Senior Living Event Marketing Best Practices: How to Plan, Promote, and Convert More Prospects in 2026

A well-executed event can spark connection, trust, curiosity, and, most importantly… next steps in the sales journey.

While COVID temporarily shut the doors on in-person events, the industry is finally experiencing a strong rebound. According to NIC’s 3Q25 Report, senior living occupancy rate passed pre-pandemic levels and will exceed 90% by the end of 2026. 

As communities resume robust event calendars, many operators are rediscovering just how powerful event marketing can be.

At Smart Girl Digital, we help senior living marketing teams boost attendance, build better digital promotion plans, and measure the ROI of their events…because let’s be honest: a great event isn’t great unless it moves prospects forward.

• Why events are so effective for senior living
• The biggest struggles communities face (and how to fix them)
• How to plan an event timeline that sets you up for success
• How to promote your event using best-in-class digital tactics
• How to measure what’s actually working
• Your post-event follow-up plan

BONUS: A link to our Sparkle & Shine event ideas guide…13 fresh concepts ready to implement.

Let’s dive in…

Here’s why they work so well:

1. They Bring People Into the Community: Nothing replaces the experience of walking the halls, feeling the energy, and seeing residents live life. In-person interactions dramatically increase the likelihood of a prospect choosing a community because it allows them to validate quality, safety, and belonging.
2. They Cultivate Face-to-Face Relationship Building: Sales is personal. For older adults and their adult children, trust is built through human connection. Events give your team the chance to:

• • Ask questions
  • Listen closely
  • Build rapport
  • Understand needs
  • Create memorable moments

This is where sales magic happens.

3. They Create Comradery (…Residents Included): Events that involve current residents give prospects a glimpse into the lifestyle and culture. Social proof matters: research shows that peer influence significantly impacts move-in decisions for older adults evaluating senior living options.³

4. They Showcase Your Community’s Culture & Vibe: Events allow you to shine. Whether your community is known for live music, wellness programs, chef-driven dining, or high-energy social groups…your event can reflect exactly what makes you special.

• The Planning Timeline Feels Long: Most communities underestimate the timeline. A successful event typically requires 6–8 weeks of coordinated planning and promotion. Anything less puts attendance (and your team’s sanity) at risk.
• Coordination Can Be Overwhelming: Sales, marketing, operations, culinary, life enrichment…everyone has a role. Without alignment, details slip through the cracks.
• Converting Attendees Into Active Prospects Is Difficult: Getting people in the door is one thing. Moving them through the sales funnel is another. Without a defined post-event follow-up plan, many communities lose momentum.
• Event Ideas Get Stale: The same ice cream socials and holiday parties don’t cut it anymore. Communities need fresh, modern, fun concepts that reflect today’s vibrant senior living lifestyle.

The good news? Every one of these problems is solvable.

Start With A 8-10 Week Planning Timeline (minimum)

Planning ahead is the key to making sure all the moving parts of your event marketing strategy are in place. We recommend a minimum of 8-10 week planning timeline. 

However… A better practice is to focus your event marketing plan on 90-day sprints. By planning your events quarterly, you can identify the right cadence for each tactic necessary to have a fun and full event.

Plus, this gives you enough time to:

• • Finalize logistics
  • Align internal teams
  • Build promotional assets
  • Launch campaigns
  • Generate RSVP momentum
  • Prepare your sales team

Define the Event’s Purpose

Don’t plan an event without first defining:

• • Why you’re hosting it
  • Who you want to attract
  • What next step you want attendees to take

Common goals:

• • Top-of-funnel awareness
  • Re-engaging cold leads
  • Converting warm prospects
  • Showcasing amenities or programs
  • Highlighting lifestyle and culture

Choose Fresh, Spark-Worthy Event Ideas

Standing out among all the events, activities, and special occasions for someone’s calendar requires your senior living community events to be “Spark-Worthy”. 

The more unique your event, the higher your attendance. 

Of course, some more traditional events that align with the decision-making process (downsizing and financial planning topics) are also necessary to be sprinkled in among the fun and flashy ideas. Choose event ideas and topics that create a balance for your community. 

If you want 13 new concepts…each with a twinkle factor…grab our Sparkle & Shine Event Idea Guide at the end of this article.

Align All Internal Teams

Events touch every department. With an early planning process, you can be sure that all departments are aligned early. Then, each department takes ownership of its area of responsibility for a well-executed experience. 

Align departments early with:

• • Sales (follow-up and day-of engagement)
  • Marketing (promotion strategy)
  • Operations (staffing, setup, logistics)
  • Dining (menus, food experience)
  • Life Enrichment (activity design and flow)

This is also the perfect time to assign ownership for:

• • Room setup
  • Registration table staffing
  • Day-of tours
  • Photography
  • Guest engagement

Here’s the Smart Girl Digital approach for developing your event promotional plan using a strategy-first approach:

Step 1: Choose the Right Promotional Channels

Direct Mail:  Still one of the strongest ways to reach adult children and older adults. According to the USPS, direct mail boasts response rates up to 9%, outperforming many digital channels when targeting older demographics.

Print Ads: Especially effective in small or tight-knit communities where local publications are highly trusted.

Email Promotions: Email remains one of the top conversion channels across senior living. Consider your email promo plan for your upcoming events. They should include:

• • Announcement email
  • Reminder email
  • Day-before reminder

Personal Outreach: Events are a great reason for sales team members to make personal outreach to their prospects at every stage of the journey. Talented sales directors can match event topics with prospect interests to deliver a truly personalized outreach based on the connection they’ve already established.

Your sales team should:

• • Call aged leads
  • Text RSVP reminders
  • Personally invite “warm but not hot” prospects

Paid Ads: A must when you’re trying to increase reach and new interest. However, tread lightly when using a paid ads channel for event promotion. The time sensitivity for your event RSVP schedules may not always allow channels, like Google, to be fully optimized. 

Recommended paid ad types:

• • Facebook/Instagram ads for awareness + warm retargeting
  • Geofenced ads with event-specific UTMs for better attribution 

Step 2: Track Responses & Measure Success

This is where most communities fall apart…but not yours. Smart communities will have a plan for tracking responses and measuring success. This is best done as part of the planning process to ensure each measurement tactic is properly set up.

Digitally speaking…here’s what you need:

A Landing Page

All digital promotions should point to:

• • A single RSVP page
  • A clear CTA
  • A short, simple form
  • Mobile-friendly layout 

Omni-Channel Tracking

To measure the full picture:

• • Call tracking numbers separated by channel
  • UTM-tagged QR codes for print pieces
  • Geo-fencing parameters for paid campaigns
  • CRM-based tracking for all lead activity 

And our golden rule: Never rely on external spreadsheets to track event activity. Your CRM should own it.

Step 3: Ensure Design & Branding Consistency

To tell a cohesive story of your event as a reflection of your brand, the event planning period should allow enough time for your creative team (or agency partner) to design a cohesive set of collateral assets to support both online and offline event promotion efforts. 

Your event materials should reflect:

• • The community’s brand identity
  • Clear graphics
  • Easy-to-read design
  • A consistent call to action

Brand consistency increases recognition and trust… so don’t skip this.

Seven Days Before

• Event Promotion to your Database
• Include:
  • • Event Name
    • Event Description
    • Event Date & Time
    • Clear CTA to “RSVP” 
    • A friendly, upbeat note

One Day Before

• Last Chance Event Promo & Reminder
• Include the same information as the first promo email
• Create urgency with the event being the next day

RSVP Auto-Responder

• RSVP confirmation
• Parking details
• Event schedule
• Add a “We can’t wait to see you” message

Day After Email Follow Up*

• Map messages based on attendance
  • • Thank you for attending w/ a CTA to come for a tour
    • Sorry we missed you at the event – invite to come for a private visit

*The “day after” email requires timely execution of event attendance information to be provided by the community team. With a well-integrated martech stack, workflows from the CRM to your MAP system can make this email process seamless.

Automate When You Can: If your CRM doesn’t support automation, tools like Zapier can help bridge the gap.

Monthly Digest Email (If You Have Multiple Events)

For many communities, there can be several events happening in a single month. To avoid email burnout to your prospect list, consider bundling all of your upcoming events into one clean, easy-to-read digest email.

Your Follow-Up Plan is Critical!

Within 24–48 hours:

• Send a thank-you email to attendees
• Send a special “We missed you” email to non-attendees
• Make follow-up phone calls with warm prospects

Within the week:

• Schedule tours
• Invite prospects to the next event
• Share photos on social media to extend visibility

Tie Follow-Up Back to the Event’s Objective

If the event objective was:

• Awareness → invite to another event
• Engagement → invite to an activity or lunch
• Conversion → schedule a tour or assessment 

Manage Repeat Attendees (“Plate Lickers”)

You know the ones…the folks who attend every single event but aren’t truly prospects.

Have a CRM process to tag these individuals so they receive fewer sales promotions without removing them entirely from community programming.

Our Sparkle & Shine Event Idea Guide includes:

• • Fresh, fun, modern event concepts
  • Themes that promote vitality and community
  • Ideas designed to attract both prospects and adult children
  • Events that stand out in your market 

👉 Grab your free guide and start planning your next twinkly, high-attendance event today.

At Smart Girl Digital, we’re here to help communities plan smarter, promote better, and track everything (because you deserve results…real, measurable results).

If you’re ready to step up your event marketing game, let’s chat.