Chances are, in addition to a website, your HOA or Property Management Company uses and/or participates in some form of social networking. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, social media is a great way to share information as well as build an active online community. Social media can be used to remind members about upcoming board meetings and other community events, open discussion forums for planned maintenance projects, or gather feedback from residents regarding community topics. The next three week will dive into Social Media aspects for HOAs and Property Management. What Social Media Platform Should I be Using?
Twitter – Twitter is short and sweet. Tweet off community information in 140 characters or less and you can even share pictures and videos too. Add #hashtags of keywords to get your tweets to trend or use #hashtags that are already trending.
Twitter – Twitter is short and sweet. Tweet off community information in 140 characters or less and you can even share pictures and videos too. Add #hashtags of keywords to get your tweets to trend or use #hashtags that are already trending.
Facebook – Facebook is the largest social networking site with the largest number of users. HOA’s and property management companies should create a Facebook page for community members to ‘like’ where information and photos are shared. For larger property management companies, paid advertising on this platform can help grow revenue and secure new clients.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a network of business professionals. Share blog posts, join a community group or follow other PM companies or vendors for community tips. LinkedIn can also be a good resource for new job recruiting.
YouTube – YouTube allows you to post and record video presentations. Property management companies can use this platform to share video demos of services, or informative seminar presentations for client view. HOA’s can use to post videos of board meetings or community events.
NextDoor – NextDoor is a social media app specifically for homeowners to “monitor” their neighborhoods. The app allows registered users to receive information about criminal activity such as a break-in or vehicle theft, search for a lost pet, put items up for sale and more. Users only see information from other users within a predefined neighborhood, so the content is more localized than other platforms.
Instagram – Pictures! Pictures! And more Pictures! This platform allows for you to share visual stories. Instagram even allows for you to share your pictures on your other social media accounts and use #hashtags.
Google+ – Google+ gives you the ability to link your written content on a domain to your Google+ profile. Earlier this year, the Google Places team announced that Google+ Local is now the new Google Places. This allows Google to direct traffic from Google Maps to the Google+ community.
Pinterest – Pinterest users create "boards" and "pin" content to them. Because Pins last forever, your quality content has a longer shelf life. Pinterest signals into emerging trends and popular products in the industry. Pinterest helps people find creative ideas for their futures and that is why many businesses use it. Now What? Make a Plan
It’s a good idea to make sure you have a plan in place. What are your goals? How much time are you going to spend on social media platforms? Who will have control of posting? Download eUnify's Guide to Social Media for HOA's and Property Management Companies to learn more. Be sure to come back next couple weeks for Part II and III :)
