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From marketing vacant units, to showcasing what life’s like in your community, to keeping your current residents updated; social media is a great cost-efficient way for property managers to build a reputable online presence that’s reflective of their business. Nearly everyone is on social media in some capacity these days. The key is finding which platform best suits your business goals and provides access to your target audience. Each platform offers different features and benefits that drive social media, and we’re here to break down the five major players—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Before diving into the individual platforms and their capabilities, it’s important to first understand best practices that apply to all of them so that you can better optimize your strategy.
Stay On Target
Although there will be an overlap, each social media platform has a unique audience. Tailor and target your messaging for the audience that’s consuming it. Finding the right voice is imperative to the success of your efforts.
Consistency Is Key
Each platform has its own algorithm and requirements; establishing a consistent schedule will be essential for your posting strategy. Finding what days and times your audience is most active on each social platform and how often you need to post will help boost engagement and ensure your content is seen.
Trending Topics Drive Social Media
A great way to join a larger conversation is by posting on a trending topic in the industry. Local and world news is also crucial to stay on top of so that your content isn’t unintentionally inappropriate.
Visuals Are Vital Online
It’s proven that including images and videos in your posts will draw more engagement. When scrolling through their feed, viewers are more likely to stop and watch a visually appealing video or read a concise graphic vs. a plain-text post. Short-form video (5-15 seconds) has seen the most success in recent years among all platforms.
Tips For The Top Five Social Media Platforms
With the ability to reach nearly three billion people, chat directly with followers, and share any type of media, Facebook is a must-have for companies of all sizes. Facebook’s audience is broad, with a user age range of 13–65+, though the most frequent users fall between the ages of 25-34.*
While still maintaining a professional demeanor, Facebook provides a more relaxed environment that’s meant for videos, photos, gifs, and yes…maybe even a cat video. Some great content suggestions include:
- Interior decorating tips
- Articles regarding local news
- Community event information
- High-quality photos and videos of your units and property
Facebook also provides the ability to create groups that can serve as a more direct way to communicate information to your residents.
The goal of Instagram is to provide a brand “experience” that tells a larger story through visual communication to your audience. With the right combination of images and videos—built around an effective posting schedule—businesses can establish an intentional and curated feed for their audience. Instagram stories are also a great way to engage with followers, provide information, and create an open line of communication through direct messaging.
Keywords have also become an important aspect of Instagram—replacing the emphasis on hashtags. Brands can become more discoverable by including the right keywords and phrases in their captions. Still, including 3-5 hashtags of relevant topics can also help ensure your content is seen by a like-minded audience. Out of 2 billion users, demographics show this platform is more popular with younger generations, ages 18-24, making up 30.8% of the audience. But don’t count out millennials as they make up another third of Instagram’s audience base.* Content suggestions for your Instagram audience include:
- Showcasing the lifestyle of your community through images and reels
- Sharing employee spotlights so your tenants can get to know your staff
- Promoting engagement through weekly polls and questions
TikTok
As the newest player in the social media game, TikTok has made its mark online with 150 million users in the United States who spend an average of 45 minutes a day on the app.* What was originally intended as a video-sharing social network for individuals to express themselves through dance and music has quickly turned into a constant stream of entertainment and information reaching every pocket of the Internet. Whatever your niche is, there is probably a video for it! TikTok has become a huge branding opportunity for many companies to show off the more human side of their business and create a relatable online presence. Influencer marketing has also gained heavy traction within the app, which is beneficial to many brands looking to expand and reach new audiences.
Whether you’re hopping on a trend, sharing a quick tour of available units, providing tips and information to your residents, highlighting your staff, or showing off the perks of living in your community—just have fun with it! The more entertaining and eye-catching you can be in the first three seconds of your video will hook viewers and boost your engagement. As mentioned earlier, trends drive social media—and they change daily. Staying up to date on popular audio can also help you become more discoverable. You may even consider replicating this content on another platform like Instagram or Facebook if proven successful!
Considered a miniature blogging platform, Twitter is all about sharing your thoughts in real time. The 280-character count keeps messages concise and direct. Although, if you’re looking to share lengthier posts, a subscription to Twitter Blue will allow up to 4,000 characters per tweet and provide a verified check mark for your account.
Focused on timely content, Twitter has become the place to get news on trending topics and hashtag conversations. It’s a great platform to keep your community updated with short posts, quick news, and links to external sites, as well as deliver an additional customer service resource through Direct Messages. Since the average life of a tweet is 23 minutes, Twitter will require more-frequent posting while still maintaining quality content. Retweeting local news, tags from residents, or other relatable content is a great way to stay engaged and requires less content creation on your part. Forty-two percent of Twitter users are between the ages of 18–29 and are more likely to reside in an urban or suburban area.*
LinkedIn is the online equivalent of a professional networking event. Pages are extended resumes that include backgrounds, interests, education, and professional skills. As the most business-oriented platform, LinkedIn is great for building a brand, connecting with experts in a particular field, and generating new business leads. For property management specifically, you likely won’t be promoting your property to potential tenants, but owners and operators may certainly be searching for details about your business on this platform. LinkedIn is also a great resource for keeping tabs on industry trends and engaging with like-minded property management professionals.
User demographics for LinkedIn show the platform is most popular with people between the ages of 30–39 and 22% of users access the platform daily.* Generally, using a professional and direct tone is most effective when writing posts on LinkedIn. To engage in larger professional conversations, try sharing your own organic thoughts using keywords or a hashtag, commenting on your connection’s posts, and sharing topics you find relevant for your audience.
Conclusion
Social Media is here to stay and will continue to be part of our everyday lives. Adopting the best platforms for your business, following social media best practices, and embracing creative content will drive social media success for your brand in no time. As you work to effectively market your properties online, learn what Rent Manager tools can help here, and download our FREE Marketing eBook for additional insights into attracting and retaining tenants.
*Demographics information from SproutSocial.
