Barchester Healthcare has topped a social media power list of the UK’s leading large care home groups.

A new report published today by specialist adult social care PR consultancy, Townsend Communications, ranks each care home group and their respective care homes according to their social media following on the five most widely used platforms in the sector: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Due to its disproportionate social media following relative to the other groups and diversified healthcare portfiolio, Bupa was analysed separately in the report. It accounted for just over 25% of the overall follower count (377,828).

William Walter, report author and managing director of specialist adult social care PR consultancy, Townsend Communications, said: “This study marks the third in a series of reports we are undertaking into the social media landscape within the adult social care industry.

“Through a detailed examination of the key social media platforms prevalent in the sector, alongside the user growth trajectories and demographic compositions, this report equips you with the tools to forge a digital marketing blueprint.

“This report offers valuable analysis into social media usage depending on your company’s needs. Our investigation covers recruitment, staff retention as well as occupancy to help those thinking of formulating or reformulating their social media strategy for their care home or care group.

“It also provides critical perspectives on adhering to industry best practices when structuring social media posts and the ideal frequency for posting or tweeting. The report also evaluates the pros and cons of group led social media accounts versus individual home accounts and how best to strike the right balance.

“We’d encourage anyone to get in touch if they’d like to discuss the findings in more detail. We’d also be happy to offer a complementary virtual or in-person teach-in to discuss how care groups can optimise their social media outreach.”

Care Groups and homes combined

In terms of the combined social media of each of the care groups and their individual homes, Barchester Healthcare topped the poll with 231,874 followers spread across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Barchester Healthcare’s social media following was almost double that of the third ranked care group, Avery Healthcare Group (120,332).

Facebook accounts for the largest proportion of followers (61% – 696,078) among the care groups and their homes. LinkedIn accounts for 18% (211,709), a 13% drop as Bupa is excluded. Tik Tok accounts for 10% (117,208), whilst Twitter accounts for 9% (106,935). Instagram has the lowest share of followers, with 2% (18,419).

Compared to its peers, Anchor has a notable Twitter following (63,017). This is made up of its group page as well as many of its homes having their own Twitter accounts, which many have care groups do not have. It uses both its group and individual Twitter pages to showcase group and staff achievement as well as for recruitment.

Barchester Healthcare has the largest Facebook following (172,039). Not only does its group’s individual Facebook page have a large following (11,058), but they also have over 200 homes, who mostly all have their own Facebook accounts.

Anchor has the largest TikTok following (40,639), due to one of its homes, Markham House Care Home having a very large audience (30,800).

Also of interest is that the group Colten Care and their homes have a small presence on social media, although they do have a noteworthy LinkedIn following (5,415).

Individual care homes

The analysis also compared the social media following of the individual homes.

Anchor’s Markham House Care Home has 41,035 followers across its Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts. Most of these followers (30,800) are made up of TikTok followers.

They post quite infrequently but each video gets thousands of views, often featuring their staff dressing up for events and activities with residents. The group has amassed over 640,000 likes across its posts.

None of the individual homes have their own LinkedIn pages. A LinkedIn account is usually reserved for overall group pages.

Individual care groups

Lastly, the report ranked each care group by their own social media following, excluding those of their individual homes. 

Not only is Facebook utilised, but many of the groups have a large following on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Barchester Healthcare group tops the leader board with 70,893 followers across its Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts. Its LinkedIn account alone boasts 50,570 followers.

The group’s sizeable LinkedIn following is due to regular posting, often daily. They post ‘job of the week’ updates, showcasing their job openings from across their homes.

Unlike our two previous reports featuring small and mid-sized care home groups, TikTok has a much higher share of the follower ratio.

To go to the report, click here: https://townsend-communications.co.uk/research-and-reports