Building your brand on social media is a strategy that has become more and more relevant over the years. Social media allows you and your company to connect with everyone, from your tenants to contractors to other property managers. Using social media can also give you a massive boost in filling your rental vacancies.
Share Available Units
One of the biggest benefits of social media advertising is the number of people you are able to reach with your posts. When you post about your available units, your followers are able to see it and potentially their friends as well. Many social media sites also allow you to post multiple pictures, which is incredibly helpful. However, some sites only allow certain numbers of photos per post, like Instagram with a limit of ten. In these cases, choose the best pictures that showcase your unit, and you would typically only use one photo per room.
Build Interest While Renovating
When making updates to your rentals, keep people in the loop via social media. Posting videos and photos of your projects ensures attention-grabbing and engaging content, and your followers will enjoy seeing you make progress. Keeping your followers engaged will also build interest in the units that you are building or renovating. Once you finish the project, you can end up with potential tenants that are eager to move in.
Mention Amenities
If you are actively trying to boost people’s interest in your units, posting about the amenities you offer can be a great way to do so. If you host resident events that utilize these amenities, like a resident pool party, for example, be sure to highlight the fun activities as well. To best connect with potential tenants, post about your amenities that are the most important to your target audience.
These amenities can vary by region, but common amenities that all renters look for are in-unit washers and dryers, storage space, and some form of outdoor space. Your posts about these amenities look however you want them to, so let your personality show! Take advantage of bright background colors and emojis that will make your posts stand out. Keep the text short and sweet, but provide a link to somewhere they can get more information, like a rental listing.
Give Contact Information
Providing a way to reach you on your social media profiles is also a good way to keep in contact with potential tenants. Facebook offers options on its business pages for listing phone numbers, emails, etc. Business owners who use Instagram often include a business email in their ‘bio’ so that people can contact them easily. List your contact information strategically. If people see something that they like, how do you want them to contact you? This method should be the first option that they see to be able to get a hold of you.
Highlight Your Employees and Tenants
Social media can be a great way to help your tenants to get to know your employees, and also show your appreciation for them. There are many ways that you can highlight your employees on social media. You can post about them on their birthdays or work anniversaries, with some basic information and fun facts about them. Showcasing your employees helps them to feel more appreciated and makes your brand feel more accessible.
Acknowledging your tenants on social media helps make them feel appreciated, boosts engagement with your brand, and builds their relationship with your company. You can share a new tenant that has moved in, posting a photo of them in their new home. You can also make posts for tenants’ birthdays or other milestones. Be sure to get your tenant’s permission before sharing photos of them or posting about them on social media.
Connect to Millenials and Gen Z
The two generations of renters that social media is going to connect the most to are millennials and Gen Z. Millennials make up the current generation of renters but are moving toward buying their own homes, leaving Gen Z to take their place. As such, you want to try to tailor your posts to these generations in particular. Highlight any aspects of your units that are smart or environmentally friendly. Because these generations are more connected to social media, they tend to use social media outlets to hear the experiences of their friends and loved ones, and make their decisions from that. Using sites that are mobile-friendly is a strong point in your favor, as you may get passed over if someone else has an ad that is formatted properly.
Taking Advantage of Social Media Ads
Many social media sites have the option for you to pay them in exchange for advertisement. These ads allow you to get your message in front of a larger audience. But these ads aren’t for everyone, and you should consider a few things before diving in.
- Do you need a way to lessen the hassle for tenants? If so, many ads on social media sites will allow people viewing it to go directly to your site, and from there, get in touch with you. Some, like Facebook, even have a link for them to send you a message directly from the ad listing.
- Are you trying to grow your business? If this is the case, and you want to expand into managing more rental properties, then social media ads are a good way to bring attention to your brand. This way, people will be aware of you, and be eager to be a part of anything new you display.
- Do you have an odd rental calendar? This can be especially applicable in college towns, where rental showings happen before the leases start in order to accommodate those with academic schedules. Social media ads can target your likely audience and remind them to schedule these showings.
