Social media often gets dismissed as a mindless time-sink, but its value from a business perspective is significant. And it’s even more of a factor in the Multifamily industry.
One of the first things prospective renters do when considering a new apartment community is turn to the search bar, whether it’s on Google, Facebook or Instagram. So in order for a community to outshine the competition in every way, simply having a presence on social media isn’t enough anymore.
Not only do apartment marketers need to actively engage, it’s also important to understand the other benefits of social media and how to leverage its power. Here are five overlooked benefits of social media in Multifamily marketing.
Analyze your competition.
Just knowing who your competition is and what they have to offer will only take you so far. Closely watching how they use social media can help to inform your apartment marketing strategy. Maybe they’re killing it on Instagram stories, but they seem to have forgotten all about Facebook. As a result, you might explore launching Facebook apartment ads to get more attention. (After all, Facebook does have the most active users of all platforms — 68 percent of U.S. adults report that they’re on Facebook.)
Boost your apartment search engine rankings.
The correlation between social media and SEO might be an indirect one, but shares and click-throughs via social are favorable actions to Google. Ranking in one of the top positions for your keywords can have a real impact on your bottom line, so a good apartment marketing strategy would be to create high-quality content that incorporates your targeted keywords. That will increase your chances of getting followers, shares, and likes, which can result in more backlinks and, in turn, a more favorable ranking for your apartment community.
Meet apartment prospects where they are.
When it comes to Generation Z — the next, most significant cohort of apartment renters — they’re on Instagram. Born between roughly 1995 and the early 2000s, they’re graduating from high school and college, making their own money, and looking to rent their first apartments on their own. They consider Facebook to be for people of their parents’ age, preferring Instagram instead. So stepping up your Instagram stories game and exploring influencer marketing could be worth the effort.
Humanize your apartment community.
Prospects want to see photos of your community, of course, but what really matters are the people. You could offer a dream apartment in the ideal location, but without attentive, helpful customer service, your residents aren’t likely to sign a second lease. So, share photos and profiles of your front-line employees, create Instagram stories that follow a maintenance staffer or property manager throughout their day. It will go a long way toward instilling trust and confidence in your apartment community. And that leads us to the next point…
Offer better customer service.
One study showed that nearly half of all consumers have used social media to ask questions or raise concerns. Even if you have a resident portal, or if you encourage phone calls, emails or in-person conversations, residents will still use social media to communicate with you, and they expect speedy service. Prospects, your competition, and current residents can see how you navigate these conversations. So not only should you use social media to humanize your community, also use it to prove that you’re the real deal by responding to concerns and feedback in a kind and helpful manner.
Respage offers comprehensive Social Media Advertising and Social Media Management, both focused on creating extraordinary renting results for Multifamily. Speak with our team to learn more!
