Organic social media is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized parts of marketing within the multifamily industry. We hear lots of reasons for not using it, ranging from time constraints to feeling overwhelmed to not getting much return. Simply put, social media for your properties isn't a "nice to have” but a must for your properties. Your entire demographic is on there as well as your competitors, meaning those competitors are reaching your potential residents first.
Social media is constantly changing its functionality, which can make it seem overwhelming at times. Rest assured that this is something you can handle! We will share how you can utilize social media to not only connect with your residents, but bring new leases, too, without making it complicated.
Know Your Audience
No one understands your residents more than you. First and foremost, it’s time to put your renter lens on and consider what it is your renters care about. Treat your marketing efforts as a “digital relationship” and remember that even digital relationships are still relationships. They take investment and authenticity.
The more you know what your typical renter acts like and how they interact in their day-to-day lives, the stronger your chances are at keeping a strong digital relationship. What does your demographic care about most in life? What are their values? How can you use these values to showcase your property to the residents that will stay for the long term?
Why is this important? Knowing your renters and their values will help you attract new and loyal tenants on social media and online. It will help you tailor your messaging online to connect with current residents and prospective new ones. And lastly, it will help you retain residents in the long run.
Understanding the Platforms
We’re going to put our focus on the Big 3 platforms: TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. These platforms are where the majority of social media users engage and will get you the widest reach. Since demographics vary across properties, we recommend trying to find out which platform your residents use the most so you can prioritize that platform.
Let’s start with algorithms. You get on social media and scroll to see many posts you like. You like your Mom’s flower beds, and you comment on your niece’s birthday party photos! Your feed is perfectly curated to show you the content you most enjoy!
That’s because of a thing called an algorithm. The algorithm behind each social platform is designed in a way to keep you on the platform. Because when you stay on the platform, you see… ads. And when you see ads, these social media platforms make money. So whatever kind of world they can create to keep you on their platform, they’re going to do their best. How does the algorithm work?
Each time you post on social media, the platforms have bots that place your content into one of three categories: spam, low-quality, and clear. If your post seems spammy or low-quality to the bot, it won’t get put on anyone’s feed. If it’s clear, it moves on to the audience testing process.
The platform will then send your post to your audience or followers to see how popular the content is. At first, they show it to a smaller group of people, but if it gets pretty good engagement (likes, comments, shares), they’ll put it in a high quality bucket and share to people outside of your followers. This is where you can reach potential new renters.
What classifies as quality content on the Big 3 platforms? Currently, as companies like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok begin to compete with one another for users’ time, they are also prioritizing the same type of content – short-form video.
NOTE: What is considered spam content and not worth your time? Essentially, too many hashtags or too much or unreadable text in an image will be flagged as spam.
Brainstorming Content
Before going into brainstorming here’s a great reminder when it comes to the kind of lens you’re putting on for a digital relationship with potential and current renters. As Zig Ziglar once said, “People want to do business with you because you help them get what they want. They don’t do business with you to help you get what you want.”
Let’s go back to the digital relationship. You wouldn’t ask a stranger on the side of the street to give you a ride, would you? They will likely say no and tell you to call an Uber because they don’t know you. Normally, you would ask a friend or family member to give you a ride. Because you have a relationship with them and have given in that relationship, they are more likely to say yes when you ask!
So why would strangers on your Instagram immediately say yes to choosing your property? Newsflash: they wouldn’t. We treat digital relationships in business with a “give, give, give... then ask” mentality. Each time you make an ask or promote your property directly, you are draining the battery and need to recharge it again.
With that in mind, coming up with Instagram/Facebook Reels or TikToks isn’t as scary as it seems. The great thing about these platforms is that the majority of content ideas have been created by someone else. This is what the platforms call “trends.” Trends are essentially a repeatable piece of content. Typically, 1 trend has 1 consistent audio to go with it. The actual content can vary based on what’s relevant to the creator, but it is typically time-relevant (I.e. a trend doesn’t stick around for more than a couple of months.) These trends are mostly used as some source of entertainment, humor, or relatable content. Your staff will likely see these trends in their own social media use and can even submit ideas. You can find out more about trends here.
In the meantime, we recommend you brainstorm some content themes with your onsite staff that you can post consistently as a resource or form of entertainment. Here are some of the ideas we had:
#MotivationalMonday – work from home tips, quotes, spring cleaning ideas, weekly spotify playlist to listen to, etc.
#ThrowbackThursday – Throwback photos of events, holidays, etc.
Pet of the Month – Feature pets on the property
Apartment Décor ideas – Give them tips or tricks on how they can decorate their apartment, for the holidays and in general!
Neighborhood Happenings – Events / Food & Drink / Nearby attractions
Creating and Sharing Content
Ultimately, you don’t need to have the most beautiful videos of all time. They just need to look quality. Blurry videos, too much text, inconsistent branding or bad lighting can all affect the way your content is consumed. Make sure your content is recorded with a newer cell phone and with quality sound and lighting.
When it comes to actually creating and sharing these posts, consider the outcome you’re hoping for in your post. Is the post going to provide dopamine or laughs? Do you want to provide them with thought leadership and resources? Are you trying to attract new followers? Or are you trying to get more scheduled tours? This will help you decide how to write captions alongside your content. Your caption should support the visual, be easy to read, and if it has to be long-form, space out your paragraphs and sentences.
Hashtags are important and will help you become more searchable on social media platforms. No matter what, your hashtags should be relevant to the post and should be phrases that people are likely to search. How many hashtags do you use? Each platform is different when it comes to what the algorithm agrees with. Here’s the breakdown:
Instagram – 3-5 hashtags
Facebook – 1-2 hashtags
Tiktok – 1-5 hashtags
When you have compiled enough content, you can start scheduling the posts on a social media planning software like Loomly or Later. Think of posts you can schedule well in advance like events or holidays. Essentially, this will save you time in the long run. If you get to a point where you post consistently enough, you can even set aside time every week or month to schedule out your content accordingly, too!
Results
Just remember this is a crawl-walk-run approach. You can set small goals for your teams at first to really ramp up the quality and consistency of your properties’ social media. Social media is a long-term game, but it has huge rewards if done right.
Much like an apple tree, social media with a bit of care and consistency and time will reap tenfold the rewards. You choose how much you want to invest but that also means you choose how much you will get back. Most of us have seen the power that social media can have from a business standpoint, even if that’s us being the consumer for other brands and accounts. If you desire a way to connect with your residents and future residents for the long haul, social media is going to be one of your best opportunities to do so.
