Making sure that you have a constant flow of potential residents is an important aspect of running a sober living. There are several ways to market your sober living, below are the most effective ways to promote your sober living.
#1: Website
You must have a website. We have seen many sober livings that have no website. Instead they may have a Facebook page or can be found on Google Places. While these are helpful to have, you really should have a website. A website allows people to find you when they are looking for sober livings in your local area. It also allows people to contact you by phone or submit their information on your website so you can contact them. Your website should contain information on your mission, why you started your sober living and anything else that you want prospective residents to know. There are plenty of free website builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy). If you would rather pay someone to do it for you, you can find cheap website designers on Upwork and Elance for $100-$500.
#2: Have a Digital Presence
It is important in this day and age to have not only a website, but also a complete digital presence. You should have a Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter account that you actively manage. Just setting up the account is not enough. Make sure that you are consistent with your postings. The best way to do so is to use Hootsuite or other social media campaign tools and set aside one day a week to schedule all the social media postings for the subsequent seven days. Try to post a mix of things to your social media accounts – recovery news, pictures from your sober living’s community events, positive reviews from alumni etc.
Prospective residents and their parents look at your digital presence when they are researching which sober living to go to. Referral sources will also look into your digital presence.
#3: Email Campaigns
It is important to keep the connection going with your referral sources. You want to make sure that you keep top of mind. You can use Mailchimp, Constant Contact or other email service providers to schedule email campaigns to go out to your referral list. Keep referral sources up to date with news about your sober living, alumni and other related information you want to share.
#4: Attending Conferences
The recovery industry is a close-knit industry. It is important to show your face and network at the well-known conferences put on by C4 and Foundations Events. At these conferences you will meet other sober livings, treatment centers and professionals. It is important to have multiple referral sources and not rely on one sole referral source.
#5: Alumni Network
Many sober livings get the most referrals from their alumni. It is important to stay in touch with alumni and keep them involved in your community. Send email announcements and have alumni events in order to keep in touch with alumni and continue providing resources and support to them.