Meaford Haven was conceived as a Three Seasons Community®, where people could enjoy all of their retirement years, from the active early years on, in one neighbourhood. Incorporating bungalows, mid-rise condominiums, apartments and a retirement residence, Meaford Haven offers retirees the chance to choose their preferred lifestyle now – and adapt it as time goes on.
While Meaford Haven was still working its way through the approval processes in this Southern Georgian Bay community, and well before the first spade hit the earth, visitors from across Ontario were signing up for regular updates and information on the development, thanks to effective content marketing. The developer’s savvy approach was to generate interest and actionable leads even as the project achieved the numerous approvals required for a project of this magnitude. With approvals in place, the project would then be several steps further in making the community a reality – with established awareness of the development’s unique concept and a group of interested prospects open to marketing from builders.
Smart, occasionally cheeky, marketing by Grissom and Friends, with help from myFavoriteMarketer, included advertorials and advertising in select online and print media, and generated legitimate editorial in publications such as the Toronto Star.
And the Meaford Haven website attracted hundreds of inbound leads – people looking for a retirement community in a beautiful part of Ontario – with a simple content-driven approach. Using WordPress, we published regular (three times a week to start) articles on happenings around Meaford and news of interest to retirees (and those approaching retirement), strategically peppered with keywords. Once they arrived at the website, visitors were invited to register for more information and/or take part in virtual focus groups to help further develop the Meaford Haven concept by providing input on everything from home design to community amenities and activities.
Content marketing for Meaford Haven drives SEO
The website quickly gained a reputable status with search engines, so that within minutes of posting, the site was indexed and ranking strongly for a host of Meaford-related activities, events, businesses and services; and for retirement community searches in the geographical region. The owner of a local restaurant was impressed that Google searches for her restaurant brought up Meaford Haven’s article on it well above many other sites, including her own.
This content marketing strategy worked to drive visits (and leads) in various ways. Meaford residents and those planning a visit who searched for information on events, dining, recreation and other activities in the area were invariably greeted with a highly-placed article on the Meaford Haven website. Once there to read the article, they’d often learn about the development and register for more information. And those specifically searching for retirement communities in the geographical area found Meaford Haven right up top.
