Where Does Social Media Take Your Condominium?
Social media is an ever-evolving beast. Once you get comfortable with one algorithm, there have since been five updates, and a new sub-app that everyone is telling you to use. It’s understandable that most find themselves wanting to pull their hair out once tasked with social media managing. This can be especially frustrating if you are already overwhelmed should anyone utter “social media” around you.
Where do you start? How do you map out your KPIs? What’s keeping all this from becoming too overwhelming and getting away from you?
It’s clear that social media is key to your continued success, and understanding how to utilize this tool will make marketing much less intimidating.
Understanding the Importance of Marketing Your Condominium or Company
At its core, marketing your condominium, your management company, or your business can be simplified to one word: connection.
Engaging with your audience, whether occupant, potential buyer, or industry network, is crucial to building a strong, positive reputation. People are in constant search of connection, and if you can strategize a way to appeal to your masses in a way that is more personable rather than robotic, you are on the right track.
Given how we are as a society, it’s important to understand one key thing: anyone who has never heard of you will look up your social media.
Anyone. Everyone. Staying relevant, consistent, and approachable online will help when it comes to first and lasting impressions.
The first thing you need to do is choose your preferred social media platform. You do not need to be on every single main platform, but you should be utilizing at least two. Take the time to get to know the platforms, and ensure that those platforms are where your audiences will likely spend their time.
Once you narrow down which social media apps your audience uses, and which ones you feel confident using, the rest will fall into place.
Measuring Your Social Media Success
It’s not always about the number of likes a post gets. Though we all like to see that count rise, and get a little giddy when we see higher double and triple digits, there is more to measuring than meets the eye.
Reach. Engagement. Total follows. Those are three areas where you always want to see in the green. Making sure your content goes out at the right time, on the right day, will ensure you hit those first two targets. The followers, will follow.
Monitoring Your Social Media
Social media is both simple and complicated. It can get away from you easily, and pile up under a mountain of updates and missed insights.
If we circle back to your online reputation, there is one area of social media that you absolutely do not want to ignore.
Reviews.
By a show of hands, how many of us can say we monitor our online reviews, regularly? How many of us can say we know how to handle negative reviews or online disputes?
Monitoring your tone online is a difficult task, and is especially difficult when you’re handling uncomfortable situations. And even more so, if the person handling the situation is already frustrated.
The key to handling negative reviews is to deal with them ASAP. Since we’re now in the habit of checking our reviews regularly, it’ll become much easier to regulate your online presence.
If you come across a negative note or comment, here are some quick steps to handling it:
- Read the comment carefully.
- Ensure you understand exactly what the commenter is talking about, and if not, reach out to your team to see if anyone was involved with the interaction.
- Respond to them promptly.
- Take the time to give them a thoughtful response. Acknowledge their experience, apologize for the circumstances, and invite them to discuss the matter privately whether through direct message or phone call.
- Once resolved, ensure you update the review/comment. You can encourage the original poster to do so, but there is no harm with replying to the public comment with an update (i.e., we have touched base with Ms. Doe about X issue and are happy to announce that we have found a resolution. We thank everyone who has taken the time to share their feedback.).
- There is no harm in asking for support from your condo board or marketing team. Reach out if you feel unsure of how to handle any social media-related situation.
Social media is a great tool. Being able to connect with your audiences regularly will allow you to stay at the top of their list.
Using your platforms wisely, understanding your KPIs, and managing public reviews will have you running like a well-oiled machine.
This is no easy feat. Working with a social media professional, or an online marketing professional can take some of the digital weight off your shoulders.
Luckily, there is a plethora of information and resources out there in regards to social media and your digital presence. Stay tuned for our upcoming pieces as we discuss monitoring Facebook Groups, and understanding how “brand” affects you.
Maggie Matian, Theresa Place Media
www.theresaplace.ca