In the multifamily space, many property management companies go through phases of acquiring other properties, adding these properties to their portfolio and vice versa. For residents, the new turnover can be a bit confusing as there may be new changes that take place such as a new staff, a new property name and new policies. Rather than seeing this as daunting for both a resident and leasing professionals, these changes should be seen as refreshing opportunities to enhance and strengthen the line of engagement. In this #FRMSChat, you’ll learn how use social media to:
- Establish instant trust with your residents
- Shift negative sentiment
- Create a sense of community culture
- Add convenience to your resident's living experience
- And more!
If you are a leasing professional and your property management company has either just taken over a new property or your property has undergone new ownership, this webinar is for you!
Provident Ecopolitan Aerospace Park, Bangalore E- Brochure.pdf
Clean Slate Marketing: Winning Residents Using Social Media
1. Ansley Sudderth
Social Media Training
& Communications
Coordinator
Clean Slate Marketing:
Winning Residents Using Social Media
2.
3. • What is a Clean Slate Brand?
• The Clean Slate Business Model
– Newism
– Instant Trust
– Open Operation
• Examples of Clean Slate Brands
• What You Can Do Today!
– Shift Sentiment
– Build Community Culture
– Instill Convenience
• Valuable Links
• Q&A
Agenda
28. 92% trust
recommendations
from friends and
family above all
other forms of
advertising.
Online consumers reviews are the second
most trusted source of brand information.
According to Nielsen…
48. • FRMS Review Cards:
http://bit.ly/FRMSReviewCards
• RAM Partners LLC:
https://www.facebook.com/RAMPartnersLLC
• Industry Trends Survey:
bit.ly/IndustryTrendsSurvey
• August Social Media Training Calendar:
http://bit.ly/SocialMediaTrainingCal
Valuable Links
Hi everyone, I’m Ansley Sudderth, Social media training and communications coordinator with For Rent Media Solutions. Thanks for joining me today. In today’s session, we’re going to cover the variety of ways you can win your residents by operating with a ‘clean slate’ mentality.
So before we get started, we are using the hashtag #FRMSChat on twitter so if you have any feedback, questions or maybe some insight, feel free to use the hashtag and one randomly selected person will receive a $20 gift card! And we’ll announce the winner at the end of the webinar so hangout with us! Also, just one house keeping tip I always share, we are using GoTo Webinar to facilitate our session and on your GoTo panel, you can ask questions during our session. I welcome you to send in any questions you may have as I can see them come in in real time. More times than not, I will answer your question along the way but if I don’t, I’m happy to follow up toward the end of our session or via email.
Before I go over our agenda, I want to explain why we talk about social media every month…
If you’re not familiar with FRSocial, please get with your For Rent account rep but FRSocial is a rich suite of tools exclusive to For Rent customers only. FRSocial is a social media solution made easy. FRSocialExpert concentrates on management, advertising, listening and education – saving you time and making social marketing easy. The package includes tools designed to enhance audience engagement and improve your online reputation, driving more leads to you.
FRSocial positions you to gain a competitive edge by utilizing social media for your brand. This is WHY we touch on social media every month. The goal is to onboard and train you on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, etc. so that you are well equipped to use FRSocial at its optimal capacity. So again if you are interested in learning more about becoming an FRSocial Expert customer, get with your For Rent rep and we can set up a quick demo for you.
Let’s talk about what a clean slate brand is. You may not be so sure as of right now. We’ll then break down the clean slate business model and go over some examples of what we could define as a clean slate brand. Then we’ll get to the application part where I’ll share ways currently property management companies and apartment communities are shifting resident sentiment, building a culture and instilling convenience.
As always, I’ll send you on your way with some links to use.
Before we get into the meat, I want to share how I came across this topic. I got to TrendWatching dot com quite a bit to get new and fresh ideas and the light bulb went off when I uncovered this topic. It’s something that’s not really addressed in the multifamily industry but it should be since name changes and acquisitions happen all the time. I hope that puts things in perspective so let’s talk about what defines a clean slate brand in the social space today…
In a world where history and longevity once won consumers, brands are attracting consumers with different approaches. History is great but what if you’re a property management company or an apartment community that has just recently been established? Whether that be an acquisition or a newly constructed property, you are starting from ground zero when it comes to establishing yourself. This may seem daunting but the great news is that history and heritage are great but they no longer take precedence in the social arena. You may very well be offering a better product and living experience than the property who’s been down the street for 25 years so how do you match up?
First, you need to know what characteristics are going to give you a level playing field and an advantage over competing properties. We live in an age of the now where newer, better, faster, cleaner, more transparent and more responsive brands are appealing to the online consumer. In past FRMSChats, we’ve talked about the importance of reciprocating conversation and engaging your residents in a time sensitive manner.
So the question is…Where do you stand? Is your current social strategy or business model set up to be relevant, fast, authentic and responsive? If not, we’re going to go over some ways you can move in this direction.
Now that we know what characteristics make up a Clean Slate Brand, we need to look into the business model or what defines a clean slate brand
The clean slate business model is quite simple which means less time for you to grasp the concept. In an effort to attract and win consumers, businesses inject new, fresh and unconventional tactics.
They aim to build instant trust by having a positive reputation online, they’re easy to recognize which means these brands have a strong brand presence
And they operate openly also with transparency which makes consumers feel like stakeholders and more part of the process
Like I said, we live in an era of instant gratification and we as consumers are expecting bigger, newer, better. As marketers, we are meeting that demand by constantly Creating new products, services and experiences on a daily, if not hourly basis. As a result, the term ‘new and improved’ has been beaten into the ground and devalued. This creates a new opportunity for us as marketers to promote and advertise from a different approach where the new is not a revamped version of the same thing but a entirely fresh experience overall.
Rather than the same ol’ same ol’, adding fresh, engaging content to your social strategy definitely sounds better than repeating the same message you’ve have been for the last however many years. Share relevant news rather than talking about yourself. Ask questions, share images and ask residents to ‘caption’ it.
So much of a leasing professional’s job is to do just that: lease. But what is you came from a different approach? What if you went to Pinterest and pinned an image of your property and shared the link to that floor plan or your website in the description?
A call to action pin sees and 80% increase in engagement and Pinterest is retaining and engaging users 2 to 3 times as efficiently as Twitter so not only are people signing up for Pinterest, they are actually staying and using the platform daily.
Whenever relevant, you’ll want to add pricing and hashtags to your description. If you have a range of pricing for your floor plans, you’ll want to list the lowest price. .So once a prospect lands on your website from that pin, they can see all of the pricing.
Gaining and keeping consumer trust is vital to any business especially when you’re in the market of leasing a product like an apartment home. You’re not just selling a random product, you’re ensuring that your apartment community is going to keep your residents and their possessions safe. Last month we talked about promoting amenities like an on site security guard or a gated community since those are two big amentias that appeal to apartment shoppers. So once they sign the lease, promoting these features is still very important.
Here you see RAM Partners is sharing how proud they are of maintenance tech, Steve Cook who is being recognized as a Marvelous Maintenance Star. So this is a great example of #1, giving your team members a shout out and recognition which helps prevent turnover and #2, this indirectly tells residents that they have a top notch maintenance tech at their property. We all know that fulfilled maintenance requests play a huge role in retaining residents so sharing content like this is great.
Again, appealing to the emotions is a way to earn instant trust. RAM turned an unfortunate event into a positive by recognizing the fast-reacting local fire department when a fire broke out at the community. Again, they did a great job of recognizing the on-site team and indirectly are showing how responsive this particular property is when it comes to dire situations.
Most brands used to and still do operate in a world where they are the main communicator with the consumer. Now, brands are creating a more transparent front by including influencers like experts, bloggers, and the online community in the conversation. In the social space, companies and communities are required to be diligent when it comes to accurately and clearly conveying their intent, showing their authenticity, and under promising and over delivering. Neglecting any of these areas could ignite severe social consequences that may cause irreversible damage to a brand’s reputation.
One thing you can learn from clean slate brands is that communication is two-way and participatory with influencers. This is one thing older, more established brands struggle with changing. So if you’re a property management company that’s been around for 20+ years, you should most certainly take pride in that but don’t be too prideful in thinking that your business model is relevant in this social age if it’s not. You may have reservations when thinking about inviting your residents to help shape your brand but on the contrary, consumers that find brands to be more transparent and allow their consumers to contribute feel more in control and are intent on safeguarding the brand’s reputation.
Remember last month when we talked about Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs? This speaks to the basic human desire of belonging and finding meaning.
-Consumers become part of the process
-become stakeholders
-become invested
-residents are retained
Before we get to the next section, I’m going to take a second to share an opportunity for you to win $500. We invite you to share your insights with FRMS by taking this brief survey, and you will be entered for a chance to win $500! We want you to tell us what you think! For more information on FRMS’ diverse marketing solutions, contact DiscoverMore@ForRent.com
Now that we have insight on a clean slate business model, let’s look at some brands that follow this approach…
The brands you see here all share the communality that they’re not perfect. Admitting fault was taboo in the past but today, it not only humanizes a brand, it wins consumers. Nothing wins instant trust and display open operation like a brand that admits to fault openly.
Coca cola is the prototype for almost every brand that aims for time tested longevity yet they’ve repeatedly tweaked and updated their business model to reflect what’s new and relevant. You see here that they ran an Instagram campaign called #Takeittothepark where they used crowd sourcing to generate thousands of photos of Instagram users and Coke advocates sharing images of their favorite park. You wouldn’t have seen something like the even 5 years ago but Coke is a brand that see the value of social media and embraces it.
We all know the spotlight Domino’s had to face after a video went viral. Rather than sticking their head in the sand Domino’s collectively set out on a mission to better their product by way of raw, honest transparency. The slogan ‘oh yes we did’ was and still is a take on the fact that this brand has nothing to hide. Domino’s has not only earned instant trust but urges consumers to give feedback since that’s the only way the brand can know how to improve. Very bold but very successful.
Once instant trust is established, the word of mouse factor really grows. The smart brands are finding ways to leverage that whole idea of open operation by creating places where consumers can share their stories on company powered forums. We’re seeing this happen with the Toyota Camry where Camry owners give nostalgic accounts of how their cars play into their life story. And Southwest is doing the same thing. We’re also seeing companies retweet and comment on tweets and Facebook posts of customers sharing first time experiences.
We always come to the point where you’re thinking, that’s great but what am I going to do with all of the info.
This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to realize that your community is not that much different than these big brands we just mentioned. In any vertical, brands and apartment communities like you thrive when you shift sentiment, build community culture and offer convenience to your residents and prospects.
We all know about the power of ratings and reviews. We’ve all seen the stats that speak to that but what do you do with that information? I hope you’re not sitting their oo-ing and ah-ing like that’s going to fix the problem at your community because it’s not!
You must take action and seize the opportunity to get a three star plus review from your residents! How can you do this? Well, we’ve created a printable pdf of three heavily used review sites in the industry. You simply print and cut them out or send them to your professional printer to be printed on cardstock since these are business card dimensions. Either way, you will have these sitting on your desk in the leasing office so the next time your resident has a great experience, you hand them the card and ask them to share that experience!
Another great example of seizing the opportunity is asking! Noting beats failure like a try! In this example, RAM has invited residents to leave reviews on the new Google page.
Clean slate brands do a great job of finding the sweet spot within two areas…
What you think is important and what interest’s the audience. Finding content that’s relevant to your brand and your audience is a start to building community culture.
You feel like you’re shooting in the dark if your current attempts at engagement aren’t working. This means you must do one very important thing…
You must creep! The best way to get to know your audience to give them fresh, new and relevant content is to observe. Believe it or not, much of marketing, sales and leasing deals with understanding your audience. Observation is vital to creating community culture. It’s so important to know why consumers make the decisions they do.
You can build a one-of-a kind community culture by inserting your community in the conversation. There’s no need to worry about how to start the conversation online because it’s going on all around us. What’s more important is that you connect. The Woodlands at Capital Way stole my little social media loving heart by posting a board with all of their social handles and custom hashtag. This is what I’m talking about. Social media is so powerful but you must make it easy for others to connect with your brand.
Put a face with the name. If you’ve just acquired a property and there’s a completely new leasing team, one of the first things you can do is introduce your team. This is a great way to humanize your brand and make things a little less stiff. These clean headshots are great visuals, it’s all uniform and appealing on the eyes. You can include descriptions and bios and links back to your site to give you that brand exposure. So leasing to maintenance, to corporate to on site. This works for everyone.
Create a sense of community with resident events that are relevant to the demographic living there. The Woodlands at Capital Way saw that there was a large group of females living at the property so they hosted a Girl’s Night Out.
You’re not part of a community if no one knows who you are. What better way to retain residents by giving them a shout out and showing your appreciation?
Be less self-serving and share content that’s relevant to your residents. Décor tips are always a hit and they allow residents to make their apartment space feel like home.
If you’re catching on, a good amount of what I’m sharing is visual content. Users online are more like to engage with brands is the brand posts pictures versus any other type of media.
If you need a jumpstart on being more visual, For Rent Media Solutions™ (FRMS) is making it easier than ever for you to stay on trend with highly visual marketing solutions that fit any budget! Visual currency is the currency of choice for today’s consumers. According to Statisfacts, 53.9% of renters prefer their cell phones as a primary contact method. We interact online more than ever but the opportunity to engage with residents and prospects still remains. With FRMobile’s high impact visual tools, it is the perfect medium for showcasing your community.
By incorporating an engaging diverse mix of visual tools into your 2014 marketing strategy, including print, web, mobile, social, and video, you will maximize your reach and gain new leads.
Let’s finish our discussion by covering ways you can add more time and cost savings to your resident’s living expereience…
Brands that simplify customer decision-making are 115% more likely to be recommended! If you can implement easy ways to make that process simple, just think about all of the traffic you could have come to your site and your property!
In this economy, saving money is paramount. If you can find time in your day to share discounts from local businesses on Facebook, you’d be helping tremendously.
Cross promote with local businesses. Franchises like Pizza Hut or Domino’s love to work with apartment communities because it’s extremely symbiotic. It give exposure to both partners and give an exclusive deal to the purchaser. It’s a win win for everyone.
Speaking of convenience, we’ve just introduced FRMobile’s Text-a-Resident/Text-a-Prospect which is going to add more ease to your marketing strategy. With this, you can attract more renters, keep them excited about your community while helping you outshine your competition. These easy-to-use tools help you amplify your reach to capture more apartment shoppers.
Text-A-Resident/Text-A-Prospect ( or what is also known as TAR/TAP) makes connecting with your residents and prospects easy, giving you the opportunity to keep in touch and share important news with them in real time.
You can be one of the first 100 customers to sign up for a 6 month TAR/TAP Agreement and receive 60 days FREE! Did I get your attention?! Text TARDEMO to 47-368 for more information. Again, if you’re interested in this product, make sure you get in touch with For Rent representative
Considering how much ground we’ve covered today, you can’t leave without some valuable links right?
We’ve tweeted most of these during the session so make sure you go to Twitter to get the links. We will also share these with you now. Use these resources to shift sentiment and create community culture. We also hope to see you in our August sessions!
At this time, I’m happy to take any questions you may have. As question start to come in, we are going to get ready to announce moment you’ve been waiting for!
The winner is…
Congrats and thanks for participating on Twitter. If you would, please DM us your info and eel will get your giftcard in the mail!
Thanks to all of you who are listening. We hope you can take multiple ideas and apply them to your social strategy. And if you want to check out any upcoming webinars feel free to visit the Social Media Training cal as it’s updated monthly.
Make sure you follow and Like us on our social channels, we absolutely love interacting with you! So, on behalf of For Rent Media Solutions, thank you for listening and will see you next month!