Social media is one of the best and most cost-effective marketing tools available to rental property owners today. In the current financial climate, an increasing number of people under 44 are choosing to rent; coincidentally, the same age group is also most likely to use social media daily. In the digital age, it makes sense to include a social media strategy in your property rental marketing arsenal.
Social media provides your rental property business with exposure outside of your official website. This increased presence adds to your credibility while simultaneously drawing a more significant number of prospective tenants. This helps reduce the time your properties sit empty between tenants. Overall, social media marketing can save you money by decreasing turnover and minimizing marketing costs.
Social Media Marketing Strategies That Can Work for You
While social media marketing is a relatively natural endeavor for many property owners already familiar with the various platforms, it is a bit more involved than merely setting up a business profile and waiting for the magic to happen. What are some features of social media you or your property manager can use to your advantage?
Share Photos of Your Properties
The primary purpose of any online rental listing is to share details about the property and display photos that will entice potential tenants. However, social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook were designed to showcase photos, and both provide a variety of ways to optimize the images you share of your properties. Leverage your business’s social media account to take advantage of these built-in features.
Turnover is an ideal time to build an album of attractive photos to advertise your property. Consider using features like pinned posts and albums to keep pictures of current listings at the top of your social media page. Or, update your cover or profile photos to an attractive exterior photo of your current property and link it to the remainder of the album featuring the rest of the home. Don’t forget to include a brief caption with a few pertinent listing details, the address, and your contact information.
Incorporate Live Video
Facebook and Instagram both allow users to shoot live video and broadcast it in real-time to all their followers. Whether you’ve built a loyal group of potential tenants or have used your page to join local, pertinent groups, all the users exposed to your video will receive a notification that you’ve gone live. Chances are, if they like what they see, they’ll share it. After all, social media videos garner 1200% more shares than text and video combined.
Once you have the attention of potential tenants, you can perform a brief walkthrough of a property, announce it’s been listed, showcase neighborhood features, and more – all with the benefit of live interaction. For example, if you use live video to broadcast a virtual showing or walkthrough, those watching the video can ask questions, which you can answer in real-time, or even participate in interactive contests. Don’t forget to announce upcoming live videos and provide brief reminders in the days leading up to a video.
Use Tagging to Your Advantage
Social media tags are designed so users can group posts with similar subjects together. You can use tagging to your advantage so your ideal audience can view content that is optimized for their search. Adding a few brief, pertinent tags at the end of your social media content can expand your reach to a much greater degree. For example, tagging your property’s neighborhood or a few key landmarks can direct outsiders to your listing. Other tag ideas can include your company name or even common rental keywords.
Use a Chatbot for Tenant Questions
When you’re building a social media page for your business, you should try to respond to client questions promptly. However, sometimes, an immediate response isn’t feasible. To make sure potential tenants get an immediate response, consider using a chatbot to answer tenant questions while continuing to convey a personalized experience.
A chatbot can be trained to recognize and provide responses to your most common rental questions. The chatbot simply asks for the user’s input and analyzes their needs based on specific, preset keywords. Potential renters can find answers to your predefined questions or access call-to-action functions to visit external resources you’ve chosen.
Network Your Rental Property Business
After all the work you’ve put into taking beautiful photos and adding engaging content to your page, you must ensure people in your local market will see it. For this reason, it is important to broaden the reach of your content as much as possible. Join local interest groups – many of whom attract potential new renters – and make sure you share your content on your page as well. Or, blend traditional and online networking and join a group for other rental property owners; members often willingly participate in the active sharing of current rental listings for others.
Get Started!
Strategic use of social media can help ensure that word of your properties reaches a broader range of potential tenants in the demographic you’re seeking. However, it’s crucial that your page remains dynamic and engaging. Whether you have yet to begin your social media journey or have an active following, these five tips can help grow your rental property business.