There's something about social media that makes us think of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which basically asserts that you can't really observe something without affecting its behavior. The more attention the multifamily industry pays to websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, the faster the interactions facilitated by these sites seem to evolve. These days, rather than just using a Facebook Page to distribute the same information available on a community website, property managers are interacting with residents and prospects alike.
Engaging residents in social media interactions can have far-reaching effects. Providing timely responses to resident feedback in a public forum reflects the effort your staff puts into customer service and resident satisfaction. For example, an interaction on Facebook may be visible to more than just your Facebook Page fans or residents. Each time a resident posts a comment to your Page, the interaction may be viewed by hundreds of their closest friends. Keep all interactions friendly and professional, you never know how many potential future residents may be watching.
Property Solutions is developing social media tools that will help you post property information to your Facebook Page, and link to social media interfaces from your ProspectPortal website. We would love to hear how you are using social media and what results you're seeing. Click this link http://bit.ly/bb6wbI to participate in a short social media survey . Want to hear what everyone's saying? We'll share results with all participants and post our findings to our Property Solutions blog at http://www.propertysolutions.com/Blog/. Stay tuned!