What Is the Difference Between Branding and Marketing a Senior Center?

Whether you are trying to build membership and attendance for a newly opened senior center or an existing one, getting the word out is essential. Because most centers have limited finances, few have the budget for a full- or part-time marketing person to help them grow. Sound familiar?

The task often falls to team members who aren’t knowledgeable about the ins and outs of marketing. A question that often comes up is: What is branding, and how is it different than marketing? One challenge is that these terms are often used interchangeably when, in fact, they are two distinct processes and strategies.

In broad terms, branding is who you are as an organization. Marketing is the method of selling your senior center and telling the story of who you are. If you are a director trying to learn more about branding and marketing and how they work together, this information will be helpful.

What Is Branding?

Branding is an internal process. It is all the decisions you make about who you are and what you stand for in your work. In essence, branding is a representation of your organization’s values. Some elements involve establishing conscious strategies, while others reflect your team’s choices and behaviors in a typical day.

You’ll often hear people say they are working on building their brand in the community. But that’s not really an accurate depiction of how it works. Your name, logo, and other marketing symbols can represent your brand. But it’s the actions you take that truly build the brand —everything from the attitude and customer service of team members to the cleanliness of your center to the programs and services you offer.

For example, do you have a food pantry that serves area seniors? By offering that service, you demonstrate a commitment to senior nutrition and a recognition that older adults’ budgets can be limited. The same is true if you offer a sliding-scale home-delivered or pickup meal service. Because these programs aren’t money makers, older adults understand that the center provides them to meet a need. They mean that you are invested in serving the area’s seniors and improving their well-being.

How Marketing Informs the Community

Marketing is an external-facing process. It’s the various tools and strategies you can use to inform the community about your center. A few that you’ll likely find useful and affordable include:

• Running email marketing campaigns to existing members
• Setting up a Facebook page to share news and photos
• Creating regular blog articles for your website
• Arranging in-person visits to influencers in aging services
• Partnering with other organizations that serve seniors
• Hosting events at the center that are open to the public
• Conducting paid Google or Facebook ad campaigns
• Sending direct mail using lists you purchase in targeted demographic areas

The best approach to help your team get started is to create a comprehensive marketing plan for your senior center. A good strategy is to make sure your plan includes SMART goals. It’s an acronym that stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. This guide from industry expert

HubSpot might be useful for learning more about SMART marketing.

You’ll also find more marketing-related articles on our blog, on topics ranging from setting up virtual tours to maximizing your presence on Google. Check them out in our Center Toolkit!

Thinking your center could benefit from a refresh to your branding? Our dedicated designers love helping you stand out! Learn more about our branding services and see some examples of work we've recently done here.

For more inspiration, visit the "Art and Design" section of our blog!

Updated on 03-21-2024