For UK social care providers
Your social media silence is costing you the families who never call
Families research a care home's warmth and culture online before they ever visit. A sporadic or dormant presence reads as disengagement, and they move on to a home that posts consistently.
Two minutes. Solva follows up with specific content and posting options.
- Facebook page with last post 3 months ago
- Outdated information on social media profiles
- No responses to comments or messages from prospective families
- Generic stock photos instead of real resident activities
- Increased workload for admissions teams handling less qualified enquiries
- Difficulty attracting and retaining quality staff due to poor employer branding online
- Lower self-funder occupancy rates, directly impacting revenue
- Increased reliance on expensive traditional marketing channels
- Perception of a lack of transparency or care for residents
- Negative word-of-mouth spread online and offline
- The primary root cause is a fundamental misunderstanding of social media's role in the modern care home selection process, viewing it as a secondary communication channel rather than a crucial trust-building and engagement platform.
- This leads to inconsistent posting, a lack of authentic content, and inadequate resource allocation for community management.
- Furthermore, a fear of negative feedback or a perception of social media as purely recreational contributes to a dormant online presence, hindering transparency and genuine connection with prospective families.
Top 20 care home groups by social media engagement had 40% higher self-funder occupancy than the sector average (Bridgehead Communications, 2024)
How to fix it
Commit to three posts per week across Facebook and Instagram. Focus on authentic content: resident activities, staff introductions, seasonal events, and family testimonials. Avoid stock photography. Use short video clips of activities and communal spaces. Respond to every comment and message within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this problem persist?
Families researching care homes use social media to assess the culture and warmth of a home before visiting. A dormant or sporadic social media presence signals a lack of engagement and transparency. Care homes with active, authentic social content - resident activities, staff profiles, family events - build trust before the first phone call.
What is the cost of leaving it unaddressed?
A care home posting 3x per week on Facebook and Instagram and actively engaging with comments generates an estimated 4–6 additional self-funder enquiries per month, worth £48,000–£86,000 in annual revenue (Bridgehead Communications, 2024)
This is exactly what I do with UK private practices. Answer the few questions above and I'll come back personally with where to start. Paul.