Your home care tone of voice should create a connection with potential clients.
Write your website’s content with the right tone. Then leads will feel drawn to your company.
Tailor your voice to your target audiences of older adults, their families and referral sources.
Read on to learn how the tone of your copy can result in more clients for your company.
Senior Care Tone for Content
Easy-To-Understand
Your copy will resonate with clients if it is written in an easy-to-read tone. Plus some older adults may be living with visual or cognitive impairment.
Avoid long sentences and paragraphs. Instead be concise.
Use easy-to-understand words.
Businesses may want to impress families with their knowledge by using industry language. But if you do not explain these words, they will leave your website in frustration.
For example, when using abbreviation “ADLs” in a sentence, be sure to spell out word “activities of daily living.”
Negative contractions, such as “can’t,” are hard for your leads with learning disabilities to comprehend. Instead, spell out contractions, such as “cannot.”
An example of simple sentences: “Older adults may need help with their activities of daily living (ADLs).” “They cannot bath, dress, eat, use the bathroom, transfer from bed to chair, or walk without assistance.”
Informal
Some agencies believe their home care writing tone needs to be proper. But Nielsen Norman Group shows in content example for healthcare, that casual is better than formal.
Write like you are talking to older adults and their families. But without the filler words, such as “um.”
Include the word “you” so your content is written directly to clients. Then you will make a personal ally with your leads because your company will feel more like a friend.
Add transitional words at the start of sentences, such as “and,” “but” and “so.”
Create less than 10% of your content in passive voice. These sentences use more words and are less clear for people to understand.
Passive voice example: “The older adult was helped by the caregiver.”
Active voice is the way we speak. Example: “The caregiver helped the older adult.”
Positive
Use hopeful language for your senior care tone of voice. Older adults and their families are going through a stressful time.
Positive words can motivate leads to overcome a negative situation. They will have more confidence in their care decision.
Add words such as “improve,” “enjoy” and “happy” to your content. But don’t overdo the positive words or your content will read like an ad instead of helpful words.
An example: “Families will be happy that home health services will improve their loved one’s walking.” “And the older adult will enjoy returning to their daily walks.”
Professional
Make your home care written tone businesslike. Your company is held to a higher standard by Google since you care for older adults.
Do not include slang expressions.
Write in a confident tone.
Establish trust with families by showing your company’s knowledge and experience.
Use professional tone words such as “proven” and “skilled.”
Example: “Our skilled caregivers have the proven ability to help older adults live in their homes.”
Respectful
Nothing will shut down your prospects faster than a demeaning tone.
Show respect to older people in your content by following these senior care guidelines.
Make sure to hire a website and blog writer who knows these rules for your home care tone of voice.
Write “person with dementia” instead of “person suffering with dementia.”
Avoid using the term “elderly.” Instead, use the term “older adults.”
While the term “senior” should be avoided, it is still used in the industry terms “senior care” and “senior living.”
Example: “The older adult may be a person living with dementia.”
Empathetic
Put yourself in the shoes of the leads that come to your website.
Offer relief to families by showing that you care in your content tone.
Focus on solutions that will help older adults. This will encourage them to use your company’s services.
Use words such as support and understand.
Example: “We want to understand how we can support you.” “Please give us a call.”
Conclusion: Home Care Tone of Voice
Your website’s written tone of voice will affect the way families and older adults perceive your company.
Make sure your content is easy-to-understand by using short sentences with simple words.
Communicate as if you were writing to an acquaintance, not a client, instead of following formal grammar rules.
Include positive words that encourage families to find care solutions.
Be professional in your writing by adding confident words that prove your experience.
Use words that do not demean older adults.
Show empathy to your leads through caring words in your copy.
Remember this: families will make the decision to reach out to your company because of your website’s tone of voice.
Keep reading: Essential Guide to Home Care Website Copy Planning
