By Thomas A. Parmalee, staff writer, Senior Care Marketing Max
Nick Bonitatibus, 34, owner and founder of Digital Champions, started his home care journey more than 10 years ago after graduating from Bloomsburg University.
“Within a month of graduating, I was working for a company called Hurricane Marketing Enterprises, now known as Home Care Evolution,” he said.
“I got thrown into this industry … and I started running video campaigns,” he said.
A couple years later, he spoke at his first big home care event, which is where “everything changed for me,” he said.
After walking off the stage, he found a new desire to teach people the digital marketing strategies he’d mastered – particularly how video and social media marketing can boost business and operational efficiency.
“I knew I could help these home care agencies,” he said.
But he was still working full time, which prevented him from chasing his dream. In 2019, however, he took the plunge, starting Digital Champions and ramping up his public speaking.
Helping Home Care Agencies Succeed
What drove Bonitatibus to make such a move – and what drives him to this day – is an intense desire to help home care professionals grow business and better serve clients.
“It is such an honor and privilege to serve this industry,” he said. “I am very grateful, and I love what every single one of these individuals do” – putting their clients and the seniors they serve above everything else, he said.
Asked if it was hard to leave the security of a full-time job to start something of his own, Bonitatibus said, “I quit my dream job, so could create my dream life.”
He explained he loved his job and still has a great relationship with his former employer, but he realized at a certain point that he was growing resentful of all the things his boss could do.
“I wanted the freedom he was creating – I wanted to do those things,” he said. “And I realized I was capable of doing it myself.”
That realization pushed him down a “rabbit hole of personal development” and the more he explored, the more he found himself being pushed toward entrepreneurship.
“My company was incredibly supportive and created a whole process of transitioning me out of the company to make it easy and smooth,” he said.
The Power of Video
Digital Champions helps home care agencies leverage the power of video in a way that is authentic. “That’s what makes a creative impact,” Bonitatibus said.
One of the primary ways it helps agencies is by assisting owners in creating videos that share their story, focusing on why they got into this space in the first place.
Sometimes, it involves someone having had a terrible experience with a home care agency before they decided they could serve families better. Other times, someone may have struggled to find home care options, and they wanted to fill a void.
Whatever the case may be, someone’s story as to why they decided to get involved with home care almost always resonates with the community, Bonitatibus said.
And when you convert that story into a video, put it on a website and share it on social media, the results can be immediate.
“It increases that trust, which is a very difficult thing to measure” Bonitatibus said.
When done right, such a video also anticipates possible objections a family may have to home care – all while allowing an owner and company to lead with what got them into the business in the first place, he said.
That same video can also be a valuable tool when recruiting employees to join your home care team, he pointed out.
“For one client, once we incorporated video into their process, he went from two out of ten caregivers showing up to an interview to seven out of ten,” Bonitatibus said.
The bottom line is when you can show candidates who you are and what makes you different, the payoff can be huge, he said. “It’s not about your services, it’s about why you are in this business,” he said.
Digital Champions offers clients an array of packages to fit different budgets. They range from $1,500 to $15,000. That includes much more than simply assisting in making videos, Bonitatibus said.
“That is part of what we are doing, but it is more about creating assets and creating tools … there are a lot of things that go into our higher-level packages outside of video,” he said. “It really is about how to manage all these tools. We create marketing fliers with the videos and YouTube channels – and we also coach clients in how they are building and leveraging their online presence.”
While the business does not operate on a subscription model, many clients work with Digital Champions year after year, getting fresh videos produced and leveraging them in new ways to achieve their goals, he said.
“Our bigger packages include about 30 videos,” he said. “And the idea is that we continue to create more content. We build out your library and tools and marketing materials you can leverage.”
As for the process Digital Champions employs, it revolves around what Bonitatibus calls “digital directing,” which allows him to offer a great service at a fantastic price.
“We create the videos on a remote basis – what we do is help,” he explained. “We provide the equipment you need – we’ll send it to you and help you get set up.” He continued, “What makes our process unique is that we are with our clients every step of the way when they are creating content.”
He noted that when most people start making videos, they have lots of fears to overcome, which is normal.
“Guess what: You are going to mess up,” he said. “Every single client I have messes up, but we edit that out – and we are able to work through it effectively. We never do a recording in one take, but we are there guiding you every step of the way.”
The only commitment a client must make is to devote two hours a month to videomaking efforts, he said. “Our unique process makes video easy,” he said, noting he’s helped numerous agency owners go from struggling to market leaders.
A Business Coach at Heart
At his core, Bonitatibus considers himself a business coach.
“A lot of times, the objective is to create videos, but often when I am on a call with a client, we will work through whatever is going on,” he said. “They get as much value out of my business coaching as they do with us creating the videos.”
Once you have a library of content, it’s important to stay consistent in terms of staying active on social media, he said.
“It is similar to having a gym membership – people know they need to do social media, but a lot of times, they do not make it a priority,” he said. “You need to stay consistent in using these tools, so you can continue to stay in front of people.”
As for the videos themselves, it’s important they are not too long.
For the first “why” video, he tries to keep it to three minutes or so. Many clients opt for a “caregiver bundle” package that will include a video highlighting all the great things their agency does for caregivers, which can aid in recruiting.
One huge mistake many agency owners make is they only talk about the perks they provide for employees at an orientation, he said.
“And at that point, it is too late,” he said. “You need to have those tools and resources to share those benefits with them up front.”
Another video that can make a huge impact is getting caregivers to provide testimonials. Digital Champions will help clients put such a video together – one that includes real caregivers saying great things about their agency.
The company also focuses on producing educational videos that can position home care agencies as an expert in senior care.
Whether it’s highlighting what makes your agency different, a feature explaining the difference between home care and home health, or a different topic, the videos deliver strategic value, sharing knowledge with the community and elevating the brand of a home care agency, he said.
A video explaining the difference between hiring a private caregiver and working with a home care agency can also pay dividends and immediately answer one of the biggest objections to home care, he noted.
“We can do very specific videos … maybe you really want to focus on dementia and how someone can better care for a loved one,” he said. “You may want to highlight communication techniques that can help prevent a loved one from becoming frustrated. Or maybe you want to help more stroke victims and veterans. We can highlight your various programs and showcase you as the expert.”
That last part is important – it’s not enough to simply know you are an expert. You need to get on camera and s. “Show that you do, in fact, know what you are talking about,” Bonitatibus said.
Most Digital Champions’ clients end up with an entire library of content that they can lean on to build their business, Bonitatibus said.
The core value proposition he stays laser focused on is helping home care agencies drive consistent growth, he said.
“Everything I do is based on how I can get my clients better results – quicker, faster and easier,” he said.
Bonuses
Get instant access to a video on how to attract clients, caregivers and referral sources in only two hours a month. Visit this page.
Learn from Bonitatibus and other home care experts in person at the Home Care Champions Experience: Sept 24-26 in San Diego: Learn more and register for the event.
