Lisa Trosien presented on the importance of having a social media plan for apartment communities. She showed that today's renters heavily rely on online sources like apartment listing websites and community websites when searching for apartments. Reviews and recommendations also strongly influence renters' decisions. The document outlined strategies for apartment communities to engage renters through social media by having a responsive mobile website, posting engaging content, responding to comments to build trust, and encouraging existing residents to post positive reviews. The goal is to shape the online conversation about the community through thoughtful social media presence and influence.
11. 1 How they get information
2 How they engage with one
another (and brands)
3 How they make buying
decisions
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
12. Shopping For/Researching
Apartments
When were/will be shopping for an apartment, sources of information used/to use
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65+ Total
Online apartment listing/shopping website 77.8% 81.8% 78.1% 74.8% 76.7% 56.9% 79.0%
Apartment community's (or management company's) website 81.5% 82.0% 73.4% 69.2% 74.9% 62.7% 78.5%
Driving in neighborhoods I want to live in 64.9% 70.1% 67.8% 68.8% 74.4% 78.4% 68.9%
Referrals (friends, co-workers) 58.9% 61.9% 56.8% 52.7% 57.3% 56.9% 59.2%
Search engine 59.2% 57.8% 51.2% 50.6% 44.9% 29.4% 55.1%
Ratings and reviews website 51.0% 57.9% 46.2% 41.7% 40.5% 35.3% 51.6%
Printed apartment guide 27.9% 30.4% 36.6% 35.4% 37.9% 37.3% 32.0%
Apt community's (or mgmt company's) social networking page 19.6% 14.1% 11.9% 8.9% 6.6% 9.8% 13.8%
Newspaper advertising 13.0% 12.6% 14.0% 13.8% 19.8% 15.7% 13.5%
Yellow pages 2.2% 1.6% 3.2% 3.3% 5.7% 7.8% 2.5%
Total 19.4% 46.3% 16.6% 10.8% 5.7% 1.3% 100.0%
Source: SatisFacts Research (www.SatisFacts.com)
Validated online advertising as the top source
of info when shopping, with ratings/review
sites heavily utilized (51%).
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
13. The Evolution of Search
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
14. The Evolution of Search
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
15. Recommendations Build Trust
• 91% say reviews are #1 aid to buying
decisions
• 25% of Americans they have posted
reviews about products/services they
buy
• ApartmentRatings.com – 1M+
visitors/month
• People are suspicious of ‘perfect’ reviews
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
16. 26% of multifamily
professionals say they have
written a false review on
Apartment Ratings
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
17. 72% of consumers trust web
reviews as much as they trust
personal recommendations
-2012PresentedConsumer Review Survey
Local by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
21. It’s not quite this difficult…
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
22. But Boo Makes it Look Easy
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
23. Yes, that’s: All for a dog
22, 587 “likes” with a funny
658 comments haircut
1968 shares
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
24. Leases?
Retention?
Reputation
Management?
All Three?
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
25. • Who are you?
• What’s your personality? Your ‘brand’?
• Why are you different? Better?
Photo credit:
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com TheWho.com
27. “44% of consumers say the
majority of their Customer
Experiences are “bland”...”
Source data point: strategic resource development group Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
28. 69% of consumers say
emotions count for over half
their customer experience
Source data point: strategic resource development group Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
29. Make it something I care about
Make it fun, credible and memorable
Make it something I can easily tell others
Be true, so I don’t like to look like a liar
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
30. Shopping For/Researching Apartments
Use a smart phone or tablet to help research during most recent apartment search for a new apartment
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65+ Total
Yes 29.2% 30.1% 25.3% 15.4% 12.0% 13.5% 26.3%
No 70.8% 69.9% 74.7% 84.6% 88.0% 86.5% 73.7%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Source: SatisFacts Research (www.SatisFacts.com)
A quarter of respondents used a
smart phone or tablet in their
most recent apartment search.
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
31. Social Mobile
• 5.6 Billion
Phones
• Smart Phones
growth
• iPads and Tablets
32. Do You HAVE a Mobile Site?
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
33. No Mobile Site?
• 60% unlikely to return
• 40% would actually visit a
competitor’s site.
• 63% less likely to buy from the
same company through other
channels Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
35. The Numbers
Gartner predicts that by the end of
2012, the number one way that
consumers will be interacting with the
Internet is via their smartphones and
tablets
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
36. How many???
• 350 million users of Facebook’s 800 million
users are accessing via smartphone
• Majority of Twitter traffic from mobile 55%
• 400 Million YouTube views on Mobile devices
per day
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
37. • Social media has given
customers a public
megaphone for praise and
dissatisfaction.
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
60. What Would Your Mayor Say?
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
61. 62% of
messages,
updates
and
comments
71% of
daily “fan’
Presented by Lisa Trosien, activity
ApartmentExpert.com
62. Frequency
• Engagement rates on Thursday and Friday are
18% higher than other days of the week.
• Research suggests 7a, 11a, 3p, 5p and 11p for
posting.
• Don’t overwhelm your followers.
» Source: Buddy Media, Socially Engaged – Charity Hisle
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
63. Engagement
• Fill in the blank posts generate about 90%
more engagement than the average post
• Posts that end with a question have a 15%
higher engagement rate.
• Source: Facebook, Socially Engaged – Charity Hisle
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
64. Engagement
• Posts including a photo album, a picture
or video generate about 180%, 120%,
and 100% more engagement than a text
only post.
– Source: Socially Engaged, Charity Hisle
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
65. Engagement
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
66. Avoid Etiquette Pitfalls
• Not following back
• Being faceless
• Clueless cross-post
• Being a robot
• Acting like you know me
• Being inconsistent
• Engaging and ignoring
• Talking like a marketroid
• Being pushy
– Radian 6
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
72. RESPONDING
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
73. The most important objectives for
responding:
• Demonstrate that you’re listening
• Be accountable, provide solutions, and solve problems
• Attempt to change perceptions
• Win over new residents
• Source: Socially Engaged, Charity Hisle
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
77. Be Gracious with Idiots
• 1. Decide whether or not the item warrants
a response
• 2. Acknowledge the issue
• 3. Find out what went wrong
• 4. If there’s misinformation, correct it
• 5. If you have a solution at the ready, offer
it
–Radian 6 Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
78. Be Gracious with Idiots
• 6. Realize that not everything needs fixing
• 7. Don’t be terse or defensive
• 8. Respond in public whenever possible,
and bring the right person to the
conversation
• 9. Be creative about what’s next
• 10. Say thank you
–Radian 6 Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
80. So, how do you control
inaccurate and divergent
conversations ?
YOU DON’T
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
81. YOU
INFLUENCE IT
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
82. • …if you want to eliminate bad reviews, it’s important
that you encourage users to provide
their own honest offering. This means
asking your customers to leave comments and
providing an easy way for them to do so – often a URL
on a business card or a link on your website. If your
service is up to scratch, falsified reviews
that previously damaged your brand can
be buried by genuine users quickly and
easily.
Source: Can Internet Users Trust Review Sites?
– Internet Marketing Blog
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
83. Reciprocity
• People say ‘yes’ to
those they owe.
• Robert Cialdini,
“Influence”
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
84. Your Apartment Community: Posting Comments
Posting comments about community
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65+ Total
If asked by my apartment community, I would post a positive comment on
their Facebook page or on a ratings site like apartmentratings.com 65.6% 63.5% 62.7% 57.1% 53.3% 60.0% 62.5%
My apartment community has asked me to post a positive comment on
their Facebook page or on a ratings site like apartmentratings.com 11.2% 7.6% 10.3% 8.3% 7.1% 7.8% 8.8%
I have posted a positive comment on my apartment community's
Facebook page or on a ratings site like apartmentratings.com 9.7% 8.2% 9.4% 9.2% 6.7% 15.7% 8.8%
I have posted a negative comment on my apartment community's
Facebook page or on a ratings site like apartmentratings.com 5.6% 4.8% 5.3% 5.0% 3.1% 2.0% 4.9%
Source: SatisFacts Research (www.SatisFacts.com)
Nearly two-thirds stated that if asked by staff they would post a positive comment, however less
than 9% have been asked. An equally small percent have posted a positive comment; about 5%
have posted a negative comment.
As it relates to a property’s “online reputation,” note that the most powerful way to positively
impact it is to reduce dissatisfaction, which is accomplished by focusing on what residents said
matter most to them. Managing a property’s online reputation begins with managing the resident
experience.
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
85. Consumers are beginning in a very real sense to
own our brands and participate in their creation
… We need to begin to learn to let go.
A.G. Lafley, CEO and Chairman of P&G, October 2006
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
86. TEN FINAL TIPS
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
100. • “Strategic users are almost three
times more likely to execute
activities for engaging prospects
than informal users”
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
101. Find a Balance
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
102. •Don’t be afraid
to outsource
Presented by Lisa Trosien,
ApartmentExpert.com
103. Questions?
• Contact me directly for information about this
presentation or any others I can make for your
organization.
– Lisa Trosien
– www.ApartmentExpert.com
– Lisa@ApartmentExpert.com
– Phone: 630-898-8898
– Facebook.com/ApartmentExpert
– Twitter: @LisaTrosien
– Pinterest.com/Lisa_Trosien/
Presented by Lisa Trosien, ApartmentExpert.com