Invest In Video Marketing For Care Homes

The Importance of Video in Marketing for Care Homes

Filling beds in a care home or residential centre is often a significant challenge. Many care home managers express frustration in effectively showcasing the stunning grounds, modern facilities, and warm environment their care homes offer. Traditional photos and web pages simply don’t capture the full experience.

Our managing director York Woodford-Smith filmed this live webinar – Struggling to fill beds in your care home? Discover how authentic video marketing, welcome tours, and resident testimonials can build trust, showcase your facilities, and attract new residents and staff.

This is where video marketing for care homes becomes essential.

From immersive video tours to heartfelt case study videos, there’s no better way to highlight the unique aspects of your care home. Video allows prospective residents and their families to explore your facility in a way that feels authentic and personal. By using video, you can offer a real-life experience of your care home, sharing genuine testimonials from current residents and staff about the quality of care and community.

Effective video marketing for care homes doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By partnering with an experienced care home video production company, you can create stunning, engaging marketing content that resonates with your audience. Showcase your care home’s best features, attract more residents, and ultimately, fill beds with confidence in your marketing investment.

When you think of a video tour, you may be picturing a stunning series of shots, showing each area of the home. At Five on a Bike, we know your home is more than just bricks and mortar, so we take a video tour one step further, with what we call a ‘Welcome Video’. Not only do we capture all the key spaces of the home, we also chat to staff, residents and family members, to highlight the thing that truly makes your home stand out, the people and the care on offer.

You may have already thought about having a beautiful video tour produced for your home or retirement village, but there are so many ways to use video.

Video is a perfect way to boost your recruitment and attract new team members, with a specific film highlighting the staff benefits and what makes your home stand out.

Got a big event coming up? Share the best bits and show off the great activities potential residents can enjoy.

At Five on a Bike, we’re a small, friendly team who have produced thousands of videos over the years in hundreds of different care settings, right across the country.

We’re happy to talk you through all the different ways video marketing can work for you, and when you’re ready to go ahead, we’ll guide you along the entire process, from planning, all the way to the final edits.

Why your care business needs video right now!

Care seekers and the people receiving care from you expect a certain level of transparency. They are researching you online, reading reviews, looking at your website and social media, and trying to get a feel for your organisation before making an enquiry.

They are often very stressed and may be forced by circumstances into making a decision they do not want to make.

Video content is a key element when people are selecting care for their loved ones. Whether this is home care, care homes, or any other setting, video is incredibly powerful for connecting with potential clients, explaining what you offer, and building the trust they need to get in touch.

It is highly unlikely that someone will only look at one provider. Your competitors either already have video (meaning you need to catch up) or they don’t (which gives you an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage).

Purchasing care is not a simple process. It is complex and emotionally charged. The general public often knows very little about care and may perceive it as expensive, with concerns about quality.

Video can help educate, explain the process, showcase your facilities and levels of care, demonstrate how people can interact with you, and ultimately build trust in your ability to care for their loved one.

As a new generation of care seekers (Millennials) enters the market—people who are far more likely to engage with your brand online before making contact—having a strong digital presence is essential.

You need to provide that weight of evidence to encourage them to enquire further. For example:

• Website
• Google Business profile
• Reviews
• Photos
• Videos
• CQC rating and supporting information
• Food hygiene rating
• Team profiles
• Social media
• Open score
• Carehome.co.uk rating

Now is the time to create video content that helps your care organisation stand out online.

So how can we help?

At Five on a Bike, we specialise in the care sector and have filmed with hundreds of care settings across the UK.

There are several types of videos you can create for your care home or home care company, including:

• Welcome / About Us
• Meet the Team
• Resident or customer feedback
• Resident or customer stories
• Events, activities, and daily life
• Facilities and care packages
• Social media content

Whether you are part of a large group or a single location, we recommend thinking about each individual setting when planning your content.

Video should be front and centre on your website, displayed on screens within your home or reception area, and used across digital campaigns such as Google PPC, SEO, social media advertising, and local marketing.

How much does it cost to create a video?

Costs vary depending on your needs. As a general guide, our standard projects start from around £3,500 + VAT. This typically includes a day of filming with a producer and director, one 2–3 minute main video, and three 30–60 second social media edits.

Video content has long-term value. The more you create, the more cost-effective it becomes, as existing footage can be reused for future edits. It also works for you 24/7, helping build trust and generate enquiries.

Isn’t video hard to make?

Creating a high-quality video isn’t easy—but that’s where we come in. We’ve been working with care providers for nearly 10 years, and we guide you through the entire process, making it as simple and stress-free as possible.

We understand the pressures of delivering care, so we ensure that your day-to-day operations come first, with filming designed to fit around you.

What happens if I don’t like it?

We’ll continue refining your video until you’re happy with the final result.

Our Top Tips for Optimising Your Video Content

As modern marketing professionals, you already know that video content is invaluable for engaging audiences and driving results. But are you truly leveraging its full potential across all your marketing channels?

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, it’s crucial to go beyond basic video strategies. To stay ahead, you need to explore every opportunity to integrate video into your website, social media, printed materials, and beyond.

Whether you’re enhancing your PPC campaigns, refining your email marketing, or optimising your digital billboard content, we’ve got you covered with insights that will elevate your video game to the next level.

Website

• Display your video in a prominent position

  Displaying your video in a prominent position on your website is crucial for capturing visitors’ attention right away. Place it above the fold on your homepage or in other key sections where it’s impossible to miss. This ensures that your video is one of the first things users see, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

• Use an eye-catching thumbnail

  Using an eye-catching thumbnail that entices viewers to click and watch is essential. The thumbnail should be visually appealing and give a clear idea of the video’s content, encouraging users to press play.

• Use a recognisable video player (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo)

  Embed your video with a recognisable player, such as YouTube or Vimeo. These players offer a familiar interface and features like autoplay, resolution adjustment, and sharing options.

Socials

• Customise the aspect ratio for each platform and post type

  When posting videos on social media, tailor the aspect ratio for each platform. For example, 9:16 for Reels and 1:1 for feeds.

• Post your video directly to the platform

  Posting natively increases engagement since platforms prioritise content that keeps users on-site.

• Get your team to like, comment, and share

  Early engagement helps boost algorithmic reach and visibility.

• Share in relevant groups

  This helps extend reach to highly targeted audiences.

• Engage with the comments

  Responding to comments builds community and encourages further interaction.

• Tag relevant people or organisations

  Tagging increases exposure and credibility through shared networks.

Printed Materials

• Link to videos with QR codes

  QR codes bridge offline and online marketing, making video access instant.

• Clearly state what the QR code leads to

  Set expectations clearly to increase scan rates and engagement.

PPC Campaigns

• Make the first 5 seconds impactful

  Hook attention immediately with strong visuals or messaging.

• Ensure the content is relevant and specific

  Tailor content to your audience’s needs and campaign goals.

• Customise aspect ratio for each platform

  Ensure videos display correctly across placements.

• Adjust edits for skippable vs non-skippable ads

  Front-load key messaging for skippable ads; build narrative for non-skippable formats.

Emails

• Use a thumbnail with a play button

  This signals video content and improves click-through rates.

• Embed the video link on the thumbnail

  Makes viewing seamless for recipients.

• Include video in your sales process

  Use video responses to personalise communication and improve clarity.

Care Referral Websites

• Make sure it’s on there

  Adding video to referral profiles helps you stand out and build trust.

Events

• Loop your video on a screen

  Great for attracting attention and sparking conversations.

• Add subtitles for accessibility

  Ensures clarity in noisy environments and improves inclusivity.

TV Ads

• Use Sky AdSmart for targeting

  Improves efficiency by targeting relevant audiences only.

• Reuse existing footage to reduce production costs and maintain consistency.

Digital Billboards

• Keep it bold and simple

  Use strong motion graphics that communicate quickly and clearly.

Building Trust

A fundamental principle of marketing is about building trust. Video is one of the strongest ways (before speaking directly with potential customers) to connect and build that trust.

Our clients often mention that when prospective customers visit the services they will say, “oh I saw you in the video, I feel like I already know you” – that little interaction builds a huge amount of trust. Within your care setting your team is a key part of the marketing and sales process. Being able to see the people the prospective customers saw on your website and in your videos validates that all that information is real.

Weight of Evidence

When a prospective customer and/or their family is looking into care, there is a lot of information for them to take in to help them with their decision. When someone identifies that they or a loved one needs care, their process begins with collecting evidence to help them make the best choice possible.

We all know ‘Word of Mouth’ is the way most care companies find new residents/clients to work with. Have you ever thought about what happens in this process?

Let me set the scene for you…

Kim is chatting with Julie. Kim is worried about Mum and is thinking about her care needs. Julie’s Dad went to this fantastic care home which she highly recommends. Later that day Kim goes online to do a bit of research before contacting the home.

What happens next will vary from person to person, but the impression they get needs to be a fantastic one or they might never get in touch. Whether they like a deep dive or just a quick look, they have to feel that the online presence matches the recommendation they got from their friend.

Imagine the same scene but with a physical shop. When Kim goes to the shop, if it looks really terrible, even if Julie said it was fantastic, she might not go in. Is your digital shop front up to scratch? Does your website work, look modern, and have REAL pictures, videos, reviews from your current clients, your CQC rating, and profiles of your team members? Does the experience online reflect the customer experience you provide?

Digital Shop Front

Sadly we live in a cynical world and people do not believe everything they see online, which is why the majority of people visit a home or meet with you before choosing you. They want to check if what they have found out is true.

But for them to do that, you need to provide that weight of evidence to encourage them to enquire further. For example:

• Website
• Google Business
• Reviews
• Photos
• Videos
• CQC Rating & Supporting Info
• Food Hygiene Rating
• Team Profiles
• Social Media

Empathetic Sales Process

So now you’ve built trust & provided all the evidence which makes the care seeker make contact! Well done!

Now, do you have a process which allows the time and space required to help people in their hour of need? If you cannot afford a full-time salesperson, find team members within your organisation that are empathic and can really listen to the person looking for care. It’s likely to be a stressful time of their life, so having the time, space & experience to guide them through that will be really valuable.

Below is a video from Care Show London, where I spoke with Carl Roberts, Associate Sales & Marketing Director at Boutique Care Homes, about the importance of an empathetic sales process.

Watch video

Boosts Across The Board

My last point is that video has a fantastic compound effect. It tends to last for years and has impacts across your organisation, from team morale to increasing enquiries & recruitment. Each of these areas will feel the impact of the video content you create.

Use video to Build Trust, Provide Evidence and make your digital shop front look fantastic in 2024.

Below is a preview of a webinar explaining in full detail our thoughts on this.

Contact us today to talk about taking your care services marketing to the next level!

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