How to increase occupancy in autumn 2026 at your care homes - with 90% success rate! - Care Home Marketing And PR

How can care homes get more enquiries and increase occupancy in autumn 2026 – with a 90% success rate?

We analysed the results of care homes using some or all of the marketing strategies outlined in our latest webinar, “How to increase occupancy in autumn 2026 at your care homes – with 90% success rate“

The results were.

After six months:

28 out of 31 care homes (90%) increased occupancy.
26 out of 33 priority homes within care groups (78%) increased occupancy.
7 out of 7 individual care homes (100%) increased occupancy.

Does this guarantee you’d achieve the same for your care homes?

No.

But the results in this webinar are real-life results.

(Watch this “How to increase occupancy in autumn 2026 at your care homes – with 90% success rate!” video )

And they reveal what can happen when care providers make a strategic commitment to generating more enquiries.

Here are six strategies that can make a difference.

1. Get In Front of Families Searching for Care

According to Lottie, 94% of families go online when looking for care homes.

That makes Google one of the most important places to be visible.

Google Ads can put your home directly in front of families actively searching phrases such as “care homes near me”, “care homes in [town]” or specific types of care.

But there’s one crucial requirement:

Track every enquiry.

You should know exactly how many genuine care enquiries are generated from your Google Ads – including phone calls, live chat, contact forms, emails and brochure downloads.

If you’re spending thousands on Google Ads but don’t know how many enquiries they generate, how can you know whether they’re working?

2. Don’t Underestimate Your Landing Page

Getting a family member to click your Google Ad is only half the job.

What happens next can dramatically affect results.

In one real-life example, a care home’s existing website page generated zero care enquiries from £1,560+ of Google Ads spend.

A dedicated landing page generated 7 care enquiries from £2,100 spend – approximately £300 per enquiry.

In another example, the difference was even greater.

The existing website page generated enquiries at approximately £2,762 each, compared with just £143 per enquiry through the dedicated landing page.

The lesson?

Don’t just concentrate on your Google Ads. Concentrate on where those ads send families.

3. Become “Ridiculously Famous” Locally Through PR

Every care home has stories.

Resident milestones. Staff achievements. Community initiatives. Charity fundraising. Unusual activities.

And regional journalists love positive care home stories.

Our experience suggests virtually every care home should be capable of generating positive local press coverage every two or three months.

One home we’ve worked with has achieved coverage approximately every two months for nine years.

PR helps amplify your existing word-of-mouth reputation – potentially reaching thousands of people across your catchment area.

In one recent example, a care home secured rolling BBC Radio coverage throughout the day – and subsequently admitted a resident who had first heard about the home through the broadcast.

4. Reach Thousands of Local People Through Facebook

Facebook posting can communicate effectively with existing families and followers.

But Facebook advertising can introduce your home to thousands of new people.

For example, campaigns can target people aged 45+ within your specific catchment area.

One respite care campaign generated five qualified leads from £500 ad spend.

The important word is qualified.

Facebook can generate plenty of leads, but care homes need an effective follow-up process to establish who has a genuine care requirement.

5. Build a Referral Network That Grows Forever

Who are the VIPs surrounding your care home?

They could include:

Hospital discharge teams
GPs and practice managers
Commissioners
Dementia and elderly charities
Solicitors and financial advisers
Churches and faith groups
Home care agencies
Local journalists
Previous and current enquiring families

Regular e-newsletters provide an opportunity to put positive stories from your home directly into these people’s inboxes.

Done consistently, your database grows – and so does your potential referral network.

This isn’t necessarily about generating enquiries tomorrow.

It’s about building a trusted local network for months and even years to come.

6. Become Part of Your Community

The highest-performing care homes often take community engagement seriously.

Don’t simply hold another open day.

Create events people genuinely want to attend.

One home hosted a special antiques valuation event featuring a BBC television antiques expert.

It attracted 45 guests excluding existing family members, created new relationships with charities and community organisations, generated testimonials and provided another opportunity for PR.

That’s community engagement working at multiple levels.