know, when I look at things I'm all about, you know, finding the need that I have to try to build that value, you know, before I go deeper.
Roy (08:23):
And, uh, you know, it's, it's difficult on, uh, on a flat web page, piece of paper, you know, to try to capture a lot of information and everybody's needs, but, uh, that's where we get back to the, you know, a lot of nice visuals, a lot of nice titles in order to take us deeper into the subject. And then, like, you're saying, tell that story, you know, what is the story? What, you know, what story do you have to tell? And, um, I think that's where we can really add value and try to capture those eyes for the first time and try to get somebody to pick up the phone, make a phone call, or even come out and take a tour is just that, um, we're going to add value to their life or to their loved one's life in some way.
Tim (09:13):
Yeah, that's right. And then, like you and I are earlier, Roy, I mean, incorporating visual than, you know, videos and, you know, different ways that everyone really wants to kind of interact with with companies and websites, even in their own way. I'm personally not a huge video person, but I know that millions, many, many millions of other people really will, are video first and they'll pick up their phone and watch a video a hundred times out of a hundred before they read up a sales sheet or anything on a website. And just kind of, you know, keeping that in mind and just having as many different options as you can for people to interact with you. Uh, it's kind of an important step in this process.
Roy (09:50):
Yeah. And people want to see people that, that they can relate to. So that's a, you know, another important thing, let me just say, I'll get your opinion on this. What I think is important is to, you know, you stay away from stock images. Uh, it's gotten a lot of these stock images they're used all over the place, so it's pretty easy to spot right off. So, uh, you know, you know, there's a lot that you have to jump through with releases and all that, but when you can get either, uh, you know, your own residence or, you know, if you have, uh, an acting group or a club that's closed, get somebody to come, um, you know, play that part. And that way, you know, people that are looking at it can really identify
Tim (10:35):
Well exactly right. Yeah. You can spot the stock images a mile away. So it's the same people are involved, but, you know, if anything that makes me feel a consumer that I I'm in this, you know, I can be there and it looks like kind of where I would feel comfortable. Uh that's that's important. And it definitely involving real people is key, I think. Yeah, because that's the real differentiator, right?
Roy (10:56):
Yeah. And not only residents, but staff, I mean, they want to, uh, you know, when they come in and see somebody, they, it it's really nice when you walk into a business and you see the guy that you saw, RCA person that you saw on the website teaser, there's, you know, there's so much to wrap around, um, that concept to, you know, gotta catch them quickly, get their eyes and capture their attention and then drive them, you know, deeper into your site to actually, uh, you know, get the, get more detailed information on whatever you're trying to say. And, uh, I think another thing that is really good to use as blogs and, uh, get your opinion on this that, you know, I feel like a lot of times we put a blog out there and then we don't do anything for two or three years. And that's one thing I generally look at when I go to a blog is, um, when was the last, you know, when was it posted? When was the last post? Is it something that's regular? So I think the, uh, you know, that consistency to get in your ma you know, getting the blogs out there, if you're going to choose to do that and, um, being very consistent with that messaging.
Tim (12:09):
Yeah, no, I very much agree. And I think that really comes down to kind of being honest with yourself when you start, I started blogging, if you can really only conceivably post maybe once or twice a month, you know, don't over commit yourself to doing it every day or because you're right. Like when you show up on a website and there's a blog that hasn't been updated a year and a half, and then, you know, just kind of a scattershot approach, right. Not only does that not serve the purpose of, you know, the blog for SEO reasons, but it also, it just kind of looks like they're not as engaged as maybe they, you know, they could be. Right. And so it might be kind of working against you. But the big thing I would say with blogs is like, you don't have anything to say, don't feel like you need to force it. No, I mean, less frequency of, you know, deeper, more interesting content is always a good thing. I mean, just to kind of thinking about what's your, what do you want your blog to achieve if it's purely an SEO thing that, you know, frequency is important for that. Um, but if it's going to be more of a telling residents stories and sharing some insights and kind of giving people a glimpse of what life is like, uh, that can be done on a less frequent basis, it really depends on kind of what your goals are.
Roy (13:15):
Right. And, and, uh, you know, I think that's the other thing is the, um, the message that we, the messages that we have to get out, you know, telling resident stories, uh, how tos, you know, that's another great, I think anybody that goes to, um, I guess probably YouTube is the platform, but Mo I think they say that a large number of those searches over there start with how to, so, you know, we kind of have to think about in context of what are people that you want to attract, what are they going to be out there searching for
Tim (13:50):
That's right, right. Yeah. It's a really kind of a holistic process of determining who you want to go after, who you think your target market is, and then kind of digging into what that person does online. And there are an endless number of tools that you can use to research that type of thing, but it really comes down to kind of just knowing your customer and really having a good idea of who you really need to talk to.
Roy (14:10):
Right. And also, are you a fan on blogs? You know, you can, now we can do audio video, you can embed them. Is that another good use of, uh, videos and audio to embed them in your blogs?
Tim (14:26):
Absolutely. Anything that keeps, uh, keeps them on, on the page and engaged longer. It is like, is a good thing. And I often will do the audio or video and I'll transcribe it and then have like a video at the time of the page and the transcription for someone who doesn't want to walk the video and just kind of presenting it a bunch of different ways. And that's, it all comes down to making sure that someone who shows up on your website is getting the information that they're looking for and things that are interesting to them. And, you know, if they're reading a blog and there's an embedded the podcast episode, for example, about something related, they're like, Oh, this might be interesting. And that takes them down further down the funnel and further down the channel to learn more about what you're doing and anything you can do to kind of cross pollinate like that is, is very valuable.
Roy (15:08):
Yeah. And the nice thing, like you mentioned too, is the SEO value that all this does, you know, because that, uh, before anybody can even read about you, they got to find you first. And so we, we don't talk about that a lot, but, uh, you know, it, it's important to, and it changes. So maybe today you're at the top of the heat, but you never know about tomorrow or the next day. So you gotta stay on top of that. And, uh, you know, what I've heard in the past is that, you know, a blog is like, uh, leaving a breadcrumb, uh, for your prospects to follow you back to your web page. And that if you use a video on there, then that is like leaving chocolate covered breadcrumbs that lead back to your website.
Tim (15:55):
Exactly. Right. And I will say also for, like, for blog traffic, if you're promoting your blog on social media or Facebook, for example, oftentimes those platforms, I know for a fact PayPal does it, they prioritize posts that have videos in them. You're going to get more impressions on your posts will get more traffic off of that, just because you're using a video, they click once to encourage people to do that. And little tricks like that, to kind of, you know, reach people the right way and kind of play the platform game. The way the platform is wants to be played can really help and kind of drive traffic in new or different ways.
Roy (16:29):
Yeah. And that's another great thing. Like, uh, you know, if you do a blog with a video audio, the other thing you can do is pull clips out of that. So you have, um, you know, you don't, if you're going to be out posting on social media, if you got four or five platforms that you need to post on, you know, once, twice, three times a week, wherever you are in that, you don't have to recreate, uh, content every for every different post, you can actually repurpose, uh, portions of this blog with the video audio text even, and, uh, push those out there on your channels. You know, one thing that I do is, uh, you know, I'll put a paragraph or snippet of what we're talking about with, uh, you know, a more button to try to drive that traffic back to the website from a social media platform.
Roy (17:24):
That's right. Yeah. Yeah. And there's so many simple editors now, um, that simple editing devices or software that, you know, it's easy to chop up a video into, you know, four or five different pieces, if it's a longer one and be able to push it out there. But so, um, like topics, do you feel like that, um, you know, we want to explain our, our, uh, the community and what we've got going on there, but do you think that the trying to get that community message out is as, as important as maybe, you know, using some resident stories, talking about your staff, that's another thing that's always forgotten is, you know, it's a great place to highlight staff. It makes them feel like superstars to see that their, um, picture that there's a little write up on the webpage about them.
Tim (18:21):
Oh, absolutely. I think that those, the beauty of content and all of this is that you can, you can do it any different direction you want to with it and really kind of highlight what you want to talk about. And I, I agree that, you know, talking about personal stories about resident staff or those are goals, and I think that the more you can do that, the better because everybody, everyone wins. And I think that the, the folks who were profiled also enjoy it. So there's a lot to be said for that, but there's also one thing that I always like to talk about is, um, kind of the idea of being a connector, being kind of the center of your own little universe and the people who see social media, as an example here who were kind of looking around for information about different, you know, different centers, they don't necessarily know what's going on in the industry.
Tim (19:02):
They don't know the questions asked. They didn't know who they should talk to. Then mr knows what they're getting into, and you can be the guide. If you can kind of be the person who said, who could point them to the broader conversations and kind of is their source of information about what, you know, what to look for, that they will think more highly of you than your competition. It just really comes down to, and a lot of the blog posts and the social stuff that I do is around, you know, sharing information about industry trends, sharing, you know, commentary about the X number of things that are happening across different facilities in, uh, like locations. A lot of my clients will be like in a certain location with like local it, local stories happening kind of events are going on. They want to see you engaged in a broader community that than just yourself. And so they, they can feel part of that community. And by pulling in some of that type of content, and you can really demonstrate that you have that, you know, the deeper connections and you are kind of the guide who can help them. And that's really what people are looking for. Right.
Roy (20:01):
Right. Yeah. And that's, that's great content to create because, um, you know, kind of as a saying, or a while ago, you know, if you do a simple video on how to choose a senior living community, based on whatever, you know, if it's independent, assisted, whatever, the level of care, but you put out a how to video and put that up on YouTube as well. And, you know, probably draw a lot of traffic with people, just, uh, you know, wanting to find out, you know, what, what do they, what are the questions that they need to ask?
Tim (20:34):
Oh, absolutely. And I can't imagine there's much competition right now for that. I think this hasn't really been, you know, done too much across the industry. So, you know, the first folks who do that are in good shape to, uh, get a lot of, get a lot of interest in a lot of traffic. Right. So when we
Roy (20:48):
Talk about, uh, content, you know, LinkedIn is always questioned. Uh, let's start with the written word. Um, if you're going to do some blog posts, w kind of what is that word target that, that you're looking for?
Tim (21:02):
It kind of varies. It, it's not so much the Google one rank you at a certain length. It's just that people are more likely to engage at a certain link. And the target that I tend to tend to shoot for is about, uh, 1100 words or so, a thousand to 1100 shorter than that, you're getting less time on the page and people are just kind of dropping in and out. You don't get quite as much engagement Google's measuring the engagement and the Taiwan paid as part of your ranking. So you want them to kind of stick around for a long time and spend some more time reading. Um, usually it, it kinda depends on what you're doing if you're doing kind of a, how to type of a post that goes into the great detail that can be longer. I mean, two, 3000 words are very fair for a SEO post the day that even people do a lot of it, but you kind of mix it up. You want some short things, you want some medium T pieces. You want some longer visas to give again, get people who are interested in certain types, uh, what they're looking for.
Roy (21:55):
Okay. So what about videos? Is there a good sweet spot for the length of a video that if we're going to put one up,
Tim (22:03):
I, for me, and I'm the video analytics are still a little hazy, so it's kind of a newer area. The choices are essentially two to five minutes or an hour. Okay. I think, you know, kind of in the middle range, people are either, they were either one quick information and a kind of a quick little bite, or they want the slow deep dive, but it can really get a lot out of, you know, whatever you're talking about. And I, there is nothing wrong with an hour or two, an hour and a half long video. People will watch the, uh, if it's interesting enough. And if it's, you know, you really kind of captured their interest. Uh, but particularly for social media, like you can take a long video to slice and dice it. You have to have those little two, three minute clips and share those. And that, that's the kind of thing you can use as a teaser if you're going to get someone's attention and get them into for the longer video.
Roy (22:50):
Okay. Yeah. So, uh, you know, it hasn't been that long ago that we, you know, we picked out our key words and we wanted to insert those in every paragraph, you know, and we're writing a 25 30 paragraph blog, you know, we want to be sure and had these keywords stuffed everywhere. And so if I'm not mistaken, I think Google has changed their, uh, the way that they look at that a little bit more. And, um, probably I think, you know, you can actually probably go to Google jail if, if you overdo that, is that pretty much correct?
Tim (23:29):
That's absolutely correct. Yeah. They will penalize you if you go too far and depending on the length of your content, it's usually about a 10 to 15%, uh, a paragraph, um, is the max. So yeah. You really, you, you can't keyword, you really shouldn't keyword stuff anymore. Yeah.
Roy (23:46):
Yeah. And I think the best advice is if you, um, you know, if you do your research and really write a thoughtful article or blog on the topic that you want, typically like the key words and the SEO will basically take care of itself.
Tim (24:04):
That's right. Yeah. You can't focus entirely on that because yeah. The way Google wants us to think about this is that yeah. Creating good, good work, engaging with people, having people share it around a district is doing a really good job is what they want to do. And so, you know, you can fold it all the technical SEO, little factors, like making sure you have keywords and making sure you have your photos tagged and things like that. But once that's done, it really is. It's not a game game to be played. It's really a chance to then, okay. So that's a really good stuff and people will like it, and Google will notice that your ranking is over on it.
Roy (24:38):
So if you're, if, uh, you know, if I was going to task you with writing an article for me, uh, for, uh, us non-rider type writers and he, and he kind of go through the, uh, you know, the thought process, because I'm going to be real honest with you and say that, you know, there was a time when I started riding and it'd be like, okay, I thought of a great topic set down, blow out 25 30 words, and then kind of hit the wall. And, you know, I used to get very frustrated that, you know, it just couldn't set down and flow. And so, you know, I kind of had to take a step back and kind of analyze that process, but why don't you tell us like, uh, uh, the, uh, kind of the accepted way or a good way for a non-rider rider to sit down and be able to, you know, put out some good content?
Tim (25:32):
Sure. I can give you totally honest with you. It doesn't, it never just, you can't sit down and it'll flow in my experience. It never works. Um, but what I like to do, and there's a couple of different little tricks that I've kind of used over the years, and I I'll start with an interesting topic, you know, something, let's say how to choose a senior living center at the topic we want to go after, you know, you have just kind of sit down and say, okay, what is the reader going to be looking for in this? And kind of think about it from their side and just think about what would, if you were just coming in cold, what would appeal to you as someone who would maybe, maybe reading about that and, and just kind of figure out, okay, what do we need to make sure we include in this article that they'll kind of walk away and say, okay, this is actually what I was looking for.
Tim (26:13):
I liked it. Um, and typically for me, like that kind of flipping the table process goes on throughout the entire entire writing of the piece. Like you've got to, does it sound right coming on on the reader side? Does it feel like the pace of, you know, if the length is okay on how long they're going to, will you sit there and read it, all of that stuff, you have to kind of consider what your reader, so would you also, like you need an outline to kind of get to point a to point B, you know, kinda need to know where you're going. Um, if we're doing a, how to, if you feel like that pretty straightforward, we talk about, you know, what the different, let's say different trends in the industry, different challenges you might face. If you're coming in cold and looking for something to, uh, help out your family member, you just have to kind of put together a list where it's like, okay, we need to make sure we talk about X, Y, and Z.
Tim (27:00):
And that'll get us to our goal of the end of this piece. And it's boring and English classes that sound like just having a roadmap or an outline like that. Over time you develop kind of a standard tablet I have on my computer right now, I've got probably 10 or 12 different templates or blog posts that are just depending on the topic, depending on the story, we're trying to tell, depending on the audience, we tweak things, but the format is the same. It's the introductory paragraph. It's a, you know, a paragraph about tying it back to them and you really get that detailed. And what do you do that you kind of get a feel for it, and you can kind of take one of those templates off the shelf every time you went to the blog post and in plug in your story and kind of do it that way. It's very, it's not formulaic, but it's structured. Right?
Roy (27:47):
Yeah. And one thing I've learned is not only, you know, the outline to sit down and think about that in the beginning, but also once I ride it, you know, I try to put it away for a day or so if possible, and then revisit it because sometimes we get, or sometimes I get lost in the, you know, can't see the forest for all the trees around me, but being away from it and not thinking about it for some period of time, it seemed like I can come back and have much more clarity and find maybe other ways to say the same thing, because that's the other thing is I think in any industry, we don't want to get bogged down in a bunch of, uh, industry acronyms and industry, uh, you know, the processes and I guess very heavy industry terms that other normal readers may not understand unless they've been in the business or been researching this for a while.
Tim (28:47):
Oh, that's right. And to totally amazing. I did the same thing. I put things away for a day or two, and every time you pick it back up again, you, the problems with it just jumped out at you. You didn't explain this topic deep enough, or, you know, it kind of got to do, you went too far in this one direction and you can spot the problems immediately.
Roy (29:03):
Right. Right. So, uh, another thing, um, I know this is more, it's kinda more SEO related, but it's also content related is that if you write a really good article, it is, um, if you reach out to other people and try to get them to link back to that, or especially if you mention somebody else or another company, um, another service provider, if you reach out to them, get them to link back to that content that even starts building. Um, and I don't, to be honest, I don't know all the requirements, but I just know that, you know, trying to write good content and get that back link. Or a lot of times I've even heard of, um, uh, one company writing the article and having another company put it up on their website because it's content that's valuable to them. But then the links all point back to, you know, company a that actually wrote the article.
Tim (30:07):
That's right. Yeah. And that's one of the ways that Google tries to kind of suss out whether or not your, your article is good or not. And just like other people saying, Hey, you got to check this out. And here's the link back to the original, that's just kind of way that they use it as like a social proof tool. And there are ways to kind of game that. But like you said, like you can kind of guest posting on someone else's blog, for example, is a good way to kind of build them back links. I use a lot of sharing on social is about backlinks. So there's obviously ways to kind of build that up. There are good ways to do it and bad ways to do it right. And Google cannot like, like everything can tell when you're like stuffing your links into random blogs. And, you know, if some people will, will go into comment section of this random blog and whatever topic and add in a comment where they, you know, they link back to their, their posts. And I'm sure you see that kind of when you go to some blogs and just kind of random comments about that are related to the topic. That's not the Google notice and it'll put you in Google jail, but doing it the right way that you're kind of building that network. You're building that community and the that's what Google is looking for.
Roy (31:11):
Yeah. And I think the, I think the bigger overarching message is that if you take the time to really sit down and create thoughtful content, there are so many ways to exploited and to use it to your advantage, that you really have to think about it in, you know, do some research on, you know, how else can we purpose this? Because you know, it, it does take a lot of time to whether it's a video, a podcast or an audio or the written word, it takes a lot of time and effort to get it right. And so when you get it right, and do the right thing, you want to try to figure out as many ways that you can, um, use that as totally possible.
Tim (31:57):
That's right. Yep.
Roy (31:59):
So, um, anything else that you want to, uh, you wanted to talk about or bring up with on a, you know, content related before we wrap things up?
Tim (32:10):
I mean, aside, aside from the kind of the quality argument that I was at the drum beat that I, I stick with on that, but I mean, really, I think this is a really good time for any industry really, but, you know, senior living is in particularly good shape for the, to just take advantage of kind of the opportunities that are out there and to really lean in on the kind of the storytelling aspect and take advantage of kind of what, what you have to work with. I think that any business where you're dealing with people, it's, it's a very personal connection business and you need to, you know, share those stories, go out and find, you know, interesting things that are happening and just take advantage of kind of what you have. I think that this industry in particular has a wealth of resources that they could use for this. And, um, it's just a matter of deciding to go ahead and do it and putting together a plan and executing on that plan.
Roy (32:56):
Yeah. And that's a good point is, uh, you know, also we talked about it a little bit earlier, but if, if you highlight community events or other things in the community, you can actually pull, you know, professionals re groups, you can pull a lot of referrals in from that as well. So, you know, don't, I guess the other thing is kind of, we touched on, but didn't really come right out and say, is that it doesn't always have to be about you and sometimes it's even better in your content to shine that light on somebody else.
Tim (33:33):
That's right.
Roy (33:35):
Yeah. Cause that's, you know, like with the professionals, lawyers, doctors, lawyers, uh, you know, the other community groups that are out there such a great referral source that, uh, you know, we can't overlook referrals are usually one of the cheapest forms of, uh, acquiring new customers or new residents. So always look around to see how we can do that and not always be, you know, focused on just the, what we had for dinner last night or that, you know, we've got carpet in our rooms or whatever that message, you know, has been in the past. We want to focus on building that dream. You know, what is the what's, what's it going to be like for me, if I actually move in and live there? Exactly. Well, Tim, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to come and talk to us about content. Um, so what is one tool that you use in your either business or daily life, either tool, habit, ritual that you just feel like you couldn't do without,
Tim (34:40):
This is going to sound about the most low-tech thing we've talked about so far, Roy, I started every day with a checklist and there are a million different ways that you can kind of project manage your, your own time and your, your company's time. But like for me also put together a list of my priorities for the day, kind of what we're, what we're going after. And I just worked my way down to the list that for me has been a practice I've at this point probably done 25 years. Um, and it really has been about the most low tech solution I can come up with and kinda keep myself on track, make sure everything's getting done on time, make sure all the deadlines are getting met and that we're continuing to moving forward.
Roy (35:17):
Yeah, that's awesome. I I'm the same way I still do. So do you use a pencil and paper or do you use a, some kind of electronic form of to-do?
Tim (35:26):
I have, uh, an app on my computer. That's essentially nothing more than like a note taking app. And I just have a little, little lot note pad that I scroll through each day has its own checklist. Yeah. You know, I kind of go
Roy (35:38):
Back and forth. I've got the, um, I've got the to-do list on the computer, but I, I, I find myself reverting back to pencil and paper sometimes post-it notes. I hate to say, but also another good idea that I've used before is three by five cards. You know, I just try to jot down the things that, you know, the bigger items, not the smaller things, but try to jot down those bigger items for the day, just so I can keep them in front of me. That's unfortunately that is the trick is keeping it top of mind.
Tim (36:10):
Exactly. It really is hard to go wrong with paper and pencil sometimes.
Roy (36:13):
Right? Exactly. Well, Tim, tell everybody, you know, kind of what you can do for them and of course, how they can reach out and get ahold of you.
Tim (36:23):
Great. So for us, you lay of content is we call ourselves the thought leadership agency. And we do that primarily because we work in content. We write blog posts, we write white papers, we help with copywriting for websites, all the blocking and tackling that goes into kind of creating a functional message. But a big thing for us is, you know, really digging into the story aspect, really spending time with our clients and then finding ways to dig out the interesting nuggets of information and turning those into interesting and great engaging content. They were all former journalists. Our job as journalists was primarily to, to find interesting stories and tell them. And, um, that's a kind of a weird twist on the whole content marketing thing. It's a different kind of skillset. Uh, but for us it works because it allows us to kind of like I said, dig in and really find the stories that kind of help elevate a client or a brand beyond the competition beyond just the, the internet right now is flooded with just noise. And a lot of people are screaming and, you know, into the nothing that's pretty much. And it, it matters a lot to stand out from that kind of crowd and make a real statement. And we do that through a story. We do that through a lot of the different techniques I mentioned, but that's kind of what we exist for is to kind of help, help people really dig in on kind of what they do and what they love and then share that with the world. Okay,
Roy (37:40):
Great. And, uh, what is the best way for them to get ahold of you?
Tim (37:44):
The best easiest way is to visit our website@layupcontent.com L a Y U P uh, just like in basketball. Um, and there's a contact us form on there and that will, uh, it'll get him started.
Roy (37:55):
All right. Awesome. And I'll be sure and include that in the show notes as well as I'll put that on the webpage. Uh, Tim, as always, it's been a pleasure speaking with you. And again, thanks for taking the time to stop by. You can find us@wwwdotseniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com. We are also on all the major podcast providers, iTunes, Google play, Stitcher and Spotify. Be sure and share with your friends, if you have a, um, if you have a, uh, an issue or a story idea that you'd like to, like for me to either find a, an expert to come on and talk about, or if you'd like to come on and share your message, please reach out to me@royatseniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com. We'd love to hear from you until next time. Thanks a lot.