Since the beginning of the year, organic reach for Facebook business pages has plummeted, as industry professionals have recently pointed out. But despite an estimated 6% unpaid reach¹, some multifamily management companies are still knocking it out of the park when it comes to quality audience engagement. Here are a few of our industry’s top performers for some added inspiration:

1) J.C. Hart – In case you missed it, the Indianapolis-based management company J.C. Hart was represented by its Director of Marketing during this year’s Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) Conference in Huntington Beach. Self-proclaimed “Apartment Nerd” Mark Juleen shared his team’s approach to Facebook engagement and leveraging social media overall for lead gen.

With about 6,500 fans for their corporate page, it’s not uncommon for them to get 30 to 50+ comments or shares on their contest posts—most often in connection with $10 coffee card giveaways. What I like most about their contests is that they clearly communicate methodology and notification for the drawings, which provides an added transparency that encourages fans to continue participating.

2) Z Islander - Specifically at the site-level, off-campus student housing community Z Islander (Asset Campus) boasts about 1,800 fans and looks pretty fancy with the new redesigned Facebook business pages, which are slowly but surely coming live since early March². Although there’s room for improvement with their reviews and user posts… Judging simply by the number of Likes for their community events posts (and this album from their crawfish boil), I feel like Z Islander is THE place to party. Other college-related shareables (think study woes and animal memes) range around 30 Likes.

3) Lincoln Military Housing – Lincoln Property Company definitely made a smart move by building a Facebook page specifically for their military housing division. With nearly 9,000 fans, they’ve been able to customize their content and campaigns for military families at communities across the nation. Each month they invite residents to share a family photo for a chance to be featured on their page’s cover photo as the “Family of the Month”. Other posts highlight audience interests such as strong patriotism, civic engagement, and family life.

4) The Apartments at Charlestown Crossing – For another site-level example we turn to Dolben’s Apartments at Charlestown Crossing, located in the town of North East, MD (population 3,500 in case you were wondering). What I love most is their quick and thorough response to peoples’ questions/comments in the “Posts to Page” section. They have a ton of on-going, relevant dialogue happening with residents who are highly engaged and invested in the community—which is really the ideal. In addition, their most popular posts are just simple iPhone skyscapes from around the property:

5) Fogelman Management Group – Memphis-based Fogelman Management Group has an excellent variety of posts throughout their timeline—everything from #TBT’s to quick 15-second videos. The overall voice and tone of their Facebook page is incredibly upbeat and approachable, and the consistency of that energy has helped sustain continuous conversation and relationship-building over a period of several years. Recent posts with 50+ and 60+ Likes are all the more impressive considering they have a modest 700 fans, but those fans are more qualified and engaged than a lot of pages with fans in the thousands.

As much as I admire these companies and what they’ve been able to accomplish against all odds, I have to admit that they’re the exception. Facebook’s drastic curb on organic impressions is no joke, and we’re all impacted whether we notice it or not. Multifamily marketers should carefully consider the resources they choose to devote to this social channel; but as these companies prove, one size doesn’t fit all. Unique businesses with unique audiences require differing approaches. But for those who continue to invest their time and energy into Facebook, I hope these examples lend some added encouragement and new ideas!

¹ http://webmarketingtoday.com/articles/111815-How-to-Address-Declines-in-Facebooks-Organic-Reach/

² https://www.facebook.com/business/news/A-Streamlined-Look-for-Pages