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Building A Social Media Brand In Multifamily
Building A Social Media Brand In Multifamily
Today, seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves, that according to a study published this week from the Pew Research Center.
Admittedly, this doesn’t come as a shock to most - everyone is on social these days. And consequently, so is every brand looking to grab the attention of those 226 million+ eyeballs across the web...
But that doesn’t mean they’re doing it correctly.
Just like big name brands such as Starbucks, Budweiser and Lyft, building a relevant & engaging brand for your current - and prospective - residents on social has never been more important. After all, your property is a salient brand for them… It’s their home.
Here are just a few tips for building and honing your property’s branding on social:
Define your brand - and stick with it
Ever seen a simplistic ad, with a white background and minimalist black-font script, and think to yourself, “Huh… Is it just me, or does that look like something from Apple?” That’s not a mistake - Apple, and most major brands, work hard to keep a consistent feel for their content. Another good example is the Instagram page of a newer brand, Crispin Cider. Note the consistent coloring across the entire page, tone of voice and messaging throughout.
Work with your marketing team to craft this - or if you’re a team of one, take time to think about what you want living at your building to look and feel like. While it might not be an easy exercise at first, it’s a fruitful one.
UGC - User Generated Content
Many of the big companies around the globe employ social influencers to rep their product to the tune of hundreds and thousands of dollars per post in an effort to create content on behalf of the brand.
Good news for your property: You already have (literally) built-in brand advocates: Your residents! Engage by using call-to-actions and unique hashtags (e.g. “Send us pictures of your best working-from-home set-up using the hashtag #WorkingFromDraper to be featured on social!”) to aggregate content and repost on your building’s social page.
Be resourceful
For many smaller properties, residents will likely have difficult times locating - or knowing about - their apartment’s social pages. By using your custom apartment app with Mobile Doorman, you can send a friendly reminder via message about a new social page relaunch, or insert a call-to-action content tile on their My Unit tab to connect with the brand on social.
Entertain. Educate. Remain timely.
While it might seem easy to post strictly promotional content about your building, it pays to post content that has varied purposes. A good rule of thumb before posting is asking yourself - “Does this educate my audience? Would it entertain my followers? Is it timely?” Categorizing - and distributing equally - posts across these pillars are important for a brand building its presence.
An easy way to remain on top of this is to develop a social calendar on a monthly basis, crafting posts & subjects in advance so you’re not scrambling on a daily basis to brainstorm posts. Hootsuite has a great guide on being able to create this. And check out our Mobile Doorman monthly pop culture calendar, updated each month with pop culture moments and holidays to inspire your posts.
No two platforms are the same
Most communication majors can recite Marshall McLuhan’s famous quote: “The medium is the message”. That holds just as true more than 50 years later since its publication. Yes, Instagram has more than 500 million active users worldwide, the second most popular social media network in the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right for a text-heavy announcement, which might be more suitable for Facebook or LinkedIn. Matching the strengths of a channel with the post is always a good rule of thumb.
Also - consider your audience’s age-range. Adults on social between the ages of 30-49 (a demographic whose usage has jumped more than 50% in the last decade alone) have predictably flocked to Facebook, but are also now overtaking its younger generation in usage on LinkedIn.
...And the same goes for paid ads
A recent report from Kenshoo explains that users on Instagram are two and a half times more likely to click on ads than on other social media platforms. Studies on the success of Instagram attribute the visual nature of the app & its mobile-first approach (sound familiar?), which caters to the current generation of social media users. If you’re looking to attract new residents, consider doing some research on the best tactics to do so.
Head spinning yet? Yes - there’s a lot of data, recommendations, tools & tactics across the web for brands looking to beef up their social presence. And while it may seem daunting, following simple rules for understanding your target audience, paired with consistency in branding, engagement and usage, will always yield results for your property.
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