Apartment Trends Magazine September 2019 | Page 22

UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA TO
YOUR COMMUNITY'S BRAN
By Mara Freese
Marketing Director, Echelon Property Group
W
ith 2019 coming to an end, we’re taking a look into one of
the most infl uential marketing platforms of the last decade
– Social Media. According to the Pew Research Center1,
69 percent of all U.S. adults now use at least one social media
platform and this number growing year-over-year. In this article, we
will discuss how to best optimize your social media platforms
to improve your community’s brand awareness,
resident engagement, lead generation, and online
reputation.
First things fi rst; cleanup! Although it may
seem elementary, establishing policies and
procedures that guarantee all social sites refl ect
accurate and updated information is paramount
to the success of the platform. Social media
sites should be treated as an extension of the
community’s website; however, there is more to
cleanup involved than simply updating contact
information. Ensuring the community’s voice,
style, look, and feel is accurately refl ected is just
as necessary when creating a cohesive brand and
strong brand awareness.
A resident or prospect should be able to easily
identify the community and brand by simply
glancing at their social site. By showcasing
consistent content and media across all
platforms, a simple, straight forward, and
engaging user experience will be created.
Focusing on cohesion of information
across all platforms is the single most
important factor for creating strong
brand awareness and without
strong brand awareness, it is
nearly impossible to achieve
success in regards to social
resident engagement, lead
generation, and online
reputation.
With your social media sites cleaned up, what’s next? It is time
to set your social media goals by focusing on resident engagement
as the top priority. According to SatisFacts 2019 Online Renter
Study2 social media is one of the top fi ve drivers of perception of
value. Perception of value is the #1 driver for renewals, and has
been since 2013. Research has also proven that although social
sites build brand awareness, social
media plays less of a role in
the leasing decision than it
does in the perception of
value.
To best engage your
residents, you must know
your demographics. Many
communities house a
wide variety of resident
demographics so it is
important to utilize
multiple social
media platforms
to provide all
residents with
the opportunity
to engage with
the community
no matter
their social