Southeast and East Anglia operator Carebase has topped a social media power list for mid-sized care home groups.

The new report published 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.

Carebase, based in the Southeast of England and East Anglia, topped the poll with 40,166 followers spread across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Carebase’s social media following was almost double that of the third ranked care group, Future Care Group (21,014).

Facebook accounts for the largest proportion of followers (60%– 136,912) among the care groups and their homes. Twitter and LinkedIn account for 20% and 12%, respectively, while Instagram was fourth with 8%. Less than one per cent of followers were accounted for from Tik Tok.

Compared to its peers, Carebase has a notable Twitter following (20,405) which it uses to showcase group and staff achievements as well as for recruitment. Despite its large following, the group has not posted on its main Twitter account since 2019.

Second placed Berkley Care Group has the largest Facebook following (24,700). Their group page and their homes’ individual pages all have a high follower presence as well as frequent posting of events and milestones.

Despite ranking third, Future Care Group, has the largest collective following among the groups on Instagram (10,591). The group and its associated homes use the platform almost exclusively to celebrate activities and events taking place within its homes. 

Also of interest is that the group Stonehaven Care Group and their homes have very little social media presence. 

Individual care homes

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

Berkley Care Group’s Cumnor Hill House topped the rankings with 7,300 followers, exclusively made up from Facebook followers. 

Roughly every one to two days, sometimes multiple times a day, the home will post photos and updates of their residents taking part in a wide range of engaging and stimulating activities.  

General manager of Cumnor Hill House, Sherrie Hume, said: “We’re delighted to top the rankings in terms of social media following and to be able to showcase our efforts among our peers. 

 “Social media is an important tool both here at Cumnor Hill House, but across Berkley Care Group’s homes generally. We use it as an important tool to connect our residents with their families and the wider community. It’s an important way that we can share and communicate the wide range of community and residents led events and activities taking place here at the home as well as the positive environment in which our residents live.”

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.

Carebase’s Twitter following (16,000) leads the graph, however, as previously stated the group has not posted on the site since 2019.

After Carebase, Welburn Care Homes has the largest Twitter following (4,778). They also share updates from their homes, but their posting is more irregular than other homes, ranging from every other day to monthly.

Brighterkind boasts the largest LinkedIn following among the groups (4,399) as they share regular event updates for their homes as well as job vacancy advertisements. Their Facebook following is also the largest among the groups (4,200), where regular photos of their staff and residents are shared.

The report’s author and managing director of specialist adult social care PR consultancy, William Walter, Townsend Communications, said: “This study marks the second 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.”