How To Use Social Media To Promote Your Rental Property
Most property owners have moved away from traditional advertising campaigns, like print ads, and have started using some form of social media to help drive traffic.
With billions of regular users and dozens of tools and apps at your disposal, you need to implement the right social media strategy for maximum exposure.
Target Your Audience
No matter how good your photos, stories, or videos are, you’re wasting your time if they aren’t getting viewed by potential tenants. A college student most likely won’t be interested in a three-bedroom home any more than a family would shop for a studio apartment. Once you know your demographic, you need to find out where they hang out online. Facebook has become the LinkedIn for aunts and grannies, so your hopes of snagging someone under 30 are minimal. Millennials and Gen Z-ers, on the other hand, have all but abandoned Facebook for Instagram and YouTube.
Implement Varied Strategies
Using different social media platforms with distinct approaches will improve your chances of finding the ideal tenant. Facebook can be effective for stories and news articles that will interest users. For photos, Instagram is king. Social media users are very visual, posting vivid images of your property can attract attention to a broader audience. Using several hashtags will allow users to find you when doing a search. While, interesting videos, like virtual tours or on-site construction clips, would achieve the most success on YouTube.
Post Consistently
How often is too much? Psychologist can’t pinpoint an exact number, but most agree that viewers need to see your ads or post between 7 – 12 times to make an impression. You don’t need to post hourly updates, but once a quarter will be ineffective. Posting at least once a week will keep your properties fresh in the user’s mind without feeling spammy. Experiment with different times and days of the week to hone in on the sweet spot for your posts. Using that information, post consistently to maximize user interaction. People love pics and videos, so use them to highlight special features and upgrades. If you’ve done some recent remodeling, post some before and after shots to grab a user’s attention. The whole idea is to target and engage your audience. Knowing that, your posts don’t always need to about your specific property. Try incorporating tips, humor, infographics, and community news to entertain potential applicants.
Lest You Forget
It is easy to get bogged down and distracted by day-to-day operations and finding the time to effectively promote your property can be difficult. If you’re concerned about neglecting your online marketing campaign, try using a downloadable app or program. Most work across different platforms and offer a freemium package that limits the number of monthly posts. If the needs of your marketing strategy exceed the free tools, you can always upgrade later to one of their premium plans. Apps like Buffer and Hootsuite are simple to use and will take your queues and automatically post at preset times when they are most effective.
Use Paid Ads To Boost Views
Ever Google something and then see an ad on an unrelated page or app? That’s the power of the secret underworld of the internet. BUT, with that kind of capability, you’re able to micro-target your specific audience, one that will be more interested in your property. By specifying demographics like income, education, and location, you can get your message to your intended audience.
Using social media to define your “brand” takes time. The internet bombards people with information, so keeping your posts short and sweet is best. Most people will skip any text longer than a short paragraph. Couple that with the fact that people now have the attention span of slug and scroll aimlessly. You need to catch the user’s attention to get them to engage with your posts. Incorporating the right platform will strengthen your pool of potential tenants.