Adapt Your Social Media Strategy for a Post-Pandemic Renter

Adapt Your Social Media Strategy for a Post Pandemic Renter

Recap by Paul Bergeron

A sense of community, local neighborhood partnerships, work-from-home accommodations, touchless service, and resident convenience are the top factors resonating with renters and will continue to be so as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apartment marketers are relying on their social media channels more than ever before to promote such resident ideals while also improving search results and traffic from their online listings.

Erica Byrum, Apartments.com Assistant Vice President of Social Media, shared examples of such practices and offered strategy to optimize it during her recent webinar “Adapt Your Social Media Strategy for a Post Pandemic Renter.”

Byrum said that by sprinkling in content (such as images or videos) that highlights these resident preferences, a community may optimize those channels and improve search queries by helping prospects find you during their search.

“Social media exploded during the pandemic, and this will continue as we come out of it,” she said. Recent studies show that the average consumer spends one hour more per day in their social media accounts than they did pre-pandemic, bringing total use to about two hours and 25 minutes per day.

“Who doesn’t scroll their phones before they go to bed and when they first wake up?” Byrum asked.

Work-from-apartment living

Renters are simply spending more time at home these days given the spike in work-from-home options. Apartment marketers can take advantage of that by highlighting the ways an apartment can be used as an office.

“So many people can live anywhere they want to do their jobs,” Byrum said. “Finding an apartment that enables this is desirable.”

She said there’s also been a strong move to find outdoor spaces as part of renters’ living space. “You need to look to how you can provide this space,” she said. “Buildings spent the past year creating these open-air areas to accommodate public space restrictions. They were popular, and more will become permanent structures.”

“Pets are more important than ever,” she said. There’s been a spike in adoptions since early 2020 as people sought companionship. Apartments.com is seeing a 50 percent increase in “pet friendly” as a search term.

Byrum said more people (as many as 75%) are choosing to work out from home. “So even though people are starting to return to local gyms, we’re seeing more people relying on things such as Peloton machines and in-home equipment.”

The ideal content/promo mix

Byrum recommends an 80-20 split on content topics, with 80 percent going to lifestyle and 20 percent to promotion.

For lifestyle, focus on things such as apartment DIY projects, crafts, recipes, self-care tips, home décor, health and fitness, and organizational tips.

Use a content calendar to track holidays and milestones. Time-block part of your day just for writing content and for crowdsourcing images. Follow other brands in other industries for inspiration and ideation, such as travel and real estate. Tap into local influencers to learn more about what is trending.

She said the online tool Canva helps to improve the look of graphics. Canva has images that are designed to fit prescribed dimensions for social media placement.

“When it comes to posting frequency, my feeling is that more is better,” she said. “Post daily or at least multiple times per week, based on your staff size and resources. Consistency in timing is key so your followers can see that you are showing up on a regular basis; giving them reasons to keep coming back.”

She recommended using Lightroom presets. “And when shooting on your own, I recommend doing so with your lights off and rely on natural lighting to better enhance the images,” she said. “The Unfold app can help to dress up IG stories.”

How convenient

Aside from residents’ interests, marketers can appeal to how the community is making their hectic lives easier.

“Consumers are craving convenience such as concierge services these days,” Byrum said. “Help to streamline your residents’ chores by offering things such as grocery delivery service, like Shipt, and home chores service company Spruce.”

Consumers are also demanding touchless service. “‘Smart’ interiors are becoming more common as an apartment home is now the central hub to all digital connectivity and visualization tools,” she said. “Play these up in your marketing. The acceleration in smart locks, package pickups and self-scheduling services are all ‘touchless,’ and a recent survey showed that 87 percent of consumers want to be offered touchless options.”

Neighborhood highlights stand out

Bring your property to life by highlighting your neighborhood. Showcase a sense of home with examples of how your community and neighborhood work together. “If your community’s neighborhood is missing something like a trendy service or amenity, find a way to incorporate it so that your community stands out,” she said.

Keep it local. Partner with restaurants or retailers in your neighborhood. “This will resonate with your residents,” Byrum said.

Online reputation matters

“Online reputation is taking on greater importance post-pandemic,” Byrum said. “It’s your virtual curb appeal and must be paid attention. What is your star rating? If they move in, can they trust you? They will read your reviews to compare you to others.”

“Comments that residents share about your community influence the next person who comes to your site,” she said. “If your reputation is poor, you just lost a prospect to a competitor. And your advertising budget is wasted.”

The Apartments.com Social and Reputation Suite can help communities get the most out of their social media and reputation management. Email socialsupport@costar.com to learn more.