15 Home Care Marketing Ideas for Agency Success

Running a home care agency may never be easy, but there are always ways to make it simpler. One important but often difficult aspect of running an agency is marketing your services.

What makes home care marketing so troublesome? For one thing, it’s an appendage to your core competency—providing care to your clients. The daily ins and outs of running an agency, especially unforeseen issues like a caregiver not showing up to work, can often take away time that would otherwise be spent on marketing.

To help make this easier, we’ve done some of your thinking for you. Here are 15 methods and tips for marketing your home care agency. Most agencies are using some of these already, but very few are using all these methods. Which of these can help your agency? Explore our top practices for successful home care marketing below.

Home Care Marketing Ideas

1. Maintain a Strong Social Media Presence

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are crucial for connecting with potential clients and their families. Regularly post engaging content that highlights your services, shares client success stories, and provides helpful tips for caregivers. Use a mix of posts, including images, videos, and educational content, to keep your audience interested. Social media ads targeting your local community can further boost visibility. You can reduce time spent posting by using free tools like HootSuite or Buffer, which allow you to schedule posts in advance and mass-post to multiple platforms at once.

2. Consistently Publish Blogs on Your Website

A blog is a powerful tool for showcasing your expertise and improving your website’s SEO. Consistently publishing blogs on topics like senior care, health tips, or caregiving advice can position your home care agency as an authority in the field. Blog posts help attract organic traffic from search engines and provide valuable resources to your audience. Make sure each post is optimized with relevant keywords and includes a clear call to action, encouraging visitors to explore your services or contact you for more information.

3. Optimize Pages on Your Website to Improve SEO

To attract potential clients through search engines, optimize every page of your website with relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for. Ensure your website is technically optimized by improving loading times, making it mobile-friendly, and including meta descriptions and alt text for images. Local SEO is especially important for home care businesses. Use location-based keywords and create service area pages to improve visibility in local search results. While SEO is a long-term effort that requires strategy and patience, doing it properly will substantially expand your pipeline of clients. The higher you rank in search results, the more likely clients are to find your business.

4. Periodically Seek Referrals from Your Current Clients

Word-of-mouth referrals are one of the most effective ways to grow your home care business. Don’t hesitate to ask satisfied clients to recommend your services to friends, family, or colleagues. You can even implement a referral program that rewards clients for referring new business. Agencies who report clients as a top referral source say that their clients supplied an average of 73% of their revenue that year. Maintaining consistent communication with your clients is one of the keys to getting more client referrals.

5. Respond to Negative Online Reviews

Negative reviews can be damaging if left unaddressed but responding to them professionally and constructively can show that you take swift action to correct problems. Agencies who demonstrate that they are quick to acknowledge and correct problems stand out from their competition. Apologize for the client’s experience and offer to resolve the issue offline, while encouraging happy clients to leave positive reviews to boost your overall rating. Being active in managing online reviews is essential to maintaining a trustworthy reputation.

6. Attend, Sponsor, and Help with Community Events

Participating in local community events is an excellent way to build brand awareness and establish personal connections. Consider having your staff organize or take part in a community service project or volunteer for a community event. This not only showcases your business as a community partner but also provides opportunities to meet potential clients face-to-face. Bring brochures, business cards, and promotional items to hand out at events.

7. Invest in Google Ads

Paid search advertising through Google Ads can drive targeted traffic to your website by appearing at the top of search results. Run campaigns focused on high-intent keywords like “home care services near me” to reach people actively looking for care solutions. You can set budgets, target specific geographic locations, and tailor ad messaging to appeal to your audience. Be sure to track performance metrics, such as click-through rates and conversions, to optimize your campaigns over time.

8. List Your Agency on Internet Lead Sites

Internet lead sites like Careing.com, SeniorAdvisor.com, and CareinHomes.com are valuable platforms for home care agencies to generate leads. Listing your business on these sites helps increase visibility among individuals searching for care options in your area. Ensure your profiles are complete with detailed descriptions, contact information, and client testimonials to make your agency stand out. Respond quickly to inquiries generated from these platforms to maximize your chances of converting leads into clients.

9. Use Ads in Local Newspapers

Despite the rise of digital media, local newspapers remain a valuable marketing tool, particularly for reaching older clients or their families. Consider placing ads in local papers to promote your home care services. Focus on clear messaging that highlights your services, expertise, and local presence. Seasonal promotions or special offers can also help drive interest and generate calls from prospective clients.

10. Create a Google My Business Profile

A well-optimized Google My Business profile is essential for local SEO. This free tool allows you to display your business details, such as location, hours, services, and reviews on Google Search and Google Maps. Regularly update your profile with accurate information, photos, and posts to keep it active. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews, as this can significantly boost your visibility in local search results. Being present on Google My Business can increase your credibility and help you stand out from the competition.

11. Buy Ad Space in Local Magazines

Buying ad space in local magazines allows you to reach an audience that is already invested in community issues, including elder care. These magazines often cater to a specific demographic, making them an excellent channel for promoting home care services. Create eye-catching, professionally designed ads that feature your services, contact information, and any special promotions. Ensure that your ad is simple, visually appealing, consistent with your brand, and has the necessary contact information. You might also consider writing a sponsored article that educates readers about home care, helping to position your agency as an expert in the field.

12. Volunteer to Speak at Senior-Related Community Events

Offering to speak at senior-related community events, such as health seminars, support groups, or caregiving workshops, is an effective way to share your knowledge and establish your credibility. Provide valuable information on topics like aging in place, caring for elderly family members, or understanding home care options. Speaking engagements allow you to interact with potential clients, answer their questions, and build trust with your audience.

13. Seek Referrals from Healthcare Professionals

Building strong relationships with local healthcare professionals—such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and social workers—can lead to valuable referrals. Reach out to healthcare providers who regularly work with elderly patients and offer your home care services as a trusted solution for their patients’ needs. You can strengthen these relationships by offering to provide informational materials, attend meetings, or collaborate on patient care plans.

14. Ensure You Have a Strong Company Brand

A strong brand identity helps your home care agency stand out in a crowded market. Make sure your branding—logo, website, marketing materials—conveys trust, professionalism, and compassion. Consistent branding across all touchpoints (social media, email, printed materials) creates a cohesive experience for potential clients. Your brand should communicate your values and what sets you apart from competitors. Investing in professional design and messaging can help build credibility and brand recognition over time.

15. Track How Existing Clients Discovered Your Brand

Understanding how your current clients found your business is essential for refining your marketing strategy. Use tools like Google Analytics and call-tracking software to identify which channels (Google search, social media, referrals, etc.) drive the most leads and conversions. Periodically survey your clients to ask how they heard about you. This data can help you allocate marketing resources more effectively and identify which strategies are producing the best results.

• Maintain a strong social media presence. Most agencies use Facebook in their marketing, but don’t neglect other platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. You can reduce time spent posting by using free tools like HootSuite or Buffer, which allow you to schedule posts in advance and mass-post to multiple platforms at once.
• Consistently publish blogs on your website. Blogging gives you a chance to drive traffic to your website. Make sure to research relevant keywords and include them in your posts.
• Optimize pages on your website to improve your SEO. While SEO is a long-term effort that requires strategy and patience, doing it properly will substantially expand your pipeline of clients.
• Periodically seek referrals from your current clients. According to the 2021 Home Care Benchmarking Study, current and past clients are the top source of new referrals. Agencies who report clients as a top referral source say that their clients supplied an average of 73% of their revenue last year. Maintaining consistent communication with your clients is one of the keys to getting more client referrals.
• Respond to negative online reviews and show that you take swift action to correct problems. Agencies who demonstrate that they are quick to acknowledge and thoroughly correct problems stand out from their competition.
• Attend, sponsor, and help with community events. Consider having your staff organize or take part in a community service project or volunteer for a community event. This provides visibility, establishes your brand as service-oriented, and gives community members a chance to connect with your caregivers.
• Invest in Google AdWords. With Google increasingly being a top channel for clients to connect with agencies, Google AdWords is a way to ensure that your agency is being seen by potential clients.
• List your agency on internet lead sites. Internet lead sites are some of the top consumer marketing sources. If you’re not using these sites, now is the time to start. Internet lead sites include Caring.com, SeniorAdvisor.com, and CareinHomes.com.
• Use ads in local newspapers. While newspapers have declined as the Internet has grown, they remain a venerable way to get visibility for your business.
• Create a Google My Business profile. Doing this allows you to manage how your information appears across various Google services, including Google search results and Google Maps.
• Buy ad space in local magazines. Ensure that your ad is simple, visually appealing, consistent with your brand, and has the necessary contact information.
• Volunteer to speak at senior-related community events. Many communities have a calendar of senior-related events and welcome speakers. While this is a good chance to build awareness and trust in your company, take care to ensure that you deliver valuable insights rather than simply selling your services.
• Seek referrals from healthcare professionals. Properly handled, referrals from healthcare professionals (including physicians, hospitals, homes, and other sources) can substantially increase your client base.
• Ensure that you have a strong company brand. Maintain a compelling brand by designating your company’s core values and ensuring that your logo, marketing materials, and employees all act as ambassadors of these values.
• Track how each of your existing clients found you and use this information to power your other marketing decisions. Good marketing starts with good information. Knowing how each of your clients found you will help reveal where to invest future marketing dollars. If you aren’t tracking how your clients first heard about your services, now is the time to start.

What Marketing Sources Are Other Home Care Agencies Using?

Thanks to our annual Benchmarking, we’ve good our data helps us understand exactly which marketing sources home care agencies are relying on most. We’ve broken down home care marketing sources into two types: referral marketing and consumer marketing. Referral marketing entails networking, such as with a hospital or skilled nursing facility, while consumer marketing involves using advertising channels to market directly to potential clients and their families.

Here are the top home care marketing sources that agencies reported using last year, as well as the percentage of total revenue each source drove for the agencies who listed it as a top referral source:
It’s interesting to note how many of these marketing sources are digital – while traditional marketing channels are by no means gone, agencies that aren’t investing heavily in digital advertising are years behind the curve.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense

In sports, there’s a saying that the best offense is a good defense. It might be said that in home care, the best marketing is a great client experience.

While it’s important to avoid letting yourself get so bogged down with other duties that you don’t have time to focus on your marketing, it’s essential to remember that all of your marketing efforts will have greater impact when they are backed by an incredible client experience.