How popular is Facebook? Very popular! There are over 500 million users that spend more than 700 billion minutes a month making friends, posting comments, and inviting people to events. Everyone I know, in both my personal and professional life, has an account and posts regularly.

Facebook is a type of Social Media. This type of media provides a great opportunity for all businesses, including sober living homes, to connect with their customers and increase sales. Many sober house operators have recognized this fact and have started using Facebook to advertise their service as well as make industry connections. These connections have increased referrals, provided answers to questions, and educated operators on how to improve their business.

Think about it like this: I have 50 friends who operate sober-living homes throughout the United States and I’d like to know how to find a good house manager. Well, you now have 50 different solutions and it didn’t cost you a penny.

Have you ever wanted to connect with the treatment facilities in your area? Using Facebook, you can send them a message and offer to take them lunch. Or maybe you’d like to stay connected with current and past residents. Personally, I can’t think of a better way than a status update. The possibilities are endless.

Here’s how to start. Create a Facebook account, find me (Sober Shelter), and request all my sober-living friends; and of course I’ll put in a good word in for you.

Click on the link below for my Facebook Account:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Sober-Shelter/100001135197170

Many small business owners, especially new ones, underestimate the importance of marketing.  As sober living operators, we use marketing to bring awareness to our services in hopes of attracting new residents.  A continual stream of new residents means achieving our financial goals.  The importance of meeting such goals can be the difference between remaining in business and going under.

Successful marketing requires two things: A plan and the continual implementation of that plan.  I will give you 5 steps to creating a solid marketing plan.  The implementation of your plan is up to you.

To demonstrate, I will be referring to a fictitious sober living house in Orange County, California called Seaside Sober Living.  Seaside SL caters to men, they charge $700 a month, and they have 6 of 12 beds available.

Step 1: Create a Budget

How much are you willing to spend in order to attract 1 new resident?

After determining the average resident’s length of stay as well as other related expenses, Seaside SL has determined that they can invest $400 per new resident and still make a profit in the first month.  In total, Seaside SL will invest $2400 in hopes of filling the 6 vacant beds.  

Step 2: Identify your Target Market                               

Who and where are your potential residents?

Based on the services they provide, Seaside SL has identified the following characteristics of their target market:

• Men
• Between 18 and 55
• Stable in recovery   
• Currently living in Orange County, Riverside County, or Los Angeles County

Step 3: Design your Message

What do you want residents to know and feel about your service?

After a thorough review of their goals and objectives, Seaside SL would like residents to know that their home is safe, clean, and affordable.  Overall, they want residents to identify their home as a great place to live while in recovery.  Using this information, they will pull from the artist within and create a marketing campaign that successfully delivers this message.

Step 4: Select your Marketing Vehicles

What marketing vehicle are you going to use in order to effectively deliver your message?

Seaside SL has selected flyers, brochures, and internet marketing as the 3 marketing vehicles they will use to reach residents.  They will post flyers and pass out brochures at local peer-support meetings (i.e. AA meetings) and treatment facilities.  Seaside SL will list their home in an online database dedicated to sober housing services (i.e. www.SoberShelter.com ) and join the Southern California Sober Living Coalition.

Step 5:  Analyze your Performance

How are you going to track the performance of your marketing efforts?

On average, Seaside SL receives 5 calls or emails a week from prospective residents.  Based on previous results, they know 1 new resident will move out of 10 interested callers.  Seaside SL will track the performance of their marketing vehicles using the volume of calls and emails they receive.   They will also ask each caller how they heard about Seaside SL. 

Final Note

Although the 5 steps I discussed are somewhat simplistic, they work!  You don’t need to be a marketing expert to understand how to create and implement a successful marketing plan.  What you need is common sense and discipline.  I highly recommend you make marketing as much of a priority as your home’s operations.  Remember, it doesn’t matter how well you operate your sober living home if no one lives there.  Good luck and keep up the good work.

Marketing in general is difficult.  Marketing a sober house is very difficult.  Unlike most service businesses, sober houses are invisible to the naked eye.  In order to protect resident’s privacy, sober houses blend in with the neighborhoods in which they exist.  This means no neon signs, grand opening celebrations, or prominent marketing campaigns.

Although it’s difficult, it’s very important to market successfully.  Sober houses need a continual stream of new residents as current residents move forward with their lives.  Without marketing, this stream will eventually dry up.

The internet is one marketing tool you should not leave in the toolbox.  Surfing the World Wide Web is a convenient and powerful method residents use to locate services.  For your business, marketing on the internet is a cost effective alternative to traditional marketing.  Most internet marketing tools are inexpensive or free.  Below are 3 ways to improve your marketing efforts.

Craigslist.com

Craigslist.com is a good place to start.  Many people, especially the younger generation, use Craigslist for everything from buying a used futon to selling a new Rolex.  For sober housing purposes, Craigslist features a “rooms/shared” section.  Simply create an account, locate the city in which you operate, add a couple of photos, and let Craigslist do the rest.  Craigslist is free so start posting.

Industry Databases

Industry databases, such as SoberShelter.com, can provide maximum internet exposure.  Databases are regularly found at the top of search engines such as Google and Yahoo, thereby increasing a sober house’s chance of being discovered.  Residents, in some cases, may also consider a database as a more reliable source than a business’s private website.  The more databases you join, the more exposure you’ll have.  A good idea is to pretend you’re a resident, see what sober housing databases you find, then join them.

Associations

Joining an industry association is the third option.  Associations create referral lists of their membership and disburse those lists to the “right” people.  These lists can also be found on the association’s website.  The Sober Living Network, based in Southern California, is one example of industry association.  Besides the marketing exposure, you will also enjoy discounts on products and informative meetings.

As technology moves forward, the internet will become the most important marketing tool your business has.  Take advantage of this tool and reach residents for very little, if any, expense.