Human Stories in an AI World

The Decibel Impact Series

September 02

How Best Healthcare Services Uses Authentic Storytelling, Local Insight & Real Moments to Build Trust

FEATURING: Alex Brauer, Regional Creative Director, Best Healthcare Services

HOSTED BY: Alison Costello, President, Decibel Media

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION

In senior living and long-term care, marketing is about more than generating awareness.

Families are making deeply personal, emotional decisions, and building trust requires marketing that feels equally human.

In this episode of the Decibel Impact Series, Alexandra Brauer, Regional Creative Director at Best Healthcare Services, joins Decibel Media President Alison Costello to discuss how she creates distinct brands and marketing strategies for seven long-term care facilities serving very different communities.

The conversation explores why authentic storytelling can outperform generic advertising, how social media gives families a window into residents’ everyday lives, the importance of adapting messaging to local audiences, and how marketers can use AI to make their work more efficient without losing the human connection that makes healthcare marketing resonate.

Local brands for local communities

Why facilities serving different markets need distinct voices, messaging and strategies.

Creating a window into everyday life

How real resident, family and staff moments help prospective families see beyond the traditional facility tour.

Organic content that drives awareness

Why authentic social content has generated significant engagement and even gone viral.

Giving paid media a purpose

Why events, recruitment and proven organic content can give audiences a stronger reason to engage with advertising.

Using AI without losing the human element

How AI can improve efficiency without replacing creativity, judgment and cultural understanding.

Measuring what really matters

Why Alex looks beyond engagement metrics to understand who is coming through the door and what motivated them to act.

READ THE CONVERSATION

Prefer to read? See the video transcript below.

01:27 Building Seven Distinct Brands

Alexandra Brauer: In long-term care, many facilities don’t have a marketing strategy at all, or they’re relying on outside agencies that don’t really understand the culture.

My goal has been to give each facility its own brand voice. A facility in Rochester is going to have a very different audience than one in a small, rural community.

We’ve mapped the competitors, looked at where each facility fits in the marketplace and developed messaging that is both consistent and emotive.

At the end of the day, you’re selling a human service. The marketing has to have a human feel.

03:02 Storytelling Builds Trust

Alexandra Brauer: Storytelling is such a huge part of it.

We tell stories about the residents, the buildings and the families. That gives the organization credibility, but more importantly, it builds trust.

03:33 A Window Into Everyday Life

Alexandra Brauer: One of our big pushes has been storytelling through digital media.

We highlight families and residents and capture real moments, whether it’s a big celebration for a resident being discharged or a more intimate moment with a family.

People are sending their loved ones here, and they want to see what they’re doing every day. We’re using social media as a window into that everyday experience.

04:55 Why Authentic Content Cuts Through

Alexandra Brauer: Audiences are savvy. They understand marketing, and they understand AI.

When you show real-life moments that aren’t staged and feel organic, people can tell the difference.

Even people who aren’t currently looking for a nursing home engage with the content because it’s entertaining and authentic. That’s great brand awareness.

05:46 Give Paid Media Something to Anchor To

Alexandra Brauer: We use paid advertising, but I tend to stay away from generic brand-awareness ads.

What’s been more effective is tying paid media to something tangible, like an event or recruitment initiative. It gives people a reason to click now.

We held a community bake sale in one of our smaller markets that partnered with other local businesses. It raised funds, built partnerships and generated a lot of attention while connecting us with people in the community surrounding the facility.

07:00 Measure Who Comes Through the Door

Alison Costello: What KPIs and performance metrics are you evaluating?

Alexandra Brauer: Statistics are important, but what’s more important to me is who’s coming in for tours and why.

Why did they click on us? Why did they choose us instead of the facility next door?

Understanding the answers to those questions helps guide our messaging and lets us highlight the strengths that are actually motivating people to act.

08:16 Creating an Agency Within the Organization

Alexandra Brauer: I came into an environment without much structure and essentially created an agency within the healthcare system.

Instead of relying on outside agencies, we’re creating very curated, specific content for each facility.

We’ve been able to turn around the social media presence for all seven buildings simply by becoming more engaging and entertaining. We’ve had content go viral several times, and we’ve increased brand awareness across the portfolio.

09:27 Where Generic Marketing Falls Flat

Alexandra Brauer: Generic paid ads are something I wouldn’t do. There are better and more effective ways to use those dollars.

The same applies to generic AI content. Everyone has access to the same tools, so the question becomes: what makes you different?

Bad, generic AI content can actually hurt your brand more than it helps.

10:18 Use AI, But Make It Feel Human

Alexandra Brauer: AI has changed the world, but what will make the difference is discernment and understanding the psychology of how something will land with an audience.

AI can’t always understand the cultural feeling within an individual city or all of the nuances that come with that.

Use AI. It’s a wonderful tool and it’s here to stay. But use it in a way that’s effective and still feels human.

11:35 Match the Content to the Audience

Alexandra Brauer: In long-term care, you’re often communicating with two audiences: adult children making decisions for their parents and the residents themselves.

Those audiences have different emotional drivers and different media behaviors.

That’s why we may take the same story and create both a photo post and a video. It allows us to adapt the content to different audiences and different channels while keeping the story consistent.

13:40 Turn Proven Organic Content Into Paid Media

Alexandra Brauer: We had a resident who was discharged, and we threw a huge parade. Their family was there, about 40 staff members were in the lobby, and it looked great on camera.

That content went viral organically, so we used it in a paid campaign.

It showed what the facility can accomplish. It showed that the staff genuinely care. It demonstrated compassion without needing a lot of words to explain it.

14:50 The Long-Term Care Marketing Playbook

Alexandra Brauer: I don’t think you can successfully market a long-term care facility without those human moments. I truly don’t.