3 Big Trends

Multifamily Social Media Summit

By Geneva Ives on Feb 13, 2017 in Marketing

Team Yardi was lucky enough to attend the 5^th annual Multifamily Social Media Summit in Napa during the first week of February this year. This conference brings together a wide variety of speakers from within and without the real estate industry to talk about the impact of social media on marketing, leasing and more.

We’re always happy to get out there and hear new trends and challenges being discussed – as well as meet with clients from social savvy companies like Pinnacle, Reside Living and Monarch Investment and Management Group.

This year we left the summit with three big social trend takeaways:

Live Video Is Happening

If you’ve been waiting for live video to go away, raise your hand. (You can’t see me, but I’m holding mine up sheepishly.) You might be thinking, “But I don’t want to be on camera, and the quality is unprofessional. Who would want to watch it anyway?”

Everyone, it turns out.

Keynote speaker Joel Comm, an author and entrepreneur who has hundreds of thousands of social media followers, was the first to bring it up. “Live video is the most significant leap in social media since the iPhone,” he said. “You now have the power in your hand to go live and reach the world… and your communities. It will give you an unfair advantage over your competitors.”

Multiple speakers urged property managers to use live video to get potential residents to know, like and trust their brands by providing useful information. Joel even thoughtfully provided a list of live video ideas specific to multifamily:

 

• Show an empty apartment
• Showcase a furnished apartment
• Meet the staff
• Explore the neighborhood
• Show building in progress
• Show new amenities
• Tour the fitness center or pool
• Broadcast an event
• Walk through the leasing process
• Offer time-sensitive specials
• Do a question and answer session
• Run a contest
• Provide packing and moving tips
• Meet the residents

Still not sold on the idea? As speaker Matt McAllister pointed out, 33% of all activity that happens on the internet is people watching video. Don’t miss out on traffic that could be yours!

Renters = Lurkers

Think your residents aren’t engaging with your social pages? Wrong. Some surprising data from the SatisFacts 2017 Online Renter Study was presented at the summit. “Community social media” was listed as the second top value driver by prospective renters – right after “sense of community” – even though only 48% of respondents said they would use a community’s social media page.

That means that while they might not be interacting with your pages, they are definitely looking to see what you’re posting. “Even if they’re not participating, they’re watching. We have some lurkers out there,” said Jen Piccotti, senior vice president of education and marketing at SatisFacts.

So you better have something to show your largely silent audience. “Social media efforts can’t be inconsistent,” asserted speaker Joe Nolan. Regularly posting the things make your properties a good place to call home will help you brand your business, increase your sense of community and win more leases in the long run.

And remember, it’s not just your posts that get seen but also your interactions. “Customer service really can be marketing. It’s the way you represent your company,” reminded Laurie Meachum, leader of the customer service and commitment team at JetBlue.

Don’t Ignore Data

Maybe you can’t see every prospect who looks at your social channels, but there’s plenty of data out there that will help you find them. If you’re not using it, you’re getting the conversions you deserve.

Multiple speakers talked about building custom audiences that target specific areas or niche interests to find the right prospects for your properties, instead of wasting money advertising to a more general pool of internet users. “Reaching smaller groups of people with relevant content has a bigger impact,” said Corey Padveen, certified inbound marketer and Google AdWords specialist.

Need help targeting the right audience? If you use Yardi’s RentCafe property marketing and leasing platform, our SEO and SEM services team can help drive the right traffic to your properties. Email us to learn how to get started.

Want more?

Since it’s a social media conference, we also had a blast being a part of the live Twitter stream. Check out #multifamilysms2017 to see what everyone was talking about. It will almost feel like you were there in person! (Vineyard views not included.)