Maplewood Senior Living – From Generic Ads to Hyper-Local Success
The Struggle for Relevance
Maplewood Senior Living, a family-owned senior care community nestled in the coastal town of Southport, Connecticut, faced a marketing crisis in early 2023. Despite offering exceptional memory care and assisted living services, their digital campaigns were failing to resonate with their target audience.
"Our Facebook ads looked like every other senior living community in Connecticut—stock photos of smiling seniors, vague taglines, and no real connection to our local families.”
-Clara Bennett, Marketing Director, Maplewood Senior Living
Their target audience included adult children (ages 40–60) in Fairfield County searching for compassionate care options for aging parents, but what were the numbers for their first campaign efforts?
The result was a stagnant 8 tours per month and a cost-per-lead of $243 despite a $12,000 monthly ad spend!
Maplewood’s leadership team realized their generic approach was costing them trust in a market saturated with regional and national competitors. To address this, they partnered with ElderBloom Strategies, a digital marketing agency specializing in hyper-local senior living campaigns.
The challenge was clear: Could Maplewood leverage its deep roots in Southport to stand out in Connecticut’s crowded senior care market?
The Problem: Generic Ads and Missed Opportunities
The senior living industry is highly competitive, with national chains like Sunrise Senior Living dominating digital ad spend. Independent communities like Maplewood often struggle to stand out, relying on generic messaging and stock imagery that fails to resonate with families.
Maplewood’s pre-ElderBloom campaigns epitomized these challenges:
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Facebook Ads: Stock photos of seniors playing board games, paired with vague taglines like “Comfortable Living for Your Loved Ones.”
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Google Ads: Broad keywords like “senior care near me” yielded unqualified leads.
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Website: A clunky, mobile-unfriendly site buried the tour scheduler under layers of text.
“We were spending $12,000 a month on ads, but they weren’t working. Families couldn’t see what made us different.”
-Clara Bennett, Marketing Director, Maplewood Senior Living
The Solution: Hyper-Local Storytelling and Data-Driven Campaigns
ElderBloom’s audit revealed 3 critical gaps in Maplewood’s strategy:
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Lack of Authenticity: 0% of ads featured real residents or staff.
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Poor Local SEO: Maplewood ranked page 8 for “memory care near Southport.”
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Conversion Friction: The website required 5+ clicks to book a tour.
The agency proposed a 90-day overhaul focused on three pillars:
Hyper-Local Facebook Ads
Produced 5 video testimonials featuring Maplewood residents and their families
(e.g., “Why We Chose Maplewood: The Thompson Family’s Journey”).
Ads targeted adult children within 25 miles using Facebook’s “caregiver” interest targeting.
Taglines like
“Still Researching Senior Living” replaced generic messaging.
Local SEO Dominance
Optimized for 15 neighborhood-specific keywords (e.g., “assisted living in Southport CT”).
Published FAQ blogs (e.g., “How to Pay for Memory Care in CT Without Bankruptcy”).
Conversion Infrastructure
Added a 24/7 chatbot to answer FAQs and book tours instantly.
Redesigned the website with clear CTAs and mobile-first design.
The Results: From Stagnant to Stellar
Within 90 days, Maplewood’s campaigns transformed from generic to groundbreaking with the help of Elderbloom Strategies.
Key Campaign Highlights
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Facebook Ads: 5,093 views on Facebook Ads Carousel Photos, 212 clicks to tour scheduler.
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Local SEO: Page 1 rankings for 12 keywords; 48% of leads from organic search.
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Chatbot: 15% of tours booked after hours; 40% reduction in front desk call volume.