Marketing at Senior Care Health Fairs- Is It Worth It?

A lot of my clients are Home Health Care Owners and Assisted Living Facilities. Most of them try to make sure they are at most of the senior health fairs in their community.

But is this the best use of your time? Maybe or maybe not. Let's take a look at the whole picture.
You need to have a clear picture of who your target market is. Furthermore, you need to give this a lot of thought. Are you targeting the senior or their adult child? You may find it is a combination.
Who is really attending these health fairs. Usually the senior 70 + will be the ones attending, especially if it is during the day when the adult child is working.
How many participants are expected to attend? Will there also be speakers? If so, how much time will participants have to visit the booths and talk to you.
How much does it cost? Consider your table or booth space, print materials and other give away's you may have and the cost of paying an employee or taking your valuable time to manage the booth. You could be spending anywhere from $300 to several thousand.
How much time will participants have to visit the tables?
Okay let's say you are attending a senior event. It is an 5 hour event with speakers. Participants will have about 30 minutes before the sessions begin to take a look at what you are offering. They will also have time during the hour and half allotted for lunch.
How much will you really spend? You will need to have someone staff the event all day. You will need brochures, business cards, and something memorable to give away. About 200 are registered to attend. Some may show up at the door and some of those registered will not show. You will need to have materials and giveaways for around 250 to 300 to be safe. Let's say that your table is relatively inexpensive at $100 for the day. Expect to spend a minimum of $500. Not bad, if you are indeed reaching your target audience. So what is your ROI ?
Is there a better use for your money?

What if you took that same $500 and spent it on highly targeted FB ad campaigns? For starters, you would reach thousands, not hundreds. You could make sure you were reaching the right people to match your ideal client. FB ad campaigns can drill down the target. Couple that with an effective social media strategy and now you are attracting clients who want what you have to offer and are in the position to be able to hire you. It's a win/win proposition.