Jasmine R. Brooks' Blog

Allow me to start by saying that I do not work for NCI! However, I do believe that their product provides a great foundation for us to be successful in our social media marketing initiatives, if that is your company's goal.

Community Sherpa's blogging helps increase your community's search engine optimization through the use of strategic keywords, Facebook helps keep your residents and prospects engaged, and Twitter allows you to further promote your community while "listening" to conversations of people who may be looking to move. (More on that in my 2012 Marketing Trends post.)

I have come across several Facebook pages (even some of TriBridge's own) that are backed by Community Sherpa but have zero activity! Many community managers are under the impression that Community Sherpa will bring traffic to their social media sites and keep them engaged. Wrong! Sherpa creates blog content, feeds it to Facebook and Twitter, and they may occasionally post a status update or two. The rest is up to us!

So I've decided to share a few ways that you can complement Sherpa's strategy to make social media work for you!

1. Put it on paper!
Promote your blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts in print! Put your accounts on a flyer, brochure or even your letterhead.

2. Put in online!
Make sure that your social media accounts are accessible through your community's website. An icon following your e-mail signature wouldn't hurt either!

3. Speak up!
We are so used to putting things on a flyer and thinking that the residents will get it. Most residents don't read! I am sure that you have residents coming in every day to pick up packages, submit service requests, etc... Don't forget to mention the trivia that you're running on Facebook or the giveaway that's happening on your blog! Word. Of. Mouth. It's powerful, it's memorable.

Now that we've promoted our social media accounts, let's discuss how we get our fans talking. Considering that you've allowed your on-site teams to post content to Facebook and Twitter...

4. Train your employees!
This is SO important! As the marketing manager at TriBridge Residential, I don't have time to manage 30+ Facebook pages. However, I do make time for monthly training webinars in which I teach our employees how the accounts work and how they should respond. (How to communicate online is especially important!)

Sidebar: Sorry for the use of so many exclamation marks. I get excited.

5. Give 'em somethin' to talk about!
Your on-site teams will need some engaging content to post on Facebook and Twitter in order to get their fans talking. Unfortunately, fans don't always pay attention to Sherpa's blog posts. The majority of Sherpa's posts don't receive very many likes and I'm okay with that. Sherpa is just helping us keep the page active so that we stay present in the minds of our fans. So be sure to always keep the page fresh with the latest news in entertainment, sports and even company news and community events!

6. RESPOND!
The only absolute way that you can keep your residents and prospects engaged (other than giving away iPads all the time, but that get's expensive) is to respond! Engage! You've produced great content, great. Now, when a fan leaves a comment, respond! Keep that conversation going and keep them coming back for more!

7. Utilize the appropriate tools...
to make your job easier. HootSuite.com, SocialOomph.com, and Seesmic.com are some of my personal favorites. Schedule posts in advance. Post on several accounts at once. Learn these tools and use them to your advantage.

At the end of the day, whether you use Sherpa or not, these strategies should help with your social media efforts. Try these tips and let me know how it goes!

Over and out. It's Friday. Enjoy your weekend.

Jasmine R. Brooks
jasmineb@tbrs.com
www.tribridgeresidential.com
@jasminerbrooks

*Updated as of 11:06 a.m. on Sept 19, 2011.

Hey there, MFI family!

I've been thinking about marketing trends that our industry should take advantage of in 2012. Here's my list. Please share yours!

1. Video tours - Ever consider filming a prospect tour? When you follow-up with the prospect, be sure to send the video also. You will surely give them the most memorable tour. (Be sure to get permission first!)

2. Community marketing video - I'm not talking about the kind of video that apartment advertisers put together for you. Get creative and put together your own video! It doesn't take a huge budget to create a great video. All you need is a flipcam and iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. (Shout out to the Apple users!)

3. QR Codes - These babies are gaining popularity and you have to know how to use them effectively. Quick reference codes can be used to "unlock" move-in specials or host community contests! 

4. '+1' - Fellow Insider Brent Williams wrote Will the Google +1 Button Amount to Anything? I think it's safe to say that it's time for you to add a +1 share button to your communities' websites! (P.S. If you don't already have Facebook and Twitter share buttons, you'd better get those in a hurry!)

5. Facebook Page - I'm happy to see that many apartment communities are already on Facebook. For those of you who aren't there - what are you waiting on?! This is simply an extension of your community and if you think your residents aren't on Facebook, you better think again. P.S. It's FREE! 

6. Twitter - Okay, okay. I realize that if you haven't put your community on Facebook, you probably aren't think about Twitter. But I have homework for you: Go to twitter.com, type 'looking for apartments' into the search box, press Enter. Come back and tell me what you see.

7. Text Customer Service - Now this is one trend that none of you can deny! Everyone, including your grandmother, is texting these days! It's time we started communicating the same way! We have to speak our renters' language! Think about setting up text leasing, text maintenance, text advertising and even ongoing texting for community events and/or courtesy weather updates.

8. Handwritten Thank You Notes - Yep, I realize this is the exact opposite of #7; however, this is a great way to make a lasting impression in a world where everything has gone digital. It's definitely more personal than e-mail. You can send anyone an e-mail but it takes time and thought to send a handwritten note.

9. Community Application - Better known as an app, you should definitely look into creating one that will allow your residents to pay rent, submit service requests and contact the leasing team right through their phone.

10. Mobile Websites - I just added this one so that I could have a list of 10 items. Your website should already be mobile-optimized by now! :)

11. Live Chat - Internet has bred a generation of people who need that instant gratification. They want what they want, and they want it now! Prospects want their questions answered now! Satisfy their needs by adding a live chat feature to your website!

12. Managing Review Sites - Review sites are another form of social media marketing and, as you know, the results of this type of marketing can either be bad or good. Bill Szczytko (@BSitko) talks about how we can manage ApartmentRatings.com in his post ApartmentRatings.com follow up: 10 tips for managing your ratings. Going into the new year, communities should put more focus on managing reviews on these sites and actually providing responses on both positive and negative reviews. This will really make an impact on any prospect who just happens to be researching your community on a review site.

Alrighty, that's all I can think of for today. I will update as I come up with more ideas.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

Jasmine R. Brooks
Marketing & Social Media Specialist
TriBridge Residential
jasmineb@tbrs.com

I recently went to visit a locator just for the experience. I was curious about the customer's experience and also the sales process. I went in on a busy weekend with a friend and we were paired with a representative immediately. I shared my preferences with the rep who, in return, showed me plenty of options for my new home. Out of hundreds of homes, I quickly picked those that appealed to me and purposely included one of my company's properties - it fit my preferences as well.

(Keep in mind that I had no intentions of choosing one of my properties before visiting the locator. The idea just popped in my head as I was flipping through all of the properies that the rep had given me.)

The rep gave brief explanations about why I would or would not like certain properties that I pointed out. When I put emphasis on interest in my company's property, he told me absolutely not to live there and instead pointed out properties that he though I would enjoy more. Just to give you an idea of my property - it is a fairly new property in a great, developing area of town near plenty of shops and entertainment and it was 99% pre-leased for fall. Sounds like a great property, right? Anyway, I didn't ask too many questions and I didn't give him any clue that I worked in property management so he is completely innocent. I just couldn't believe that he'd said that. I wasn't upset; I was just ... surprised!

I want to hear from you, Insiders. How would you have reacted in this situation? How often do you think locators are telling prospects not to move to your property? How do we make sure that we are getting the most bang for the bucks that we pay to locators? Allow me to also say that I'm not blaming any locators. Although they are responsible for their employees, they can't control everyone's actions.

Thanks for reading.

Jasmine R. Brooks
jasmineb@tribridgeresidential.com