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Join the conversation: Social media more than just a passing fad
June 2011
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Trish MacPherson, Vice-President,
Marketing and Sales, CAPREIT |
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By Clare Tattersall
Initially viewed as a tool used by the young to socialize, businesses are increasingly coming to appreciate social media and for good reason. Be it Facebook or MySpace, Blogger or Twitter, social networking sites can help a company elevate its ranking in Internet search results, improve its exposure and build its brand at little cost (other than time). Social media also offers a unique opportunity for apartment landlords to connect with existing residents on a more personal level and share information with prospective tenants to attract them to their properties.
“It used to be that we worked a lot on referrals in the buildings but now it’s referrals through electronic media – and that’s all that social media really is,” says Trish MacPherson, Vice-President of Marketing and Sales at CAPREIT (Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust), one of Canada’s largest landlords of multi-family rental communities.
While there are many benefits of using social media for business, a company won’t realize them unless it utilizes the marketing tool properly. As a rule of thumb, the quality of content posted online is more important than the quantity. MacPherson says to avoid posting self-serving content, which can damage the brand reputation the apartment landlord is trying to build; rather, publish information that provides value to tenants.
“You could talk about events (or) address concerns that tenants may have (about) their building,” she says. “As a landlord, it’s up to you to insert yourself into those conversations (because) whether you think they are or not, people are talking about you online.”
CAPREIT is not just talking the talk but walking the walk when it comes to social media. It has established Facebook and Twitter accounts and it recently launched a YouTube channel.
“We’ve seen a lot of success come from our Facebook campaigns and pages,” notes MacPherson. “And we have had some rentals come through our Twitter channels.”
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