Is checking your social media one of the first things you do in the morning? Well you’re definitely not alone – currently 42% of the global population use social media, most on a daily basis. This number is growing by 1 billion each day. 67% of businesses are using Facebook as part of their marketing strategy. If your property management team doesn’t then you’re falling behind your competitors.
Compared to other forms of marketing, social media allows agencies to reach a large audience at a lower cost. Social media marketing increases your brand awareness, drives inbound traffic to your site, improves your search engine ranking and delivers measurable results. Studies show the conversion rate for social media is 100% higher compared to outbound marketing.
Simply having a social media account doesn’t necessarily grow your business. Social media is a powerful marketing tool that needs to be used in the right ways to reap the benefits. Here we outline what your marketing team can do to channel the power of social media.
Stand out from your competitors
Property management is a highly fragmented industry; competition is fierce and it is vital for companies to stand out by communicating their value.
1. Client testimonials
Posting positive client reviews is a highly effective method of building trust in your brand. Research indicates that 88% of people use reviews to judge the quality of a business. What is said by a third party tends to be unbiased and genuine compared to traditional “marketing speak”.
2. Celebrate success
Make your milestones as a business known to social users and potential clients. Post about awards you or your company have won, gifts you’ve received from clients, properties you have leased above the asking price and other achievements. This will strengthen the reputation of your business and encourage more people to use your services.
3. Interview thought-leaders
Share insights from thought-leaders within the property management industry. This adds credibility to your social media content. It works in a similar way to celebrity endorsement; your company gains the respect of potential clients by associating it’s brand with influential figures.
4. Run a competition or giveaway
Have you heard of the rule of reciprocation? If you give something away to people they tend to feel obliged to give something in return. Social media competitions that offer prizes are a great way of building relationships with your target audience. They can create lots of ‘hype’ and get shared to friends and family. This all contributes to increasing your brand recognition and expanding your potential client base.
5. Use Facebook Lead Ads
With its 2 billion active users, Facebook is one of the largest repositories of personal data. This makes it the ideal platform for lead generation. Submitting a lead form is as easy as two taps on the phone. The prospect’s contact information is taken from their profile and automatically populated. You can also use Facebook’s Ad Manager to fine-tune your target audience and to generate reports on cost, impressions and clicks.
6. Use Facebook’s geo-targeting
Another great feature of Facebook is its ability to target posts and ads to audiences in a specific location. This is especially useful for property managers who want people in certain geographical areas to see the listings they post. Here is a step to step guide on how to use location-targeting on Facebook.
A picture tells a thousand words
Humans are visual creatures. Half of our brain is dedicated to visual functions and 65% of the population are visual learners. Visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media compared to other types of content.
1. Make it into a video
Video-watching makes up one third of all online activity. Marketers who use video are able to grow revenue 49% faster than those who don’t. Viewers retain 94% of the information in a video compared to just 10% if it in text form. Videos that are up to 2 minutes long receive the highest engagement. If you are posting videos on Facebook make sure it can get the message across even without the sound on.
2. Try 360-degree visuals
Virtual tours are rapidly growing in popularity in real estate marketing and for a good reason. 360-degree photography and video offers the audience an immersive experience in which they can get a more accurate view of the property. Listings that include 360-degree visuals receive four time more inquiries compared to those that don’t.
3. Add in GIFs
These 2-5 second long animations were made for the short attention spans of modern humans. GIFs are a fun addition to your social media mix and show that your company is aware of the latest trends. Unlike a static image, they contain more context and emotion – perfect for conveying short messages.
4. Share an infographic
How do you educate your audience without posting a whole research essay? Infographics make complex information fun, engaging and easy to digest. Good infographics are three times more likely to be shared compared to text-based documents. Make sure that the facts and statistics are relevant and presented logically. Your infographic should contain answers to questions that your target audience are asking.
Connect closely with your prospects and clients
We all know that the ultimate goal of marketing is to get people to like your more than your competitors. Social media offers numerous ways to build relationships with your audience. Here are just a few of the best ones:
1. Ask a question
Asking a question is a simple but effective way to initiate a dialogue with your target audience. This creates a sense of community and increases social media engagement. A good way to start is to base questions around “hot topics” or the latest news and trends within the property management industry. Questions that are easier to answer tend to get the most engagement. You can also create a poll or short questionnaire to get a better understanding of what problems your target audience currently face. This will enable you to develop services that better match their needs.
2. Promote your local event
When it comes to building relationships, nothing beats face to face interaction. Local events allow your company to communicate with their audience on a more personal level. They create a memorable experience for your attendees, making it more likely for your company to be chosen over competitors. Social media has a huge part to play in promoting local events – create event-specific hashtags and include them in all images, marketing collateral and email signatures well in advance to the event. If it is a recurring event, create highlight reels of previous ones. Let your audience feast their eyes on a video montage or a collection of stunning photos.
3. Build an online community
Client retention is vital to any industry, property managers especially need to focus on building long-term relationships with property owners and tenants. Client loyalty is highly dependent on how educated your clients are on what your company has to offer. Online communities are a valuable source of knowledge and support for them. Through these communities they can gain a better understanding of the industry and your company’s services as well as get answers and advice.
Social media has made it possible to reach more people than ever before. As property management companies vie for attention from internet users. Make sure your company is using a killer social media strategy as your secret weapon.
What will you discover next?
