Every empty bed in your nursing home means lost revenue — while just down the road, hospital case managers are desperately searching for facilities to place their patients. The disconnect? Often, it's marketing.

What you need is not just any marketing, but the specific strategies that get your facility noticed by the right people at the right time.

In this article, we'll cover:

• Why traditional nursing home marketing might be holding you back
  
  

• 9 practical strategies to boost your census and build lasting referral relationships
  
  

• How to balance marketing to both hospitals and families (and why you need both)

Why is marketing important for your nursing home?

Here's a hard truth about post-acute care: Being good at what you do isn't enough anymore. Your skilled nursing facility (SNF) is competing with every other one in the area for the same hospital referrals.

When those referral packets come in, speed counts — hospitals need answers in minutes, and they'll move on to the next facility if you're not quick enough.

Meanwhile, patients and their families have moved online, changing how they choose post-acute care facilities.

They're checking CMS star ratings, reading Google reviews, and visiting facility websites before making decisions. This shift means your online presence matters more than ever — even for traditional healthcare services like skilled nursing.

This creates two key priorities for nursing homes:

• Building and maintaining strong hospital referral relationships through reliable, fast response times
  
  

• Developing a solid online presence that speaks to families researching care options

Empty beds directly impact both your revenue and your ability to serve patients who need care. The right marketing approach helps you stay visible to referral sources while building the kind of online presence that gives families confidence in choosing your facility.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Many facilities dive straight into trying a bunch of nursing home marketing ideas before fixing their fundamentals. Let's look at the most common mistakes that can waste your time and budget:

• Don’t start marketing campaigns when your admissions process isn't ready for more referrals — if you're slow to respond now, more leads won't help.
  
  

• Don’t spread your efforts too thin across every marketing channel instead of focusing where your audience actually makes decisions — for example, spending time on LinkedIn when most of your referrals come directly from hospital case managers.
  
  

• Don’t jump into social media marketing just because it's popular if your hospital partners aren't using social media to choose facilities.
  
  

• Don’t try to market your facility before you've clearly defined what makes it different from other options in your area — like promoting that you offer wound care when three other facilities in your area have similar programs.
  
  

• Don’t invest in top-of-funnel marketing like SEO before ensuring your admissions team can quickly process referrals.
  
  

• Don’t market the same way to hospitals and families when these audiences have very different needs and decision-making processes.

Once you fix these fundamentals, you can then think about expanding your reach. Your marketing budget will work much harder when your foundation is solid.

Now that you know what to steer clear of, let’s focus on all the most productive steps you can take. 

Top 9 marketing ideas for nursing homes

#1 - Consider a niche for your skilled nursing facility

The skilled nursing landscape is crowded in most markets. And still, many facilities try to be everything to everyone — accepting any referral that comes their way. This might keep beds filled in the short term, but it makes marketing much harder. Here's why specializing matters:

• When hospitals have a complex wound care patient, they remember and prefer facilities that specialize in wound care management rather than generalist SNFs.
  
  

• A focus on specific conditions (like cardiac recovery or post-stroke care) helps you build deeper expertise, better outcomes, and stronger referral relationships.

Consider these potential specialties:

• Post-surgical orthopedic recovery
  
  

• Complex wound care management
  
  

• Cardiac rehabilitation
  
  

• Respiratory therapy
  
  

• Stroke recovery
  
  

• Short-term rehabilitation
  
  

• Memory care
  
  

• Specialized bariatric care

Your specialty should align with:

• Your staff's existing expertise and interests
  
  

• Local hospital needs (what types of patients do they struggle to place?)
  
  

• Your facility's physical layout and equipment
  
  

• Local market gaps (what specialties are underserved in your area?)
  
  

• Your current success stories (what types of patients already have great outcomes at your facility?)

A focused specialty doesn't mean turning away other patients. It means becoming known as the go-to facility for specific conditions while still accepting general admissions. When hospitals know exactly what you're best at, they're more likely to think of you first for those cases.

#2 - Make your admissions process the fastest in your region

Your nursing home's response time to referrals directly impacts your census. Hospital case managers often send the same referral to multiple facilities simultaneously — and they typically go with the first qualified facility that responds.

The faster you can process referrals accurately, the more likely you are to win them. Traditional referral processing has several bottlenecks that slow down admissions:

• Manually reading lengthy referral packets to verify compliance with your clinical admission criteria
  
  

• Extracting key clinical information from complex hospital documentation
  
  

• Time spent identifying expensive medications and checking insurance coverage
  
  

• Back-and-forth communication with hospitals to get missing information

This is exactly why we built ExaCare. It pulls all your referrals into one place and uses AI to instantly extract the important details from referral packets — medications, diagnoses, insurance information, and more.

ExaCare helps your admissions team to make faster, more confident decisions without sacrificing accuracy. Most importantly, you can respond to hospitals quickly enough to win those referrals while your competitors are still reading through paperwork.

#3 - Go to your patients’ bedside

Healthcare decisions are deeply personal. When patients and their families are choosing a skilled nursing facility, they're making a significant choice during what's often a stressful time. Meeting them in person at the hospital can make all the difference.

Your admissions team should regularly visit referred patients at the hospital. This personal touch serves multiple purposes:

• Patients and families can ask questions directly and feel more at ease about the transition.
  
  

• You can better assess their needs and expectations in person.
  
  

• Hospital staff see you as an engaged, proactive partner.
  
  

• You can spot potential clinical challenges early.
  
  

• Families remember the facility that took time to meet them.

Here's where having an efficient admissions process really pays off. When your team isn't buried in paperwork, they can spend more time where it matters most — at the bedside.

Think of these visits as both a service to patients and a valuable marketing tool. You're not just "selling" your facility; you're starting the care relationship early and helping families through a challenging transition.

The key is to be helpful, not pushy. Listen more than you talk. Answer questions honestly. Show genuine interest in the patient's needs. This human connection often makes the difference between a family choosing your facility or going elsewhere.

#4 - Build strong hospital partnerships

Let's talk about how hospital referrals really work. Yes, there are official channels and referral platforms, but we all know the truth: That perfect referral often comes from a case manager who texts you directly before the referral even hits the system.

Building these relationships isn't complicated, but it takes genuine effort. Hospital staff are busy, stressed, and tired of facilities that overpromise and underdeliver. They don't need another sales pitch — they need reliable partners who make their jobs easier.

Here's what actually moves the needle:

• Be the facility that says, "Let me see what I can do" instead of just "no" — even if you can't take the patient, help them problem-solve.
  
  

• Share your cell number with key staff and actually answer when they call.
  
  

• Keep a running note of which case managers handle which types of patients — they appreciate when you remember their specialty.
  
  

• Skip the fancy marketing materials and give them simple one-pagers they can actually use when talking to patients.

Be useful, be honest, and be consistent. When a case manager knows they can count on you to shoot straight and follow through, you'll start getting those direct texts about incoming patients. That's when you know you've built a real partnership.

#5 - Social media market to the family

Social media marketing for skilled nursing requires a different approach than most industries. Your audience isn't just the patient in the hospital bed — it's often their adult children who are frantically researching options late at night, or the spouse who wants to see what daily life looks like at your facility.

Here's what really works:

• Share genuine moments from your facility — therapy success stories, holiday celebrations, staff spotlights.
  
  

• Post useful content about the transition to skilled nursing care — what to pack, what to expect, how to prepare.
  
  

• Feature staff expertise, like your therapy team explaining common recovery milestones.
  
  

• Share educational content about common conditions you treat.

A quick note about social media audiences: While many of your posts will reach adult children looking for care options, remember that patients of all ages use social media too.

Your content might reach a 40-year-old researching post-surgery rehab options, or an active senior checking out facilities for their knee replacement recovery. Keep your social presence welcoming and relevant to everyone who might need your care.

Focus on platforms where families actually look for healthcare information:

• Facebook for community updates and family engagement
  
  

• Instagram for visual stories about daily life in your facility
  
  

• LinkedIn for professional updates and staff achievements

Most importantly, keep it authentic. Skip the stock photos and staged shots — families want to see the real environment where their loved ones will recover.

#6 - Try billboard advertising

Traditional outdoor advertising — yes, even billboards — still works remarkably well for skilled nursing facilities. Why? Because healthcare decisions often happen when people are out and about, especially during hospital visits or medical appointments.

A well-placed billboard near major medical centers or busy commuter routes can plant your facility's name in people's minds before they need your services.

When that need arises, you're already a familiar option. Keep the message simple: your facility name, a key specialty, and a clear contact method. Maybe even a QR code with that information — that's all you need.

Digital billboards offer extra flexibility, letting you change messages seasonally or highlight different services. But even a standard billboard can be effective if it's in the right location, like main routes to hospitals or busy medical districts.

#7 - Take advantage of local SEO

When families type "skilled nursing facility near me" or "rehab center in [your city]" into Google, then you want your facility to show up.

That's what local SEO is all about — making sure people in your area can find you when they search online.

Start with Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business):

• Claim and verify your business listing.
  
  

• Add clear photos of your facility, especially therapy spaces and rooms.
  
  

• Keep your hours, phone number, and address accurate.
  
  

• Respond to every review, good or bad.
  
  

• Post updates about events or services.

Your website matters too. Make sure each page includes:

• Your facility's name
  
  

• Your city and state
  
  

• Your full address
  
  

• The services you provide
  
  

• The areas you serve

For example, instead of just "About Us," your page title might be "Oak Grove Skilled Nursing — Post-Acute Care in Cleveland, Ohio." This helps Google understand exactly where you are and what you do.

On your contact page, write out your address exactly as it appears on Google Maps. Include nearby landmarks: "Located two blocks from Cleveland General Hospital" or "Serving patients in Cleveland's western suburbs, including Lakewood and Rocky River."

These simple steps help your facility appear in local searches when families need you most. No fancy SEO tricks needed — just clear, consistent information about who you are and where you're located.

#8 Implement a smart referral program

Word-of-mouth drives healthcare decisions, but you can be strategic about encouraging referrals. You’ll need to think beyond traditional patient referral programs, which can be tricky with healthcare regulations. 

Instead, focus on building a network of healthcare partners. Consider partnerships with:

• Outpatient physical therapy clinics (they often know when patients might need more intensive care)
  
  

• Primary care practices (especially those with large senior populations)
  
  

• Home health agencies (for patients who need to step up their care level)
  
  

• Specialists like wound care clinics or orthopedic surgeons
  
  

• Local pharmacies that specialize in complex medication management
  
  

• Community senior centers and adult day programs

The secret to making these partnerships work is removing every possible barrier to referrals. Give your partners a simple digital form for referrals, keep them updated on your bed availability, and share the kind of outcome data that matters to their specialty.

The key is reciprocity — when you can't accept a patient, refer them to appropriate partners in your network. This builds goodwill and keeps referrals flowing both ways. 

#9 Work with local media to highlight success stories

Local news outlets are always looking for positive healthcare stories, especially ones about people in their community. You don't need a PR firm or media connections to get started — just authentic stories about patient recoveries and achievements at your facility.

Think about moments worth sharing:

• A patient walking again after a serious accident
  
  

• Someone returning to work after successful rehabilitation
  
  

• A couple celebrating their anniversary during a short-term stay
  
  

• Staff members going above and beyond for patients
  
  

• Community events or programs at your facility

Getting media coverage is simpler than you might think. Find the health reporter at your local newspaper or TV station (their email is usually on the news website), and send them a brief email about your story idea.

Keep it short. Just a few sentences about what makes the story interesting and why local readers might care.

Remember to always get written permission from patients before sharing their stories. The best media stories come from patients who are excited to share their experiences and recovery journey.

Is your nursing home ready to manage marketing referrals?

All these nursing home marketing strategies can help fill your beds — but they only work if your facility can handle referrals quickly and efficiently when they come in.

The reality is that most nursing homes are still juggling multiple referral platforms, manually reviewing lengthy patient documents, and trying to make quick decisions without complete information. This slows down your response time and can strain those valuable hospital relationships you're working to build.

ExaCare transforms your admissions process by using AI to streamline referrals, automate document review, and help you make faster, more informed decisions. Our platform helps you modernize your operations while maintaining the quality of care your facility is known for.

Here’s what we offer:

• AI-powered referral screener that reviews hospital packets in minutes, enabling quick and accurate admissions decisions
  
  

• Centralized referral management that brings all your sources into one platform
  
  

• Built-in analytics to help you track performance and optimize your referral relationships
  
  

• Automated insurance verification, expensive med alerts, and reimbursement analyses to guard your bottom line.
  
  

•  A unified communication hub to streamline decision-making with colleagues.

Ready to see how ExaCare can help your facility win more referrals? Talk with our team to learn more.

Schedule a demo.