Are you planning a budget for social media?

Engaging on social media is NOT free. There internal and external costs associated with video sharing activities, blogging, photo sharing, Facebook, twitter, craigslist and other social media. Staff time and training are the biggest costs. Some multifamily companies are outsourcing some or all of these activities. I was wondering how many of you have now incorporated $s into your future budgets for social media?

I have yet to see the value of Social Media in the MFH industry. While the majority of social media tactics/sites are free (exception is running FB ads), it still takes a lot of time to constantly update and interact with fan pages or Twitter accounts.

I think that Social Media is good for other industries that rely on more constant sales and interactions. Great example is how retail and e-commerce sites can benefit because consumers make frequent purchases or interactions with a store or website. Realistically a person only interacts with an apartment building at the minimum of one time per year.

Unless someone on MFI has physical examples of amazing conversion rates for people signing leases off of social media tactics, I will still remain a skeptic to social media's benefit to MFH.

Craigslist ads, updating your website, modifying your SEO, and interacting with prospective or current renters via email are much better tactics to do than social media.


Anyone else have any thoughts? I think this is a good discussion to have.

Adam, I'll attempt to address all your social media questions/thoughts from my perspective. Thank you for adding to the discussion.

- It does take time to constantly update and interact with fan pages and Twitter accounts. It's best to have a consistent strategy and use RSS feeds to automate/syndicate posts to all these sites. No one ever said it was easy to be better than your competition. Using these tools can be a huge competitive advantage if used properly.

- I believe one reason our industry does not have a better reputation is because we don't provide more constant interactions and better customer service. If our goal is to get someone to renew then we should be interacting with them more often then once per year. Our customers actual make more frequent purchases with us (monthly rent payments that are most likely the largest check someone writes in a month) than most other retailers. The only exception I can think of would be food related like a grocery or restaurant.

- Go ahead, remain a skeptic, social media is not for everyone. Social media is not advertising. Social media is about enhancing a customer's experience and building a better online brand. Measuring social media and an online brand is more than just counting leads. It's about customers willing to pay a premium, staying occupied, outpacing your competition, having better online reviews, and embracing poor reviews as opportunities. All because a company desires to be remarkable and the best. If you don't want to strive to be those things, then, yes, social media is not for you and that is OK.

- Craigslist, better websites, modifying SEO (by the way, Social Media is an essential piece to that puzzle), and email are all great tools to help your marketing efforts. They are not better, just great tools that integrate with all your communication efforts.

In general, an integrated approach to better communicate with all your customers (future, current, or previous) is the best way to look at how to use the Internet, social media, and websites to enhance your brand. New Media tools are no different than ones that we have grown to rely on like the mail, telephones, television, email, etc. We're social beings. We enjoy doing business with others, and we trust each other's opinions more than we trust the opinion of an advertisement. It's only natural for new media tools to be incorporated in business. The challenge is finding your niche for how it best works for you. There is no cookie cutter approach that you can buy. This is why so many are skeptical because you can't just wait for someone to make something for you to buy. You have to dive in and make the tools work for you in the most efficient way possible. In the end social media still may not be for you, and like I said, that's OK.

No, if this is so then i don't want to participate in any social media. I am very happy with Forums.

Mark,

Just one word of caution--don't mistake writing a monthly check with making a monthly purchase. They are two different things. Just like with a monthly car payment or monthly mortgage payment.

The interesting thing I've seen evolve over the past 12 months as SM has gotten more attention is a move from people suggesting it's critical to one in which there are two camps--those who focus on direct reponse finding very little value in social media and those who believe in "building community" finding value.

My two cents--all the studies (e.g. Satisfacts) I've seen show that the #1 determinant in renewal for those "in play" is whether or not they have outstanding service issues. Ie. for all the "involvement" in the world, if the toilet still leaks, SM doesn't matter. That's not to say there's no value, but we need to keep it in context. jm2c

Great point Donald. This is why I think SM isn't for everyone, and/or you need to make social media work for you however it best fits. As I said, there isn't a cookie cutter approach. If someone has trouble with leaky toilets then "relationship building" on social media might not be the best approach. That doesn't mean that building pages in social media isn't a good idea.

I think where the argument comes in is, "what is the most effective way to build social media assets up?" In general, the majority feel social media assets are best used when "building a community" or creating engagement. This is hard and an investment. It's not traditional in the way companies have marketed apartments over the years, but it's not that far from being traditional if you really think about it. The Internet and it's channels aren't much different than TV or print. The formats are just cheaper, more readily available, and more flexible. They are really just better.

This is an interesting topic. Let me share what happened with me the other day on twitter. I noticed via one of my channels someone who felt that "apartment hunting" was extremely difficult. I simply asked him what was making the process challenging. I did not know this person and he certainly did not know me. His reply started out by simply saying to me "Thank you for listening"

There may be many tool that are being used that have worked for some time. I believe what Mark is trying to convey is to start understanding new tools that are available and begin carefully using them. When we read business and consumer reports that are showing the shift in how people think and view information and how they have changed in their decision making process, that leaves the question open to us: What are we doing to keep in pace with how people want to be dealt with.

My above example is not unique. Thanks for the discussion

It is interesting to read each of your views and comments on Social Media marketing. Let me start by answering your question "Are you planning on a budget for social media?" and my answer is 100% YES!

Why would you doubt or feel social media marketing has no "value"? I hear what Adam is saying and know many in our industry believe their residents only connect with them during the lease term, but who created this theory? Have we been doing business this way for so long that we expect our customers to accept this type of interaction? I believe there are many in the multifamily industry who fear social media marketing because it is a new way of thinking and interacting with our customers. It could be positive, it could be negative and rewarding all in one.

For me the "value" I find in social media marketing is to show my customers/residents I am adapting to meet their expectations and not mine. Like Jonathan stated it's a shift in how people think and view information and how they have changed their decision making process.

Why not show your customers/residents you listen and get involved with the good, the bad and the ugly? By responding and becoming involved through social media you will learn more about them rather than the illusion you have created for what you think you know about them. Doesn't it excite you to find out more about your customers other than the questions asked on your guest card? Don't you want others to want to know more about you other than the price of your apartments? My answer is yes, I am more than just a price and I want to show my residents and the community we are more.

Of course we will continue the "sales pitch" through ILS, print, websites, etc, but what about becoming involved beyond the sale. When you look at other industries for example retail , they want to hear and know what their customers think. Retailers ask, get involved and respond. Retailers want to continue providing better products, service and shopping experience so they reach out through social media and so do I! If you don't believe me take a look at the fan page of Kohls on Facebook. By building your brand online and creating your community through social media, will only give you the advantage over others. Show them you will continue to provide the best quality in service, product and are embrace their expectations. Stop thinking you know what your customers think about you, instead find out! This is my opinion on how social media can bring "value" to your community. How much are you willing to pay or loose for words spoken about you?

There is one more point I would like to add. Social Media will not only aid in bringing "value" to our marketing and online community branding, but will also aid us in operations. I believe social media will teach us how to budget better, recognize training our employees is a must, and we will realize and accept we have flaws. If we were perfect, had no challenges and there was nothing to learn, then we would all be at 100% pysical and economic occupancy with a reservation list. You see folks social media goes beyond marketing, it's about learning what we do best and addressing what we need to do better.