As a social media marketing strategist, one of the most common questions I receive is “How can I get people to like  our new Facebook page?” (By “like” we mean click the little button that means they’ll receive updates from us in their own feeds.)

I know it’s rude to answer a question with a question, but we need to collect all of the data first. “Who do you want to like your page?”

Silence….  “Huh?”

If you don’t know the audience you’re targeting, how can you inspire them to show their friends they like you?

Let’s take a moment to review why people like pages on Facebook:

*March 2010 Morpace Study

According to a recent Morpace study, people like to support the brands they love and demonstrate that support to their friends. Yeah, we’re talking about WOM (Word of Mouth Marketing). This is important because now it’s even easier to tell your friends, family and the world that you like (or dislike) a brand or product. One little word, like, goes so far today compared to last year.

Coupons and discount offers are another reason people connect with your company online. This leads me to my next question, “Why should I like your Facebook page?”

Basically, if I’m a resident I just want to know if I’m going to get anything out of connecting with my apartment community online. If so, what will I gain?

• Entertaining contests or community news?
• Updates on renovations?
• Specials for renewal or referral?
• Introductions to new leasing agents or maintenance staff?
• To give me a forum to share my thoughts on living at your community?

If YOU don’t know what you have to offer, how will I know if I should connect? Here are a few tips for getting started on Facebook – from a resident’s perspective:

• Have a clear call-to-action. This means take the time to post somewhere on the page what it is you’re offering me. You get one shot to make an impression and I don’t like every page I see. You can place this information on a tab or in the profile box.
• Don’t be a microphone hog. If you’ve locked me out of posting to your wall, you don’t really want to be my friend do you?
• Conversation Avenue is a 2-way street. If you don’t respond to me in a reasonable time frame (admittedly impatient and instant-gratification generation) then I’ll either hammer you with questions/comments until you respond or I’ll “unlike” your page. Wait, I might do both.
• Honesty is STILL the best policy. If I’m grumpy and call you out on Facebook for the trash in my hall, admit there is trash in my hall. Otherwise I’ll just take a picture and post it on Facebook.
• Don’t you know I’m special? Offer specials only for your fans. Many large brands do this for brief periods of time.

Don’t get me wrong, being social with your customers can be fun if you understand who you’re talking to and what they expect from you online. Once you’ve got that down, the rest is similar to answering the phone. If you’re a business that’s serious about building relationships with customers online, the world will know it by how you use Facebook.

Now that you’ve read my post, can you answer this question, “Why should I like YOUR Facebook page?”

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Facebook contests have new rules. But these rules don’t apply to your email marketing initiatives if your promotion is administered outside of the Facebook application.

Above is a snapshot from a recent email sent by Lands’ End. I like that this contest has an expiration date clearly listed, and that current fans are already entered into the contest. But then I went to the Fan page and it was filled with 200K+ active and loyal fans, compliments, complaints, and even customer service responses. Good job Lands’ End! (BTW: I’ve never shopped here before.)

This technique obviously boosted their fan base considerably. What I didn’t see, other than the monetary motivation, is what ‘fanning’ the page will do for me long-term?

When creating your own page, determine what it is that you will be providing to your fans. Are you focused on the short-lived monetary rewards, or the long-term relationship building? If using a promotion, such as this, please don’t forget to include a long-term strategy for continued fan engagement.

Note: I haven’t seen a list of the winners posted on the Fan Page yet… this would be a great way to develop trust.

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I just got off the phone with my friend Kim Cory. We were discussing last weeks #AptChat and the term ‘engagement’ as it relates to social media and our personal definitions of the term. But before I get into the various descriptions offered for the meaning of engagement, let’s see what Dictionary.com has to offer us:

en⋅gage: [en-geyj]

1. to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons): He engaged her in conversation.

3. to attract and hold fast: The novel engaged her attention and interest.

4. to attract or please: His good nature engages everyone.

and just for fun:

5. to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with: Our army engaged the enemy.

#5 happens when opposing views are shared!

Here are a few interesting thoughts on engagement shared during the chat on Friday:

What is ‘Engagement’ to me?

Those were some interesting thoughts from our #AptChat crew! I really liked Jonathan’s description “to me engagement has the tone of genuine interest in a subject”. When Kim Cory and I were speaking this afternoon, we agreed  that being engaged is about the quality of the conversation. It’s more than how many comments your blog post receives, or how many fans you have on your Facebook page. Engagement demonstrates you have a vested INTEREST in the conversation, you’re INVOLVED in the conversation, and you CARE about what is being said and who is saying it.

We all approach our online relationships differently. For example, my connections online usually begin with a professional outreach and I build on that relationship until it becomes personal. For property managers, I see this happening much the same way. At first you’re just connecting with everyone you can to begin establishing your relationships online, then you feed and water the relationship until it grows personal.

What does ‘Engagement’ mean to you?

Please share your thoughts below. Don’t be afraid to comment; there are no right or wrong answers, it’s all a matter of opinion!

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Be Unique, Make Your Ads Stand Out!

How do you appeal to renters without using rent concessions?

How are you writing your apartment community craigslist ad titles? Are you using rent concessions to drive traffic to your property? What if you don’t have any promotions? What content are you posting to your Facebook and Twitter pages? Are you just posting your rental rates and promotions? Did you know that more than half of American adults are attempting to save money?

A new Harris Poll shows interesting statistics regarding ways adults are trying to save money:

• 36% have switched to tap water and refillable bottles instead of bottled water.
• 21% have cancelled or cut back on their cable TV service.
• 20% have stopped buying coffee in the morning.
• 14% have been carpooling or using mass transit.

Let’s face it, not every community can compete with ever-increasing rent promotions and concessions. Sometimes, the rent cannot get ANY lower. How do you differentiate your ads and your content from competitors when the properties are so similar? Try this: if your community offers something of value, highlight that feature in your ads, in your Facebook Page content, and occasionally in your Twitter feed. Please understand: I don’t mean use a long list of amenities. Frankly, that’s boring and exactly what everyone else is doing. Use the statistics above to create ad titles/headlines that are unique for your community.

Below are a few examples of ways you can turn your apartment community features into a call-to-action.

Your community offers-

Free water and trash services.
“Save $50 a month with our FREE water and garbage service!”

Free cable.
“Thinking of canceling cable to save money? If you lived at “XXX Apartments” Cable would be FREE!”

Excellent location.
“There’s no need to carpool to work when you live a block away!”

Free morning coffee to residents.
“Why buy expensive coffee? Get yours free every morning before you head to work, just bring your own cup!”

Free theater room.
“Date nights are expensive! Book our FREE theater room for a cozy night out, just bring your own goodies!”

Fitness center.
“Cancel your expensive gym membership and workout for FREE in our community fitness center!”

Community room (magazines, movies, games, coffee)
“Magazine subscriptions are expensive! Save money and read your favorite magazines for free in our community center!”

Don’t forget to rotate your new headlines, I’m sure there are many other ideas just waiting for you to discover.

How have you used your community features to appeal to potential renters? Please share some of your examples with us!

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"Keep laundry supplies tidy and out of sight with built-in shelves and a curtain that can be pulled across them when the laundry is done."

There are a lot of ways to engage your residents on your apartment Facebook fan page!

There seem to be many questions surrounding what type of information residents would like to read about from their apartment communities. It’s easy, just think of your Facebook fan page as a newsletter! This post is a follow-up to my 6 Tips for Facebook Content.

Here are 4 more ideas for content your residents may be interested in:

1. Update residents on new ideas for space saving, organizing, recipes, D-I-Y decorating, and crafts from Martha Stewart (just don’t forget to give her credit).

2.Beauty & style or money savings tips from makinglifebetter.com.

3.Local and online coupons for products and services.

4.News and local area events.

Do you have any other ideas or great sources for information? Please share your ideas with us!

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Facebook allows users to create lists.

We can place friends and pages on different lists for privacy and organization within your Facebook profile. In the video below, I demonstrate how to create lists and use them to protect your privacy. When ‘friending’ people, you can add them to one or more lists. I recommend lists for family, friends-of-friends, co-workers, potential employers and even grandparents!

If you have any requests, suggestions or recommendations for a how-to video, please submit your request within comments.

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What is your purpose for using Facebook Fan Pages for apartment communities?

Do you know why you’re using a Facebook Fan Page for your community? Is it because an industry professional told you that you should? Or because your competitors are using it?

There is confusion in our industry about the use of social media tools like Facebook. If you don’t know why you’re using Facebook, you should figure it out today. Understanding WHY you are using Facebook is the first step to being successful. Once you have the WHY, you can determine the HOW.

Why is your apartment community using Facebook? Below are 3 great places to start in your search for answers:

1. Mack Collier lists 4 good reasons for using social media tools like Facebook. One of his examples is to provide greater customer service.

This is an excellent reason for creating a Facebook Fan Page for your apartment community! It can also provide you with the opportunity to connect with your residents and incrementally increase your resident retention rates.

2. Jason Falls discusses how good communication takes planning on his blog Social Media Explorer. “You don’t just start Facebook-ing or Twittering. If you do, you won’t get anywhere with them. Why? Because you don’t know where you’re going.”

All too often I see properties using Facebook to promote their next special, and this approach is obviously not working. Broadcasting to your fans will not be an effective use of your time, and you will eventually give up on using Facebook altogether.

3. Amber Naslund, of Altitude Branding,  says “The social media strategy you build will be based on your answers to a pile of smart questions about your business and your tolerance for a new approach.”

This is so true, and sometimes it seems like there are more questions than answers. Why is Facebook a good idea for your apartment community? Is your community using Facebook? Why would your residents want to be your friend or your fan on Facebook? Take this opportunity to find some answers. Once you have the answers, it will be much easier for you to determine how you can use Facebook effectively.

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Stand out and be seen!

I recently read, source respectfully unnamed, “If the purpose is to have a space to talk to your customers and anyone can say anything- is the Facebook fan page the right space? I LOVE removing things and controlling the message.“

Is the purpose of a Facebook page to “talk to your residents”?

Or can a Facebook page be created for residents and employees as a place to socialize and talk with one another? Communication is a 2-way street. Simply broadcasting to your residents will not result in building an online community. There are many examples of how building an online community for your residents can be beneficial, including the Urbane blog, Surfing Nosara, Babcock and Brown Residential, and Studio Green.

There is a popular saying “People connect with people, not brands.” This is a fairly accurate statement, with some exceptions like Coke, Pepsi, The Gap, and Target.

“I LOVE removing things and controlling the message?”

If you follow this advice, your community will not be successful in the use of social media tools. Please see my advice on fan posting guidelines for your community page. By creating guidelines, you are setting the standard of communication as well as protecting your page from discriminatory or inappropriate posts by fans. With that said, please do not remove posts from your page unless it is absolutely necessary. Social media is about community and openly sharing. Removing comments, links, and photos that are relatively harmless will indicate to your fans that you are attempting to control the community and their message.

Control = anti-community.

The need for control is so deeply ingrained in the marketing and PR industries that it is standing between companies and their customers. Control is a WALL between online communities and residents. People will avoid fan pages that remove their messages. It’s like going out to dinner with your friends and not being allowed to talk. Allow your fans to post links, photos, and comments freely if you want your Facebook page to succeed. Social media is about socializing. Don’t feel threatened by the messages your fans leave on your wall, be flattered they showed up for the conversation!

Please feel free to comment, leave links to other posts, or disagree with me!

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There are 3 important things you need to know BEFORE you create a Facebook Fan Page for your apartment community.

Think of your Facebook Fan Page as an online version of your apartment community. Make this space inviting and fun! The following are three things you need to know before you start your Facebook Fan Page.

1. Do NOT set up the Facebook page using a leasing agent profile account.

If you must, create a business profile account. This is because Facebook does not currently allow everyone to transfer ownership of Facebook Fan Pages. If an account is created by a former employee, they will still have administrator access to the Fan Page.

2. Post guidelines on using the shared community space.

Think of this like a user rights and responsibilities agreement. Post it in the notes section, and reference it in your page description box (below your profile image) by writing “Please see our community rights in the notes on this page.”

An example of this guideline note text is below:
“We appreciate the opportunity to share our community Face Book Fan Page with our friends, family, residents, and community. Feel free to share ‘G’ rated material on our page, as we encourage our residents and their families to participate. Please respect the basic rights of other users of our page, including their individual privacy. We reserve the right to block users that violate these basic rights (harassment, foul language, inappropriate photographs or videos posted, phishing of data, and unapproved marketing to our fan list.)

TIP: If you haven’t noticed, you may not use the Enter key in the page description box. However, if you format your short description using a text document first you may copy and paste the text with line breaks into the description box.

3. Once you set up your Facebook Page, let everyone know!

Put out a sign at each entry point to your community. Place a flyer on your bulletin board, in your leasing office, and by the mail kiosk. Encourage leasing agents to remind prospects during tours and include it during the prospect call “If you haven’t seen our property, feel free to check us out online. We also have a Facebook Page and invite you to share your thoughts with us.” Remember to put links to your Facebook Fan Page in your online ads.

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If you do not have a Facebook Fan Page for your community, get one! If you use Facebook correctly, you can improve your resident communications and even acquire prospects! 

Here are 6 content ideas to consider for your community Facebook Fan Page:

1. Post relevant apartment and local community information.

Examples include: “Concert in the park on December 15th!”; “Community Holiday Party on November 30.”; “School registration is next Tuesday.”

2. Share great referral incentives, but please don’t post all of your daily specials.

Over-posting daily specials will drive away residents. If you must display your current specials, create a tab just for community specials.

3. Highlight your employees on your Facebook Page!

Encourage your staff to participate (no admin access) on your Facebook Fan Page. Welcome new employees “Please welcome our newest maintenance technician Larry to our community (include a brief bio and photo).”

4. Praise your residents and your Facebook Fans.

Thank new fans “Thanks for fanning our page (tag name) Micheal. Feel free to share content on our page and please let us know if you need anything!”

5. Address resident issues if they are posted on your account.

DO NOT remove negative posts unless they violate the rights of others or harass employees and/or other residents (see Set-up below for user rights).

5. Post links to articles your residents will appreciate.

Examples include: DIY Decorating Tips, How to save money on vacation, and recipes.

6. Run contests on your Facebook Page.

Ideas for contests include the cutest dog, the cutest cat, the most referrals resulting in tours, or the best Halloween decorations. Get creative! The winner gets an affordable prize. Examples of prizes: Dinner for 2, Movie or concert tickets, Pet grooming certificate, Home decor gift. Please share your contest ideas in the comments field!

Now that you have the basics down, GO FOR IT! Connect with me on Facebook and show me your property page! I’d love to see what you’re up to and even include your property in my upcoming list of successful apartment community pages.

Have you any other ideas to share? Please comment or make suggestions below.