It’s a new year, and with that comes new ideas and strategies for reaching residents and prospective renters. With the average monthly mobile data usage doubling in 2013 and over 98% of text messages being opened and read, a text messaging program can be a great way to communicate with members of your community. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to introduce a ‘New Years Resolution’-themed texting campaign, by providing tips, tools, and resources of value to your residents and prospects in order to help them put their best foot forward in 2014.

Giving back. Many people resolve to help others in the new year. Make it easier for your community to become charitable by collecting donations, such as clothing, food, or money, to provide to organizations that help the less fortunate. Share key dates and information about the charitable contributions through a text messaging program, and don’t forget to send a reminder or two leading up to the deadline.

Being healthy. Losing weight is the most popular goal among the 45% of Americans who choose to make New Years resolutions, so you have many opportunities to engage with members of your texting program by offering useful advice and discounts that help them achieve their goals.

• If your community doesn’t have a fitness center, work with a local gym to offer a membership discount via text message for your community. Residents will appreciate your generosity, and the gym will appreciate the additional business! If there is a gym in your community, send a reminder text with hours, new features, and even fitness tips to encourage your residents to get their workout on.

• Reach out to a local smoothie or juice bar to create a coupon for a free or discounted item from their menu, and share with your community through your texting program.

• Visit your local running store and inquire about a discount or promotion for your community. Chances are, they’ll be happy to work with you!

• Consider hosting a weight loss challenge in your community, and send texts with healthy tips or recipe ideas each day throughout the duration of the event to encourage participants. You can send a text invite to challengers about a group run around your community as an additional opportunity to get their workout in!

Getting organized. The new year is a great time to start with a clean slate, which means that a little ‘spring cleaning’ might be in order. Kick off the beginning of the year with a text campaign offering up daily or weekly tips and tricks to help residents organize their apartments from top to bottom!

Consider using one or all of these ideas to create a texting campaign – you can share a daily or weekly promotion via text to increase engagement, create a sense of community, and build retention among residents. The time and investment that you are putting into a program such as this will surely be noticed, and residents are likely to speak highly of your community, which provides additional exposure for you. Don’t forget to educate yourself on the best practices of texting!

What New Year’s resolution ideas have you used to engage with your community?