Chad Miller's Blog

As things slow down for the holidays I find myself asking if the apartment industry is a good one to be working in. We all find ourselves asking a similar question from time to time. I found one answer and thought I'd pass it along.

Short Answer: Yes - The Apartment Industry is a good place to be working.

The Slightly Longer Answer: Current US population is 308 million with an estimated population of 341 million in 2020 (http://www.census.gov). According to Harry Terris of American Banker there is a predicted 5.7% decrease (from 69.2% to 63.5%) in home ownership by 2020 (http://tinyurl.com/yjl3d6t). That puts today's non-owning people at 95 million and 2020's non-owners at 124 million people. That means we can expect 29 million new non-homeowners in 2020.

What to think about Social Media (and hopefully we all think before we act) is troubling many apartment management teams. The questions “what is it”, “how does it work”, “how can it help or hurt”, and “should we even do it” are getting passed around. And often clear answers to any of these questions can’t be found. The suggestion “just jump in and get started” may work for early adopters but could mean trouble for an isolated site team.

The reality of Social Media is most apartment managers (who are doing their jobs anyway) have been doing it all along. Only not via the internet. And they were calling it something different. The truth is you should simply think of Social Media as Customer Service, Outreach, and Retention marketing supported by the internet. That is right! The three tasks you’ve always been working on are actually made simpler via tools like Twitter and Facebook.

Good Customer Service, a great Resident Retention program, and a solid network of Outreach partners are all you need to take the next step. A Facebook account will let you post your great Customer Service moments, show off your fun community life (Retention),  and link to and promote local businesses and the great deals you set up with your Outreach partners!

So what can Facebook do for your community? When a prospect comes to visit your community for a tour you establish your professional relationship. Give them your professional brochure, community info, leasing terms, pricing, etc. But if you give them your Facebook address and ask that they connect when they get home-this is your shot to get that personal connection! Ensure your Facebook page has a history of your great resident events with pictures, event flyers both past and in the future, and connections to residents & other great local business. Use your Facebook page to tell who you are as a community. Make it fun and full of info. Connect to all your residents so you can get their newsletter via the internet, inform them of outreach deals, of upcoming parties, and of things going on in your greater neighborhood. If you do it right that prospect will envision a fun life living with you.