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Home Insider Blogs Jasmine R. Brooks's Blog How to Make The Most of Community Sherpa
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Jan 20
2012

How to Make The Most of Community Sherpa

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Posted by: Jasmine R. Brooks on Jan 20, 2012 13:15

Tagged in: Untagged 

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


Comments (4)Add Comment
68
written by Eric Brown, January 20, 2012
Hey Jasmine,
NCI was a client and I was a paid consultant to represent them in the first couple of years when they first launched the Community Sherpa product. Although I no longer work for NCI, the product that Dan MCcarrty designed was unparalleled in the industry, bar none.

Your assessment of the service is Spot On, and You could be a Community Sherpa commercial, lol. Several years after their launch, NO ONE is doing what they did, Stick with them, and your apartment community will rise in Search Rankings ,If you need any help, reach out, and we well help you.
6368
written by Jasmine R. Brooks, January 20, 2012
Eric,

I joke with my NCI reps all the time that they should pay me for referrals, LOL, but it's because I believe in this product! Though, it's good to know that I've hit the nail on the head here and what's even better is that you, having worked with NCI, are able to back me up.

Thank you.

5745
written by Christy Metz, January 23, 2012
You mentioned some great action items for site level staff in your post, but there’s one thing you didn’t mention: setting goals! If you don’t set goals then you should expect the reaction to your proposed actions to be...well…let’s suffice it to say that for every proposed action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (LOL) But seriously, reactions are the driving force in the success or failure of a social media platform. You should be able to use the reporting you receive from your social media marketing firm to measure your success and set clear goals for exactly which actions your communities need to improve, how much you expect them to improve by, and what timeframe you want to see the improvement. You’ll find that goal setting not only motivates your communities into action, but also helps them prioritize and focus.

Speaking of goals, one goal that only a few are setting and is still fairly new territory to us is social media ROI. I know many of us aren’t measuring social media ROI just yet, but I have to say that I do sleep well knowing that it’s happening here. When you start to think about how many leases or how much retention you need to drive across the portfolio to see social media ROI and you are spending $5,000+ per community per year, it can keep you up at night! We spend a fraction of that with Respage. We get everything the competition advertises, and Respage specializes exclusively in serving the multifamily industry so they “get it” (testimonial pages say a lot about how important your industry is to a service provider). Respage has a posting tool for the communities that gives me countless hours of peace of mind knowing that posts are being audited and edited for spelling, grammar, appropriateness, etc. The personal attention Respage gives our communities, the communication and coordination with me at our corporate office, and their value add approach are worth their weight in gold to me.

Social media is entertainment to most, but for us, it’s a critical piece of our marketing plan. Measure, set goals, and make wise investments that will ensure a return. And now I officially sound like my Dad.
6368
written by Jasmine R. Brooks, January 24, 2012
Thanks, Christy, you are absolutely right. Goal setting should be the first step to ANY plan!

I have not looked into Respage. Thanks for sharing.
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