Tips on How to Leverage Social Media During Social Distancing

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spreading COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic,  we’ve seen businesses and school closings, events being cancelled and in-person contact being limited. As we continue to social distance ourselves, communication, response plans and ideas on how to continue to engage with residents have likely been on your mind or already developed. 

Social distancing might seem intimidating, but we are more connected than ever thanks to social media. Now is the time to take advantage of social media technology and sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Below are some thought-starters on what to communicate to current and prospective residents plus unique ways to keep engaged with residents virtually. 

Communicate transparently and frequently

Make sure all of your social media channels are current and include information about how you're adapting to the current environment. Update your hours of operation and how residents and prospects can get in touch with staff. Be transparent and just state facts. Communicate daily, weekly or as available to address the property’s COVID-19 response, advice, policies and protocols. Include links to FAQ guides or to authorities and external organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The World Health Organization (WHO), Johns Hopkins University, local governments and outbreak maps.

Here are some examples of timely topics and updates to provide:

• Office closures and impacts

• Amenity space closures, adjustments and guidelines 

• Resident events 

• How to handle rents, renewals and other payments 

• Package handling 

• Maintenance requests 

Communicate with empathy

This is a time of much uncertainty, fear, and anxiety for people, some of whom have been personally affected by the Coronavirus or have had loved ones that have. It’s important to be sensitive with the language we choose to use in our marketing and communications. Tweak your copy to be more empathetic to your residents' potential situations.

Consider livestreaming

Use Facebook and Instagram Live to make important announcements and hyper-timely updates.  

Take advantage of virtual and 3D tours

Share links to your Apartments.com listing for prospects to view photos, virtual tours, Matterport 3D tours, floorplans, reviews, neighborhood information, nearby transit and points of information and more.

Leverage digital leasing tools

Leverage your website for appointment scheduling, touring, and online leasing.

Host a virtual open house

Use a chat platform such as FaceTime with the prospect and the leasing agent doing a virtual walk through of the property and unit. 

Use social listening tools

Social listening is an important tactic that helps multifamily property organizations understand sentiment and conversations about their brand. If you have a social listening service like Apartments.com’s Social & Reputation Suite, you can set up keyword terms for mentions of COVID-19 or coronavirus in connection to your property or local community. Our social media comment monitoring features allows you to have a handle on the conversation and participate. You can also use our new Review Insights feature to see top trending keywords found in resident reviews along with the sentiment of those words. Regardless of whether you use Apartments.com, another service, or follow social comments on your own, following comments and trends will help you better serve your community.

Respond to your reviews

Now is a great time to respond to those reviews you’ve been too busy to tackle. You can also encourage residents to leave reviews on your Apartments.com listing and share the positive ones to social media. Google just announced that they are temporarily disabling new reviews, review replies and new Q&A for all businesses until further notice. For Google’s complete Help article on the issue, click here. Yelp also announced a zero-tolerance policy against “any claims in reviews of contracting COVID-19 from a business or its employees, or negative reviews about a business being closed during what would be their regular open hours in normal circumstances”. Any flagged reviews during this time will be manually reviewed by Yelp staff and if they don’t comply with the guidelines they will be removed. These reviews will not be counted against a business’s star rating. For Yelp’s response on this issue, click here. 

Use creative ways to virtually engage with residents

With resident events being cancelled and amenity spaces and non-essential facilities closing, it’s really important to still stay engaged with your residents and check in on them virtually. Here are some ideas on how businesses are using Twitter chats, IGTV, Instagram and Facebook Live, YouTube channels and Facebook groups to stay connected.

Host virtual events

Host a Zoom, GoToMeeting or Google Hangout from the safety of your own home for virtual lunches, happy hours, coffee breaks or fitness sessions. On Twitter, Calibre Brooke Apartments announced an online Yoga class available to their residents.

Have a balcony dance party

On Instagram, Olympus On Main shared a video of their residents enjoying a dance party from their individual apartment balconies. 

Create a virtual Netflix party

Use Netflix Party to watch your favorite show or movie virtually with residents. Or, ask residents to share their favorite binge worthy series or movies. Olympus On Main tied this idea to a drawing to win the “Locked Up at Home Movie Basket” filled with popcorn, wine and other goodies.  

Support local businesses

It’s a great time to support local business. Provide a list of restaurants delivering food or offering curbside takeout. Buy a local restaurant gift card to raffle off to residents. You could even partner with a local chef and see if they would be willing to record a quick cooking video tutorial for an easy to make recipe at home to then share with residents on social media.

Inject a little humor

Ask your resident to share images and stories of kids and pets as new “coworkers”. Encourage residents to share photos of their “Coronavirus Culture” or how they are spending time with pets and family.

Crowdsource recommendations

Ask residents to share suggestions for online books and podcasts. Read a children’s book and share the video to Facebook for kids to enjoy. 

Share helpful tips and activity ideas

Offer tips and tricks on how to stay active inside, fun activities for kids with a small amount of resources or ways to enjoy fresh air while avoiding crowds of people. You could also host a livestream on “How to Work Remotely.” 

In times of uncertainty, social media is the first place that people go to share opinions, follow the news or stay connected. While this uncertain time is going to pose major challenges, it will also offer new digital opportunities. If you have questions about how to pivot your social media strategy during this difficult time, please contact us — we are here to help.