You know who I’m talking about. Every property has one. It’s the guy who’s at every single event. It’s the woman who everyone knows. They are both very outgoing, basically well-liked and often are renters by choice. They also tend to advocate for your community because they are so embedded into the apartment lifestyle.
You can count on them to give you honest feedback and let you know what the pulse of the community is when it’s important. They also have egos—not necessarily overbearing ones—but egos that like to be stroked. And being the center of attention has never been their weakness. All of these characteristics can work to your advantage.
Are you utilizing the public relations clout of these two people? Probably not. These two individuals can help you to jumpstart your social media program by becoming the community evangelists on Apartment Ratings, Facebook and more. They’ll probably give you a nice rating on Yelp, too, if you just ask them.
These are the people who can help tell your side of the story. Yes, it’s great when you, the community manager, respond to your ratings on review sites. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do that. But the expectation is that YOU will respond. The expectation typically does NOT exist that others will rally to the community’s defense when a negative remark or rating is targeted at your community or staff member.
Next time the Mayor or the First Lady stop by your office to chat (because we all know they do that—a lot) sit down and discuss your social media strategy with them. Let them know how much you value their opinion and support. I’ll bet they would be happy to help. And what do you have to lose by asking?
Source: Lisa Trosien, Feb. 1, 2010, at www.apartmentmarketingblog.com