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Social media marketing changes frequently, so much so that it can be hard to keep up. It’s for this reason we made a step-by-step guide Multifamily marketers can use to see if they’re on the right track. Follow it, as well as the general tips provided within it, and you’re sure to reach all new heights on social media.

Goal Setting

You can’t build a successful social media strategy if you can’t define what success looks like in the first place. That’s why you need to set, and stick to, your goals from the very beginning of your social campaign. Start by thinking of your larger goals, then break those goals down into micro tasks that can be easily measured.

For example, let’s pretend your social media marketing objective is to build awareness of your community. Since there are many ways to gauge awareness, you’ll want to first set several micro-goals that contribute to raising awareness in one form or another. Increasing your monthly post shares by five percent would be a good micro-goal, as would increasing monthly impressions for your apartment social ads.

Brainstorming

Once you have your goals in mind, it’s time to plan your strategy. Lucky for you, we assembled the following cheat sheet for three of the most common Multifamily marketing objectives, which should save you some time. Listed below you’ll find those three common objectives, along with three complimenting strategies:

Increasing Awareness – As we just mentioned, there are plenty of ways to spread awareness about your community on social media. Our favorite, however, is paid social advertising. Paying for social ad space is simply the easiest way to get in front of highly qualified rental prospects on sites like Facebook. It’s also great knowing that you’re guaranteed impressions, which can’t be said when you opt for a more organic, post-and-pray-for-shares approach.

Retaining Residents – Loosing some residents is inevitable. People change jobs, get married, or do any number of things that make living in you community no longer the best option. But other losses can be blamed on how a property is managed, and in many cases the events that lead up to these losses can be fixed through social media. That’s why we recommend posting content that actively encourages residents to embrace whatever lifestyle it is your community attracts. Got the latest and greatest gym equipment? Schedule some posts about workouts and exercises. Have a ton of great restaurants and bars nearby? Schedule some posts about their menus and specials. And never forget to keep your residents updated on what’s going on within your community itself. Always use social media to let your renters know about community sponsored pool parties, yoga classes, and other events.

Managing Repuation – Your community’s online reputation heavily influences your vacancy rates. And since social media plays a very large role in your online reputation, you should make sure it’s in tip top shape. To do so, we think it best to quickly respond to every review and post that comes up on your social radar. This includes the reviews that are just plain ugly and unfair. Remember to keep your response calm and honest, and refrain from writing anything that may be interpreted as an attack. Potential residents who read your responses while researching places to live will be impressed. Another great tip is to encourage your residents to give you a reviews, especially after positive interactions like a timely and hassle-free maintenance request fulfillment.

Executing

Your goals are set and your plan is in place. Now comes the hard part: Actually doing all the hard work that you’ve created for yourself. Fortunately, we can help you out with that as well, or at least provide a blueprint of things you should be doing in order to get the most out of your planned strategy.

For creating social ads, we recommend you familiarize yourself with Facebook Advertising first and foremost. Correctly using this platform requires a lot of knowledge, and you should learn about all the ways you can reach the highest qualified rental prospects before you spend your first dime. Otherwise, you’re wasting both your money and your time.

In regards to content, consider who your residents are and what they tend to enjoy. Then compile a list of articles that you think one or two people might find interesting. This can take a huge amount of time at first because you’ll need to find a bunch of different sites for sourcing your content. The good news is that once you find a few decent sites for every given subject, you can set up RSS feeds so that the best stories are always on your radar. Save time by creating a weekly content calendar so that you aren’t taking breaks every hour to look for new content.

Concerning reputation, there isn’t much else we can add to what is written above. Just make sure you stay on top of reviews regularly and respond to every one you receive.

Stick to this guide and check off each step to make your multifamily social media marketing efforts a breeze!