When a property management company calls, usually the only thing they know is that they need help with social media! But, help with what exactly? That’s when the call can become quiet.

“You tell us.” There are so many ways we can help, but we need to clarify the situation, realize the opportunities for improvement, and then establish your priorities.What have you done to-date? If you’ve already gotten started, will we need to work backwards to cover the basics?

Here’s a Top-10 checklist to help prioritize your social media marketing needs when hiring a consultant.

Ask if your consultant/social media manager:

1. Provides guidelines for policies, work in conjunction with the legal and HR departments to finalize and distribute mandatory employee policies.
2. Creates processes for monitoring all pages and activity from a management-level, including a crisis strategy and procedure.
3. Provides training for different levels of activity. For example, all employees need basic social networking training (privacy, security) but those managing the individual community pages need specialized, hands-on training.
4. Develops a comprehensive evaluation of online presences and lists opportunities for improvement (email, website, social networks).
5. Creates basic corporate social media strategies and develops individual social media strategies depending on the needs of each community.
6. Determines measurable goals, tools and tactics.
7. Creates sample and actual content calendars for posting.
8. Brainstorms for creative marketing initiatives to spread the word about the pages online and to reward participating community members.
9. Provides high-level management and consistently branded Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc.
10. Shares ideas for integration of social strategy throughout marketing initiatives.

Some of these tasks are more easily done by a consultant and some are best done in-house. There are advantages to hiring a consultant – time/availability and experience are the best reasons. Determine which priorities need to come first and hire appropriately. Consultants can work within your budget, based on your priorities, and point you in the right direction!

Image Credit: Woodleywonderworks

Top 10 Social Media Priorities for Apartment Marketers originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on January 30, 2012.

Don't get stuck in a social media rut

Disruption vs. Innovation

In Poke The Box, Seth Godin says, “The only thing missing is your ability to provoke, instigate and discover.”

Well, I have a question for you all: Are you willing to invest the time it takes to discover new opportunities, instigate new ideas, and provoke change? I know, it seems as if some of us have had this conversation before - three years ago.

How does this (recent) blog comment make you feel?  Do you agree? Disagree?

“…better to spend the limited amount of time to marketing and leasing on tools that are 100% up and running. We need to remind ourselves that new technology and platforms are disruptive and disruption can be a groundswell for great outcomes, but more than likely tends to just be disruptive.”

The first thing I thought was that I know plenty of individuals within property management that STILL believe Facebook is a disruption and that it will not lead to any leases or renewals. That belief is rooted in fear – fear of change, fear of disruption, still holding out for the 100% proof. Our friends at RentMineOnline have proven that Facebook DOES work for referrals and leases. Ed knew it would work, even when most of our industry couldn’t believe it!

Innovation leads to disruption, disruption leads to evolution.

“Innovation is not an event, it is a process.” – Guy Kawasaki

The process of innovation is disruptive – especially to those unwilling or unable to invest their time to learn something new. We must ask ourselves if spending a little bit of time to research new ideas, new concepts, innovative technologies and popular programs is worthwhile. I believe that the answer will vary from company to company; but personally speaking, if I am educated in a new tool or process, then that effort is not a waste of my time.

Leaders and early adopters will be the first to fail and the first to succeed. Some people become leaders simply by taking a risk and some require proof. Where do you fit in?

ROI shouldn’t be the ONLY cause for implementing a social media strategy.

Guy Kawasaki has stated that if you wait until everything is perfect, the market may pass you by. Can you afford to wait for perfection? How long is long enough? How much proof do you need? Is it really all about the leases? What about customer service? What about SEO? What about name recognition, PR and branding? Is there any value in having a sense of community?

Case in point: DELL initially focused on customer service when they started using Twitter. They later adapted their strategy to include sharing products and now they have over $6.5 million in sales! DELL isn’t the only company making money from what used to be an unproven new technology. (I realize that comparing DELL and your property management group is apples and oranges, but the concept of trying something new applies to all industries.)

My point is this: Don’t get stuck in a rut – rise above Facebook and try something new. You’ll never know what will work until you try it!

Image Credit: Fit2Play.com

Disruption vs. Innovation in Apartment Marketing originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on January 9, 2012.

Happy New Year! As I was cleaning out my inbox this past weekend, I came across a few great ideas worth sharing! So, I’ve combined all of them into this, our first blog post of 2012.

12 Social Media Resolutions for 2012:

1. Post more pictures!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Share pictures with your status updates to increase your Facebook page EdgeRank score. Share more pictures on Pinterest – for fun or link to relavent content for your industry or audience.

2. Participate in the conversation!

No matter what anybody says, don’t ignore the conversations taking place about you or on your social network pages. Make an effort to answer every question within 24 hours. If you ignore those that post on your page, soon they will ignore your page altogether. Besides, it’s simply rude to ignore those who are reaching out to you – even if it is negative or public.

3. Update consistently!

One update on Facebook a day is no longer enough. Make an effort to post at least twice per weekday on Facebook, and reply to one person a day on Twitter. If you’re blogging, try to be consistent for the sake of SEO. (I need to get better at this myself.) Plan your day so that you are spending a few minutes posting consistently to the various social networks and groups that you participate in.

4. Bookmark Dictionary.com!

Spelling and grammar does matter – even on social networking sites. Occasional mistakes happen, especially when posting remotely from mobile devices (damnyouautocorrect.com is full of them) – but if you take just a moment to review your updates before clicking that submit button, you can save yourself and your company from embarrassing and careless mistakes. You and your company lose credibility every time you misspell a word. When in doubt, just use a different word.

5. Clean up the clutter!

From email hoarding to unused apps – from following too many on Twitter to a hard drive full of white papers – we are overloaded and under focused. Go through your RSS feed and eliminate those blogs that you no longer read. (<- This one is a note to self!) Delete those you’re following that haven’t tweeted in over a year.

6. Invest more time on LinkedIn!

Groups and Questions & Answers provide a ton of opportunities to learn, teach and share on a variety of topics. Try to spend a few minutes each day on LinkedIn – alternate between commenting on a group discussion and asking or answering a question. This will help establish your social credibility and build the community.

7. Change all of your passwords!

The beginning of the new year is the perfect time to go through all of your online accounts and change your passwords. Privacy and security are essential – and yet we’re often loathe to make this change. We get into our comfort zones and we don’t want a new password list! However, we need one.  So decide on a couple of new passwords (one for social networks and one for your financial accounts) and start changing them today.

8. Try something new!

Have you created a YouTube channel yet? What about a Pinterest page? Subscribed to a new blog lately? Remember that Facebook isn’t the only place people are sharing online. Ask around, search on Google, look for a new place to learn and share.

9. Read one book that is out of the ordinary for you!

Take some time to change your perspective and give your mind a break. Learn origami or read a new sci-fi book. Open up your imagination and take some time to learn something new. You never know when it will turn into a new blog post or a whole new set of status updates for Facebook!

10. Be personable – be social!

Put down your phone. It’s okay! That message, text, status update or check-in will be there in 10 minutes. Take some time away from technology to reboot your mind and refresh your perspective. As a social media provider, I try to take time away from Facebook and Twitter on the evenings and weekends –  it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed by Thursday!

11. Invest time into a social strategy!

Every company should have goals for using social media. Is it brand awareness? New leases? Renewals? Referrals? Customer engagement? Education? Every update you make online should be targeting the audience with a specific purpose.  As long as you understand that purpose, you won’t be shooting in the dark.

12. Spend some time helping others!

You can be a mentor, a friend, or a thoughtful stranger – just do something that means something! Offer guidance to a new employee or member of your professional community. Share new ideas – even if you disagree with them! Spend some time being kind online in 2012. You won’t regret it!

What do you think?

Is there anything that ‘hits home’ with you or are you focusing on another idea? Please share your thoughts below in the comments.

Apartment Marketing: 12 Social Media Resolutions for 2012 originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on January 2, 2012.

Learn how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube and Google+ for Apartments!

Using Social Media for Apartment Communities (Infographic) originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on December 30, 2011.

Update your page daily

Did you know that your Facebook page content is viewed by less than 10% of your fans? Typically, the updates you post are viewed by 3-7% of your fans. For each consecutive day you update your page, your chance of appearing in the newsfeeds of your fans incrementally increases.

If a fan doesn’t click, comment, or like your posts for a long period of time, there is a good chance they are no longer seeing the content you post. EdgeRank, the Facebook algorithm that determines the visibility of your page updates within news feeds, is a little complicated. Activities that require a higher level of engagement weight heavier in the EdgeRank algorithm.

News Feed Optimization - Using EdgeRank to boost visibility

What post types does EdgeRank look for?

• Questions
• Videos
• Photos
• Links (use long URL’s – not shortened ones)
• Tags
• Updates (keep these short – approximately 80 characters or so)
• Apps

What can we do to get more comments, likes, and shares?

• Ask questions that are polarizing.
  On one page I asked “Had dinner last night and got into a food debate. Who knew there was such a divide over mushrooms? Are you pro or anti-mushroom?” – We received 25 comments!
• Ask questions that are easy to respond to, like fill-in-the-blank.
  “You might work in property management if _____________. (fill-in-the-blank)” – We received 22 comments.
  “You might be a military wife if you ___________” earned us 29 comments and 2 shares.
  “When I move, the firsst thing I clean in my new place is _____________.” received 23 comments, 2 likes, and 1 share.
• “This or that” questions work well too.
  We asked “iPhone, Blackberry or Android?” and received 21 comments.
• Ask for likes.
  “Like this post if you’re working today” earned 18 likes.
• Share moving or funny photos and videos.
  One recent video posted received 40 likes and 12 shares.
• Tag other businesses in your updates to get responses.
  “We’re diggin’ the light show at Villa Pallavicini ”Villa P” in Arizona! Their facebook page is VERY Socially Engaging – go “like” it and see for yourself. Great job Liz!” Liz responded with a like, a comment, and a wall post that tagged us from their page “Thanks to Socially Engaged Marketing for letting everyone see the “light” this holiday season!! Check out their page for all the best in Social Media and Marketing.”
• Ask poll questions.
  Poll:”What is your favorite Holiday movie?” received 13 votes.
• Follow-up to answers – creating conversation:
  When someone replies to your question or update, you can now tag them in response. To tag, simply type @ and start typing the person’s name you wish to tag. The key to business pages is that the person has to comment on a post before you can tag them in response. This is great for following up, starting conversation, and getting more visibility in the Tickers of the friends of your fans.
• Ask questions that you can follow-up with a blog post sharing everyone’s responses.
• Post frequently – 1-3 times a day Monday – Friday
  BUT only if they are funny, entertaining, or interesting – boring posts will kill your engagement.
• Test out different times to post. 
  My clients get the best responses to posts I make approximately 8am, 12pm, and 3pm EST.
• Post to Facebook manually for best results.
  Although Facebook has stated that they are no longer docking EdeRank scores for third party apps like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, etc., my experience shows higher engagement with posts made manually to Facebook.

What to do if your page has fans but the responses have dwindled?

• Sponsored stories or Ads may help boost connectivity
• Tag friends in comments requesting their response “Hey Amy, what do you think about this?”
• Post photos and videos – ask for tags
• Take it offline: Ask everyone that visits your office to “like” your page, comment on an update, and share updates with their friends

How To Get More Facebook Comments, Likes and Shares originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on December 30, 2011.

My apartment industry friend, Leigh Curry from Curry Conduit Services, Inc., posted this on Facebook this morning:

What would you have done if this were your community Facebook page?

Here’s what others had to say:

And now, this is what I would’ve advised, had the community been my client:

1. Thank the resident for their feedback and award he/she with the prize – they did win, after all!
2. Have the resident schedule a visit to the office and discuss their list of concerns – be calm, laugh it off if the situation warrants it, and be understanding.
3. Make all possible improvements – give a deadline for construction, see if you can start construction work at 8 am, fix the elevators, and provide window coverings if available or recommend reasonably priced window covering options.
4. Ask that the resident follow up on the update with positive comments once the issues were resolved to their satisfaction Perhaps something like “Thanks for fixing all of those issues!” and ask them to state why they love living at the community (only if they really do once these issues are fixed.)
5. Prepare a procedure for responding to future negative commentary.

On one of my favorite t.v. shows, the star always says ”Never ask a question that you don’t already know the answer to.” The same can be said for your Facebook status updates! The moral of the story is to A. ask easy-to-answer questions and B. respond politely and professionally to negative commentary online.

What would you do differently?

Stay tuned for Monday’s upcoming post for ideas on what to post on your community Facebook page: “How To Get More Facebook Comments, Likes and Shares.”

How Would You Handle This Facebook Disaster? originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on December 28, 2011.

Kicking Flickr to the curb and jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon is all the rage right now! But why? How can we use Pinterest to market our businesses and properties online?

Weidner has 23 boards and 406 pins - from generic to hyper-local

Let’s start with the basics of Pinterest

Pinterest has grown from 1.2 million users in August to over 4 million users in December of 2011!

When you “pin” something it shares the image and link to the original location online. Pinboards are a collection of related images, similar to tags. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll need an invite. Leave a comment below and I’ll send you an invite.

Why is Pinterest so GREAT?

Pinterest automatically links back to the page of the original piece of content. Building links is a fantastic way to improve SEO. Marketers are embedding links of local businesses into their descriptions and comments to drive traffic.  You can also upload your own images to Pinterest by clicking the Add+ link at the top of your Pinterest account.

How do we get started using Pinterest?

1. After you’ve set up an account, download the Pin It button to your bookmarks
2. Create a few boards to start pinning images and videos (see ideas below)
3. Browse the web looking for interesting images that relate to your business, customers, and employees
4. Check out other relavent pinboards by searching Pinterest and repin content from other people and businesses
5. Share your pins on your company Facebook and Twitter pages
6. Invite more friends to Pinterest and encourage them to follow your company
7. Remember to comment back when someone comments on your pins
8. Add links to your website within the comments and descriptions
9. Download the iPhone app for pinning on-the-go in your local community
10. Don’t just share information about your community. Remember to share relevant information about your local area.

Here are a few interesting multifamily accounts to follow:

• Carly White from BakeExtraCookies.com
• Michelle Fording from Atlantic|Pacific Companies
• Lisa Trosien, the Apartment Expert
• EnVision Apartments are just getting started
• Weidner Apartment Homes has a ton of fantastic boards to follow
• .. and don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest!

Consider these 10 pinboard ideas for your company Pinterest page:

How to Use Pinterest for Property Management originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on December 27, 2011.

Google+ has recently introduced the ability to add multiple admins to your Google+ Pages (up to 50). This is particularly helpful for agencies or marketing departments managing multiple pages.

Step 1: Login to your Google+ account and select the business page from the drop-down under your name.

Step 2: Click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the business page and click on the Google+ settings link.

You will be taken to the general settings tab for your business page.

Step 3. Click the “Managers” link under the profile image to access the manager invitation screen.

Step 4. Input the email addresses of the individuals that you would like to provide admin access.

In the event that the new administrator has not already signed up for Google+, they will receive an invitation.

Bonus: Google has also made it possible to transfer ownership of business/brand pages.

Each page may have up to 90 managers, but only one person can technically “own” a page. The only tasks that managers cannot do are delete the page or transfer ownership. If your business page isn’t “owned” by the right person, now is the time to make that change.

Do you have a Google+ account? If you haven’t connected on Google+ yet, please circle us!

Add Managers to Your Google+ Business Page in 4 Easy Steps originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on December 22, 2011.

Thank you to all of our Facebook fans, our friends, and our customers for helping us achieve this very special milestone! We have a ton of great things coming up in 2012 – stick around and have some fun with us!

Socially Engaged Marketing’s 1st Year In Business originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on December 8, 2011.

LinkedIn is in the process of making company pages more valuable, from analytics to recommendations and content sharing. LinkedIn is rapidly positioning itself to be the next network for businesses to reach their clients and prospective employees. I’ve taken some time to update our Socially Engaged Marketing LinkedIn presence and thought I’d share our page as an example.

Not many companies are maximizing the opportunities on LinkedIn, let’s go over a few ways your company can leverage the new opportunities for your business:

1. Share Content

Share relevant industry content just as you would on your Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and Google Plus pages.

2. Add Products and Services

Anything and everything can be included here, be creative! Don’t forget to share links and promotions.

3. Request Recommendations

Testimonials provide an opportunity to demonstrate third-party validation and build credibility. Request recommendations from previous and current customers, colleagues and industry peers, vendors and event partners and even employees!

4. Add Images and Videos to Services

Brand your page and make it more engaging. I haven’t updated our page with a video yet, that is a next step for us. While you’re here, target varying audiences based on their profile content.

If you haven’t created a LinkedIn page for your company yet, Inc. Magazine offers a quick “how-to.” While you’re on LinkedIn today, please give us a quick follow!

4 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Company Page originally appeared on Socially Engaged Marketing on November 19, 2011.