“It’s not like we’re selling gotta-have-it-now products like iPads or Kindles,” says Kevin Thompson, vice president of marketing at Arlington, Va.–based REIT AvalonBay Communities. “Either our customers are looking for an apartment or they’re not.”
It’s Not Always About You
At the same time, there are steps you can take to make sure your portfolio’s social media strategy is at least taking aim at the right targets. Among them is having your Facebook page serve not your property but the people who live there. “Most apartment communities still post info about themselves—their specials, or maybe a community-sponsored event,” Bonardi says. “You want to make it about the residents, or things that benefit your residents.” Ideas include cutest pet contests, Groupon-like local deals, or best holiday door pics. “If you can, encourage them to ‘check in’ when they go to the community gym,” she says. “Those kinds of things keep your audience engaged. Social media may be self-serving at its core, but it should never seem that way.”
Also, make sure you’re targeting not just your residents, but the connections and friends they have in their networks. Bonardi’s example of using a check-in application at the gym not only highlights your gleaming amenity, it pushes it out to the network of your health-conscious resident.
Finally, make sure you have a way to gauge your efforts. Like the tracking tools at RentMineOnline.com, you should be able to point to actual leases that result from your efforts.
“I like to tell people that if their social media marketing isn’t producing more apartment leases, it’s just a hobby,” says Urbane’s Brown.
Avalon’s Thompson agrees. “The principal mistake is not articulating the specific goals and strategy for a social media initiative. What is it that you’re striving to accomplish?”
Contributing editor Joe Bousquin is based in Sacramento, Calif.
