Social media is crucial for any business, but it plays an even more significant role in multifamily. Social media gives prospects a virtual tour of your community and allows them to get to know you through the voice of your brand. It also gives residents a way to communicate with you, share their living experience, connect with friends and neighbors, and so much more. It is important to understand what they want to see from you on social media.
Good social media delivers the right message to the right people at the right time. Therefore, you have to do a little research to decide which social networks are the right fit for your community, because social media it is not a one size fits all. For example, if your resident demographic is mostly made up of families and retired couples, Snapchat probably isn’t the best outlet for you, but Facebook and Pinterest would be a great fit. On the other hand, if your community is a student housing community, you will want to utilize social networks such as Snapchat and Instagram.
Now, what do your residents want from you on social media? It’s far more than just discounts and giveaways.
Be interesting. We all want to be entertained or enlightened from the people we follow on social, so be interesting. If you don’t like what you are about to post, don’t post it. A rule of thumb: if you find that something is boring or irrelevant, chances are your residents will too.
Build an online community. Have you ever gone to an event or restaurant, had your photo taken and then checked their social pages for your photo? You aren’t alone! Residents want to see pictures of themselves, their neighbors, and of people in general. The convenience of owning Smart phones is that you always have a camera on you, so always be taking pictures. You can save these pictures in a folder and post them gradually over time to spread out your content. Bonus tip: Pictures of people are known to get the highest reach and engagement.
Be exclusive and original. If your social pages are filled with generic content, what is going to set you apart from your competitors? You want to provide residents content that no one else can. Use pictures of the community, apartment decor inspiration pulled from your model units, and of course pictures of your residents and staff.
Make it pretty. Social media is becoming extremely visual, so it is important that your content is pretty and visually appealing to your audience. This is especially true on Instagram where users are quick to unfollow an account if they are posting low quality and uninteresting photos. It is also not very often that text filled PDFs get our attention in the social space, so it is best to keep flyers and PDFs in old fashioned printed form. If you are using a tablet or Smartphone, download photo editing apps such as VSCO and Snapseed to edit your photos before posting.
Be personal. The Gen X and Gen Z cohorts are a smart bunch. They want authenticity from the brands and even celebrities they follow and can sense when a brand is not being genuine. Your residents want to get to know you and your team (without friending them on Facebook, because that opens up a whole can of worms). Use your own voice when crafting posts and post the personal stuff: staff birthday shout outs, pictures of team celebrations, pictures of your team on property or around town in action, etc.
Make your audience smile. Whether it is something heartwarming or funny or just a pretty picture. You want to make the viewer smile. No one wants to see depressing posts or negative posts. We get enough of that from our friends!
If you are using social media as a way to connect with your residents and prospects and not to solely promote your property, you are already on the right track. These tips will help you curate content that your residents and prospects want to see.