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Social media is always changing, causing many marketers to question the value of investing, whether it’d be time or money, in a consistently moving target. The challenges for many property-level social media managers is not only maintaining a reliable stream of content to their channels, but also keeping afloat with the rapid changes that take place across all platforms. From Facebook updating brand page layouts, Twitter increasing character limits, and Google slowly sunsetting Google+ and launching its new Google Post feature, it can all seem completely overwhelming and time-consuming to already overloaded on-site staff.

So, where is the value for multifamily marketers in managing their a social media presence? As always, the value lies in the numbers. According to Statista, 77 percent of the U.S. population has at least one social media profile. Facebook is still the most popular social media network with 79 percent of Internet users logging onto the site each day, Twitter is a haven for Millennials with 81 percent viewing their account daily, and Instagram is emerging as one of the fastest growing social platforms, boasting a user base of 1 billion— and growing.

Reviewing these numbers, it quickly becomes very clear that numerous social media channels have a wide reach, catering to communities with diverse resident demographics, and are well worth the time of your on-site staff. However, when it comes to what type of content you should you post, a new level of complexity is added. Posting relevant content not only adds value to your social channels for your target audience, but it becomes one of the most powerful SEO tools you can add to your making mix, increasing your visibility in search for both prospects and current residents.

What you need to know to leverage your social channels to their fullest potential:

• Before you implement any type of content marketing strategy, be sure to fully optimize your social media channels. Make sure all of your information (Name, Address, Phone Number, Website Link) is updated and consistent across all platforms. Next, fill out all prompted informational fields to the best of your ability. Finally, add community photos and floor plans with appropriate captions, furthering your Social Media Optimization (SMO) strategy while providing prospects with a snapshot of your community’s lifestyle.
• Use a posting platform that integrates with your community’s website in order to create an effective marketing loop. In other words, all content should originate on your marketing website and feed directly into your social media channels. This content should contain backlinks to your site. In building backlinks as well as additional interior pages on your website, you’ll further establish brand trust with search engines such as Google. Keep in mind that the platform you utilize should have comprehensive analytics to measure all your click-through traffic, allowing you to refine your marketing strategy based on audience response.
• Publish relevant content such as time-sensitive events that speak to all the demographics that your community targets. This way, you continue to build upon pertinent search terms while advocating yourself as a brand ambassador for the neighborhood as well as the local businesses and organizations within it. Examples include festivals, concerts, exhibits, history tours, and other prevalent events taking place in your immediate area.
• Content paired with an image gains more engagement. In fact, studies have shown that colorful visuals increase people's willingness to read a piece of content by 80 percent. Additionally, the average person reads only 20 percent of a website, but they will view every image. With this information in your back pocket, begin exploring free photo sites or consider investing in a paid service with the goal of building a vast image library to appropriately pair with all of your fresh content.

Social media has clearly been a game-changer in the marketing game, and with users across all platforms continuing to grow, it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are now turning to social media to market their products and services. Today, most apartment communities have at least one social media channel in place, but with so many consumers using multiple social media channels every day, a great opportunity to reach a wider online audience exists— if used to its fullest potential.

Need help with your social media strategy? 365 Connect is a leader in providing integrated social media marketing for apartments. Our award-winning content marketing platform creates the ultimate distribution system to convert your social media channels into a true marketing machine.