With its 600 million users and average daily session time of 25 minutes, Facebook provides an exceptional opportunity for visibility, Google indexing, live search ability, and fan engagement.

But, if you build it, will they come? And if they come, will they stay and engage?

Be Interesting

Keep your audience engaged and offer something of value. When fans “like” a certain brand’s page they need to be provided with content or activities to keep them active on the page. In order to keep your page “alive” it is important to launch something interactive daily.

Here are some interesting and creative ways to engage and interact with your residents:

One of the more unique aspects of this year’s Future Midwest Conference was Funded by Night.  The basic premise was to have startup companies compete in a business pitch competition for the chance to win an investment of $100,000 from Detroit Venture Partners.  25 companies competed for the prize in Shed 5 of Detroit’s Eastern Market.

The ideas ranged from a simplified inventory management system for small restaurants to a high school sports channel run by student journalists.  Winning the competition was a company called Gumshoe that gives a geo-location angle to a mystery game.  Think Clue with a live Foursquare element.

Historically apartment communities have had a policy to ignore reviews in regards to online reputation management (ORM).   However, it is important to take the opportunity to listen— and even respond— to what residents are saying online because the conversation is happening whether you choose to participate or not.

What is ORM?

For so long IT and Marketing have lived in separate worlds. We've always eaten lunch at separate tables, watched different TV shows, and lived in different neighborhoods. Marketing's goal is to deal with people, get customers fired up about the product and brand, and drive leads. IT's goal is to make sure the systems that everyone relies on are working. Before we talk about success or marriage, what are some things these two worlds need to understand about themselves first?

To be effective, Marketers need to understand technology. Technology today is no longer optional. We've transitioned ourselves from pages and print to RSS feeds and websites. We gobble up new technology by the boatload. How does Mobile change the internet landscape and get me leads? How does SEO work for my business? All of these new ideas are Marketing functions but are driven by Technology. You can't have one without the other... not anymore.

IT people need to understand the business they work in. I'll use myself as an example here. When I started for Maryland Management as the IT guy back in 2001 I had no clue about what Multifamily was. I was an experienced Marketing dude with some computer classes under my belt but that wasn't going to help me "fix" their processes. Over the past 9+ years I've spent that time learning as much as I can about what everyone does. I'm no expert (and will never claim to be) but I have a good understanding of things not only from a tech guy standpoint but a Marketing one as well. To be a good IT person you must understand the business you work in, your company, and determine what processes can be helped by using technology.

Property managers running their own companies should prioritize for end of the year tax planning, and keep more money in their pockets by taking advantage of the tax benefits available to them.

Unfortunately, 2010 is the worst year for end of the year tax planning due to the deadlock in Congress and the inability of Congress to act upon tax issues. One of the positive tax law changes affecting property managers and property management companies is the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which provides $12 billion of tax incentives – including bonus depreciation, enhanced expensing, and other relief for small businesses.

Affordable Housing: What is it? How can we, as vendor/ associates, better serve the needs of these managers?

Recently, during a conversation I was having with a new Atlanta Apartment Association member, I was asked what exactly it means when someone refers to a Community as Affordable or Tax-Credit. This individual was under the impression that these properties were essentially low income properties in undesirable neighborhoods with like deferred maintenance issues! I am familiar with many communities which fall into the Affordable Housing category that are newer, attractive A properties in very desirable locations. I hope to shed some light on this important component to our industry.

The difference between these Affordable/ Tax-Credit properties and their Conventional Market-rate competitors is that the developer/ owner of the property will receive a Low Income Tax Credit Benefit to provide housing to those earning below a certain wage. There are many variations of this; some properties may be 80% Affordable Units and 20% Market Units. Some properties may receive Government subsidies for the rent as assistance to its residents.  These communities are heavily regulated by HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) and by DCA (Department of Community Affairs) for their compliance within the legal guideline of the program.

A few days ago I was on the receiving end of some particularly poor customer service. Know the feeling? Yuck! I have such a poor taste in my mouth I may not shop at Macy’s again for a whole month! But seriously, I was reading on MultiFamily Insiders and came across this interesting topic in their archived discussions relating to the Customer Service aptitude of Associates.

The discussion was about the challenges with getting into contact with Owner Managers, beginning conversations and obtaining appointments. An associate felt he had a legitimate service or product to offer and that he was being disrespected by a particular Decision Maker that he was calling on. He did not know this customer. He wasn’t getting a return phone call. From what I could gather, this particular vendor did not seem to have any empathy for the person from whom he was attempting to gain business. It is Associates such as these that telephone every single day, refuse to take no for an answer, etc. that send Owner Manager’s seeking cover. You may not catch the Owner Manager today, next week or next month but if you do not operate with a Customer Service Aptitude you will never earn their business.

I love what Jen Piccotti, an industry colleague on the west coast, had to say on the topic! “I guess it comes down to this - we can't control those around us, we can only control ourselves and our own interactions. I choose to approach decision makers, and everyone else I run into, with respect. Respect for their intelligence, their time, and their needs/wants. If I can offer something that may benefit them, then great. If not, at least we can be on friendly terms, and they don't have to feel the need to flee.”

Everyone seems to be experimenting with social media in some way, shape or form these days (regardless of whether you think it's working or not). But one thing that many people seem to struggle with is how to manage their brand's presence across so many different platforms.

After Jonathan Saar from the Training Factor posted their own case study sharing their successes with social media, we asked him to join us on last week's #AptChat for a discussion on the topic. As it turns out (really no surprise here), you all have great ideas and examples to share. Here are the highlights from the chat:

How do you manage the time commitment? It seems to be HUGE time sucker in our office.

• David Kotowski: If you get into the habit of checking in it becomes routine and doesn't take up much time.
• Jonathan Saar: Time and discipline go hand in hand. There must be a routine or else you are lost.
• Kim Cory: I set time aside each day just like I would reviewing reports, statements, plans, emails, etc. must make effort.
• Mike Whaling: Focus your efforts. You don't need to be on every site.
• David Kotowski: Let's face it. Your employees are ALREADY checking their personal accts and sending texts during the day. Get them involved.
• Mike Whaling: Set routines based on goals. 1 routine for monitoring sites, 1 for creating content, etc.
• Jonathan Saar: Make sure you give yourself an "off" time -- that comes from my wife :)
• Erica Campbell: Use Web analytics 2 determine what sites r converting best 4 u. Look @ referring sources of traffic & inbound links.
• Mike Whaling: Take the time to set up alerts, feeds, etc. It makes the process much easier once you get into it.
• Erica Campbell: Use RSS & automation properly & u can have some big wins w/ time. Also, believe it or not policies & procedures save time.

What social media tools do you find to be the best for managing your presence?

• David Kotowski: Google Alerts is tha jam! Whenever our name is mentioned I find out automatically through an RSS feed to Outlook.
• Sam Gainous: For our company it is Facebook along with a bit of Twitter.
• Mike Whaling: Try HootSuite or Postling. Multiple users can manage multiple sites ... all browser-based, so no downloads.
• Matt Hendrick: Twitterfeed is a good tool to automate RSS content, but use wisely (& sparingly) - & only from blogs whose content u count on.
• Sam Gainous: I use TweetDeck and HootSuite and prfer TweetDeck for monitoring our "brand"
• Ryan VanDenabeele: Our blog and facebook seem to create the best results. By results I mean traffice/leads/questions.
• Erica Campbell: Twitter doesn't even deliver a noteworthy amount of guest cards but FB does so we spend more time there & YouTube.
• David Kotowski: I recently started using @SproutSocial. I can track FB Fan Pages, Yelp reviews, and Foursquare checkins in one place.
• Mike Whaling: Most important tool for managing your presence: A smartphone. Preferably one that allows you to download apps.

What are the "top three" social sites I need to be on for my property? (And why?)

• Mike Whaling: #1 site is always your own.
• Elysa Rice: Sites properties should be on: Facebook & Yelp; should at least be monitoring Twitter & Foursquare.
• Jonathan Saar: 1- Facebook 2- Foursquare 3- Twitter
• Meredith Mobley: I think this answer will vary depending on your audience.
• Kim Cory: I believe it is all about where your audience is hanging out. Know your customers & where they are.
• Gillian Luce: Think Facebook is a safe bet 4 most demographics!
• Mike Whaling: Collect emails. Plug them into a tool like Flowtown. That will give you a good starting point.
• Rosa Green: We use mainly FB, some twitter, just starting Foursquare & Youtube. FB by far the most interaction!
• David Kotowski: Whatever 3 sites are most popular with your residents. Ask them.
• Erica Campbell: FB (clean interface, comes w analytics, no brainer), YouTube (Google Juice & analytics) & have a blog (links, traffic).
• Mike Whaling: Check out other local blogs. Start following them & leaving relevant comments. Get involved.
• Heather Kattelman: From our exp, FB generates the most interaction w/ pros/res - leasing & res retention

How do I create content that doesn't s*ck? A lot of what I see out there is lousy. I want mine to be the best.

• Frederic Guitton: The OODA loop (for observe, orient, decide, and act) This is what web analytics, SM and all marketing is all about.
• Jonathan Saar: Start with google alerts folks.
• Sarah Cooley: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! you won't know what's good until you get out there, start creating content and see the response.
• Ryan VanDenabeele: We create content that is a value to our residents. Put yourself in their shoes. What do they like. If you don't know. Ask.
• Christian Flickinger: If you talk to me and sound like a salesman, a big douche, or a robot - you've lost my attention.
• Matt Hendrick: Decide if the "contrarian" route is for you - it can sometimes provoke more discussion than simply playing it safe.
• Mike Whaling: Check local trends on Twitter. See what's popular now, then share your own spin on those topics.
• Erica Campbell: Mix it up & get outside writers every once in while like mommy bloggers, consumers, partners etc gives new perspective.
• Resite Online: When it comes to SM content its really trial and error. Keep trying until you find topics that people react to.
• Erica Campbell: Also look in ur analytics 4 top referring keywords for suggestions and ideas.
• Mike Whaling: Comment on other local blogs, share them w/ your audience, then write a post on the topic w/ your own viewpoint.
• Heather Kattelman: We do Weekly FB Plans to help with ensuring creative & interactive content is posted on the pages.
• Rosa Green: We partner with local businesses for giveways/prizes, residents love it and its FREE!
• Ryan VanDenabeele: Humor is good. It shows people that a real person is behind the message.

How can I delegate this effectively? How can I train my staff to do this so I can focus on managing the property?

• Elysa Rice: Use a service like CoTweet or Hootsuite that allows for collaboration of team members.
• Sam Gainous: Assign staff writing assignments, get them to research for new relevant content that can B used on all your SM outlets.
• Kim Cory: Why not get them involved w/u in the 1st place. Give them freedom 2 explore & show interest & encourage them.
• Erica Campbell: Turn to the industry 4 assistance w training. Create modules, checklists & documents that can be used even w/ turnover.
• Eric Brown: Why would we ever think that apt site staff are writers, they could be, but not typical.
• Sondrah Laden: Maintain a policy on communication - avoid FH issues. HUD is watching SM.
• Heather Kattelman: Got 2B careful here - U can only give this 2 some1 that WANTS 2B the Social Voice otherwise it be really bad.
• Jonathan Saar: Make sure SM does not become the marketing teams responsibility ... collaborate.
• Gillian Luce: Gotta have someone u trust 2 speak on behalf of the brand! Someone who can interact w/the audience & is easy 2 relate 2!
• Jonathan Saar: Social media can help connect your depts and make that internal culture grow.
• Mike Whaling: Make sure you measuring the right things. If resident retention is the goal, then don't measure by # of new leases.

Good quotes and tips along the way:

• Jonathan Saar: Social media has been the main direction TTF has been using to connect with its customers and reach out to new ones.
• Matt Hendrick: Don't try to be everything to everyone. Find your audience and target them accordingly.
• Jonathan Saar: Avoid syndicating the same content across your channels (this is not a time saver)
• Mike Whaling: Focus less on the tool. Focus more on doing things that get people talking. The content will follow.

So what did we miss? What would you add? If you're struggling to find success with social media, where are you having the most trouble? If you're finding success, what tips or examples can you share with the rest of us? Thanks again to everyone who joined us for the discussion, especially Jonathan!

Litmus Test - Ric Campo, CEO of Camden, national REIT based in Houston, BELIEVES in litmus tests.

Camden is awaiting waves and raves. Multifamily Executives are asking for it. They're sticking their toes into the water...they just want Reviews and Communication through Social Media done RIGHT. They are seeking new ways to bridge the Consumer & Community Gap.

"Rented on of our apts recently? If so, let other renters know how you like it by rating it at http:..."