TECHNOLOGY
KERIE KERSTETTER | CANNONBALL
How your property should be
using Facebook
A
partments can no longer ignore social
media—this we know. But how can
you best leverage social media platforms? Residents are now turning to
social media for recommendations, leasing info,
and customer service, and this trend will only
continue as a younger, social-media-savvy generation comes of age for multifamily properties.
As we’ve discussed before, you should be approaching social media like a cocktail party. You
need to take the time to meet the other people at
the party (residents, neighborhood businesses,
millennial renters, etc.). Only when the conversation presents itself should you share what makes
your community so great. In the meantime, be a
resource for your residents—Facebook is great for
doing just that.
Why engage on Facebook?
Misty Sanford, owner of North of Creative,
explains to multifamily properties the importance
of providing fresh, helpful content:
“Four years ago, you were finding residents.
Nowadays, residents are finding you,” said Misty
about the leasing process today. “People are searching online for places to live, and it has become
the apartment’s job to intercept them. You do this
by providing fresh content, sharing helpful information, and having conversations.”
Oftentimes, multifamily professionals will
claim that social media doesn’t bring them any
conversions. However, Misty explains that this
view of social media is far too narrow.
“Social media is not about the sale, it’s about
engagement and the customer experience,” Misty
says. “When you do these things well [engaging,
sharing quality content], the byproducts are relationships, referrals, leases, and retention.”
Any good salesman will tell you that relationship-building drives sales. And Facebook is an
optimal relationship-building platform.
What does “helpful content” look like? Well,
that depends on what kind of property you are,
who your residents are, where you’re located, etc.
Here are some guidelines:
www.aamdhq.org
Who are your residents?
What kind of lifestyle do they have? What
are their hobbies, pain points? This is where your
resident personas come in handy. If your community is home to several working professionals,
helpful content may come in the form of quickand-easy dinner recipes. If your community is
home to several dog owners, you could share an
interactive map of the dog parks in your city. The
information you share should be a mix of content
you create and content you aggregate.
What’s going on in your
neighborhood?
Are there any upcoming events that you can
pass along to your residents—festivals, charity
events, happy hours? Find things that are in walking distance or close proximity to your property.
Sharing helpful content could be as simple as
re-posting farmers market hours, sharing restaurant specials, or providing tips and tricks for
navigating the local flea market. Try partnering
with local businesses to arrange special discounts
for your residents; this provides great content for
sharing on Facebook.
What’s going on at your
property?
We’ve advised against talking about yourself,
however, this form of self-promotion is very different. Instead of telling everyone how great you
are, show them. For example, posting photos from
last week’s movie event showcases your property’s
social calendar and paints a picture of resident
engagement. Isn’t that what you’d like new residents to stumble upon when they’re researching
your property?
The benefits of Facebook engagement are
two-fold: not only does it foster resident relationships (and ultimately retention), but it provides a
window for prospective residents to peer into your
community. With Facebook, we embrace this
customer-centric approach that lays the foundation for all of our digital marketing efforts.
Kerie Kerstetter is the Director of Content Strategy for
Canonball, a digital marketing agency in Dallas that specializes in both multifamily and mixed-use development.
APRIL 2016 • TRENDS | 23