What is the most important social networking site for this industry?

What is the most important social networking site for the multi-family industry? Feel free to comment on why you think a particular social networking site is more important/useful than the other ones. Perhaps you think certain types of social media are more useful depending on what you are trying to accomplish? If so, describe your perfect mix of social media networks and how you use each one.

In my opinion, LinkedIn is the best starter and most professional site to reach out initially for business. The forums are also catered more for business and professional discussions. FB is great once rapport is built in order to make the contact more personable. Twitter is a strange bird, I think it's usefulness depends on what you are seeking. For us, it is great for communication to prospective candidates.

Jeff, are you talking about to seek a job or network in the industry? Or how property management can use social media to communicate to customers and residents?

Chuck, I would love to hear your opinions on both. I was initially more interested on how property management can use social media to communicate to customers and residents but wanted the question to be open-ended enough to allow feedback in all facets of the multifamily industry.

I know my fiance' loved it when her Apartment would send links and payment reminders on her social site. More and more residents are appreciative to pay on a moment's notice without walking in the office, a win-win! I do wonder if the social media sites are beneficial for residents to stay informed of functions and alerts; hopefully this will keep trending and the days of door flyers and the labor that comes with it can subside to a minimum. When I talk to Managers and Leasing Agents on-site they do say it is well-received and beneficial, but my personal opinion (based from all my Apartment communities in my FB contact list) is most Properties under-utilize this opportunity. Why have a stagnant community flyer support all your information instead of being another outlet? Social sites are perpetual and real-time for the renters who are tech-savvy.

Thanks for the input Scott. I do also agree that a lot of apartment communities don't utilize social media enough. I think it may be hard to initially get people to "like" their Facebook page but this can easily be accomplished perhaps by offering a little incentive to join. I think having an active Facebook page as well can create a better community overall by bringing everyone together and letting there voices heard even if it is just in an online environment.

Here is some useful statistics from the SoMoConference Yesterday:

$1 in every $10 of discretionary spending is spent on internet
Mobile commerce up 24% in second quarter 2013
140 million smartphones which is 60% of all mobile phones
Currently, tablets are the fastest growing mobile device
1.6 billion people on planet with smartphone
Time spent on internet in Feb. 2013 compared to Feb. 2010 grew 370% on smartphones and desktop grew 15%
Retail website usage in Feb. 2013 compared to Feb. 2010 grew 104%
Coupon website usage in Feb. 2013 compared to Feb. 2010 grew 530%
Time spent on map websites in Feb. 2013 compared to Feb. 2012 grew 152%
Hours spent on the internet is one-third of the amount of time spent watching TV
Somewhere around 60% of internet access on mobile phone happens at home
71% of Pinterest users are women
About 182 million people visit Facebook each month
Two-thirds of time spent on Facebook is coming from a mobile device
Exposure for brands is staggeringly better on Facebook’s newsfeed compared to fan pages

From: www.localsearchinsider.org/somoconf-coms...t&utm_medium=twitter

Email.

It's the biggest "social" network (over twice as many users as Facebook). It still produces the best results and greatest ROI. And it's often underutilized by apartment companies.

I'd start with a solid email marketing program before I dove into any of the major social networks.

I definitely agree with you on that one Mike. Apartment companies would definitely notice results and using email can drive people do their social media accounts as well. Do you recommend making your own custom HTML templates or to use a service like MailChimp?

I have been using Pinterest for over a year as an aid to lease apartments and connect on a more personal level wtih my residents. Here is how I use it:
1. In my Newsletter: I have an article "My Favorite Pin" where I print a "PIN" and write a little about it and how it is useful for our residents.
2. Leasing: I staged the 1/2 bath in my office (which is also in one of my apartments) and I call it my "Pinterest" bathroom. The ladies love it!!! Then I show them our board on Pinterest or ask them to follow us for organization tips, decorating, etc.

I show the guys recipes for grilling and let them know they can grill at my apartments (most around here cannot).

I only use PINS that would work in our specific apartments. It works very well making a "connection" with people. Very, very few are not interested.

No doubt, people should be using an email service provider (ESP) like MailChimp (Exact Target and Aweber are also good options). You can create custom mobile-friendly designs, but more importantly, the ESP manages your lists, makes sure you're compliant with SPAM laws and handles message deliverability ... which means more of your audience is more likely to see your message.

And I agree that email works really well in conjunction with social. The social networks themselves all use email to drive traffic back to their sites -- apartments should be doing the same to draw attention to the content on their websites, blogs and social profiles.

I think the use of social media like FB, Twitter, Pinterest to promote leasing is great and works fairly well. In Chicago, I had difficulty getting people to "like" a property FB page because it occurred to people that it links where they live with who they are. In other words, if you're stalking John Doe, you could pretty easily find on the Internet that he probably lives at "XYZ Apartments."

I am not sure suburban and rural apartment buildings have quite the same caution, though. One great Pinterest page I saw was property-driven, but residents were asked to send pictures. The boards had names like "Debra's Place" and "Jeff's Apartment" etc. so as to not identify last names, and then people who had cool decor got promoted.

To contact residents, I have not had luck with using FB DM or stuff like that. I think it's because this is a busy urban area, and many people want to only get push notifications from the bank, Foursquare (to see if friends are near) etc. Email is the best.

The best email setup I ever saw was a property where we had email addresses for 98 percent of the residents. We used the mass-email feature through Yardi and could blast an email to everyone. You can even attach a ledger and pick and choose which apartments to send to, such as to collect small balances. We told residents to add us to their safe list and it was very efficient and effective.

I love MailChimp.

Do you think most property managers - or Marketing Directors, for that matter - know enough about email marketing to create their own campaigns (MailChimp, Constant Contact, or custom HTML as Jeff mentioned)? My gut says, sure, but I think they'd likely stop after the first one or two.

@David I love MailChimp as well. I think most property managers/marketing directors know enough to create their own email campaigns. Once a month would be sufficient in my opinion. If the property managers/marketing directors can see results from an email campaign, I believe they would continue use them. I feel that email campaigns have been under utilized specifically in this industry and now with services like MailChimp it is a lot easier to make professional emailers than it has been in the past.

That's a question I've been trying to figure out for years. I wish there was a network for maintenance techs to discuss various equipment and repairs but have not found one.

That is a great idea Don, something the industry needs to look into as it could be extremely beneficial to the multi-housing community.

I think all of them can be used successfully for specific reasons. Facebook for engagement and keeping in touch with residents, partners, etc., Twitter to share articles, Linkedin to network within the industry, and Pinterest just because people just love visuals. Choosing the right social platform really all depends on your purpose and what you want to do with your business.

I have a lot of success with linked for selling to property management companies. I don't use facebook that much. Twitter is great for conferences etc...

As for property to residents....I'll leave that to the experts.