RIGHT ON TARGET The social networking movement is catching on with multifamily property owners and managers eager to boost resident interactivity. Matthew Goldstein, CEO of LifeAt, says his firm has registered 410 condo, single-family, and apartment communities in eight states and three countries. AptConnect president Brent Williams said his firm had rolled out a handful of beta sites, with more buildings set to come online this summer.
The reason for the growth is easy to understand: Facebook and MySpace boast nearly 200 million combined users, and marketers and advertisers are eager to tap into those audiences. According to Jupiter-Research, 43 percent of all Internet users age 18 to 24 log on to social networking sites, so optimizing social networks for multifamily is a no-brainer for firms seeking to target that renter demographic.
Internet listing service ForRent.com has created MySpace and Facebook pages aimed at culling those young prospects and others. The response has been strong. “Between our ForRent.com site and our social media networks, we had about 2.3 million views in March alone,” says Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales at ForRent.com. “It’s creating unparalleled exposure for our communities.”
Apartments.com also launched a MySpace community, which they intend to be a national lead generator. “Nearly 60 percent of MySpace users between the ages of 21 and 34 rent,” says Kevin Doyle, general manager of Apartments.com. “We’re able to get our listings in front of a very relevant, targeted group through this initiative.”
A TIGHT-KNIT CIRCLE Beyond marketing, the real boon of social networking sites within apartment communities might end up being resident retention. The logic is simple: Apartment residents who play together, stay together.
“The more residents are connected to each other and have a sense of community, the more likely they are to stay in that community,” says Jeanne Hulbert, a sociology professor at Louisiana State University who has studied social networks for 20 years and advises corporate customers on how to leverage social networks through her Baton Rouge, La.-based firm Optinet Resources. “Owners who implement these kinds of networks are going to have longer-term residents and less turnover.”
Take the hefty turnout at Legacy’s on-site Cinco de Mayo margarita party, promoted on the property’s AptConnect portal. Residents socialized and buzzed about using the site. Cheek hopes that response will translate into higher retention at renewal time. “It’s hard to get folks out, but using the site makes your property actually become a community because everybody knows each other,” she says.
Indeed, AptConnect’s Williams says retention is the first—and best—reason to launch a network. “When you create emotional ties between residents, that’s going to positively impact their decision to renew,” Williams says. “If someone has three or four good friends in the community … it’s almost like you’ve created an internal sales force that tries to convince them to stay.”
Still, concrete data linking the use of social networks to resident retention is not yet available. But Goldstein says residents are eager to know their neighbors: “They want to have wine and cheese parties, poker nights, and play dates for their kids.”
HIDDEN DANGERS Despite these benefits, there are also potential risks—especially when a friendly connection turns into tragedy. For property owners and managers, such outcomes could translate into legal liability.
For that reason, Hulbert says owners need to use caution when going down this road. “Unfortunately, those kinds of things can happen,” Hulbert says. “The fact that everyone is in the same community means that they can physically find each other. You have to be careful.”
There’s also the fact that MySpace and Facebook have evolved as de facto dating sites for many users. While Goldstein says LifeAt hasn’t really been used for dating since the company launched in January 2007, he acknowledges that the possibility of romantic overtures from one resident to another—whether wanted or not—exists. “But that’s not what residents have been using the sites for,” Goldstein says. “You run the same risk if you meet someone in the lobby and ask them out for a drink.”
Both Goldstein and Williams say their sites never disclose residents’ personal information, including last names, unit numbers, or e-mail. Participation is optional, and the networks are set up so that on-site personnel can monitor messages for inappropriate or offensive content—a strategy that both companies encourage.
Williams says a little oversight also ensures that gripes about the community don’t get out of hand. With social networks, residents have a forum—albeit, one that you control—for airing complaints. “The bottom line is, if you don’t do this, the residents will do it through a Yahoo! Group,” Williams says. “But if you develop a forum, you’re taking control of the situation. And if there’s a problem, you can rectify it, rather than keeping your head in the sand.”
