I know I'm dipping my toes into dangerous waters here, but I think it's time we take a good, hard look at the data surrounding social media and the hype associated with it. I fear I may be taking my life into my hands, but we've got some new data to work with that may start some very valuable conversation - so to me, it's worth the risk!
The industry marketplace is filled with seminars, tutorials, podcasts, chat rooms and articles on how to get the most out of your social media marketing strategy. There is no denying that our culture is embracing social media in a variety of aspects of life, however, the data is currently showing it has not gained enough of a foothold in the rental housing market to be an effective leasing or community-building strategy. Based on data from SatisFacts’ 4th Quarter 2009 Annual Resident Satisfaction Surveys, when asked “When you rented at this community, what sources of information did you use to find out about the community?” only 1.24% of residents identified social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace…and Twitter was not identified by any respondents.
In addition to being promoted as a way to find new prospects, social media/social networking sites are also receiving a lot of attention and focus as a great way to build visibility and community among residents and prospects, the reality is that residents prefer to be contacted by email or cell phone. Respondents to the SatisFacts Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey were not limited to one method of communication, yet social networking sites were preferred by less than 1%.
Let me be very clear. I am not saying that there is absolutely no value to having a social media element to your overall marketing strategy. There are several examples of property management companies who have been successful by creating and implementing a very thoughtful, targeted social media marketing campaign. However, for the vast majority we have to carefully examine the question posed by Sean Carton in his article, A Social Media Strategy Checklist (http://ow.ly/pdd2), “What will we do less of if we’re spending resources on social media?”
The fear is that our leasing teams are spending less time returning current resident calls and emails. Less time on taking detailed service requests. Less time making it easy for a resident to be...a resident, and therefore making it an easier decision for a resident to be romanced by the great move-in deals down the street where they imagine they might receive better service in addition to a better price. Likewise, the more time being spent on social media each day also means less time to follow up with prospective residents as well.
The message? Yes, it’s important to fill those vacancies, but it’s even more critical to maintain the current resident base to ensure cash flow and protect NOI. Before hanging all hopes on social media strategies, take a serious look at what your teams will be doing “less of” if they are doing more social media.