Facebook is used as a resident recruiting and retention tool to accomplish the following: ⢠Attract and retain renters
Social Media Policy For the Administrator: Facebook is used as a resident recruiting and retention tool to accomplish the following:
• Attract and retain renters by creating meaningful relationships • Share and send messages to residents • Request recommendations to generate referrals • Disseminate real-time news/information • Interact/engage residents in onsite activities
Using Facebook as an administrator is a privilege. It’s always important to speak in the voice of the apartment community since it’s so easy to transition from a personal profile to a business page. Give credit when embedding links and names. Use good judgment and take accountability for what you put out there. Know the people. Consider and relate to your target audience, yet do so in compliance with fair housing. Use content that will engage and spark conversation. It could potentially turn an interested passerby into an invested renter. Be human. An audience can see through marketing messages. Be real, genuine and passionate about what you do and let that show through your personality. Let people see you as a person, not as a corporate representative. Social media users do not like the over-use of automation (such as generating content solely from an RSS feed) and the reuse of press release headlines. Some RSS will be acceptable and encouraged from an SEO perspective. Listen to your consumers. Vocalize your appreciation of suggestions and feedback and use negative feedback as constructive criticism. Protect the community brand. You are administering the page as a gatekeeper. There will be times when an uninformed or disgruntled individual will post a grievance on a Facebook wall. Instead of deleting a comment from an already charged individual, respond and use the opportunity to bring clarity and resolution to the situation in hopes of a positive outcome. Why not delete the comment? Everybody’s input matters. Deleting a comment would only worsen the situation and discount the person’s opinion. While protecting the community brand, be polite. If an online situation becomes antagonistic, don’t get defensive, and don’t disengage from the conversation abruptly. Take the conversation offline by sending the person an email or Facebook message that reflects well on the company.
© UAP, Inc. • 04/16/14
Make your community and the information that needs to be shared a priority. New news can become old news in a matter of hours, even minutes, in the social media arena. Push newsworthy material out on Facebook in concise, bite-sized pieces. Pace the flow of content throughout the day and post at times of moderate to high traffic, which will maximize views on the Facebook wall. Keep it timely. In keeping with the real-time feel of Twitter, Facebook and other sites, content should be about issues of relevance today or events/opportunities coming soon. Create a potential for new ideas. Creative and out-of-the box thinking is the contributing factor to maintaining a fresh, upbeat and relevant Facebook page. Add value. People will want to know about your product and service but information overload never works. Give back to the conversation and share tips, tricks, recommendations and apartment lifestyle info. Content doesn’t always have to be about your company or apartment community. It should be more focused toward the lifestyle relevant to the reader.
For the Employee: Be educated on what you are talking about. If you are going to use Facebook, being an active user is ideal. Maintain your own Twitter account and Facebook page. Read blogs and be engaged. The best way to understand the shift in media is to join the conversation. Always be transparent. When you are communicating on social networking sites and mentioning your company or community, say who you are and indicate that you work for that company or community. In online forums, the lines between public and private and personal and professional become blurred very quickly. Be sure that all content associated with you is consistent with your work and with your company’s values and professional standards. Set your personal Facebook security settings high. Respond. Respond to people’s tweets, blog comments and Facebook status updates. Thank people for commenting even if it’s just a few words or even a ‘like’ on a comment. Encourage a two-way conversation. Also thank people for feedback, even if it’s negative. It shows that you are listening and have taken their comment into consideration. Learn from past mistakes. Don’t be afraid to say you were wrong and be quick to make changes when you are. Admit your shortcomings. Be courteous and professional. When it comes to your resident contacts, be respectful of the rights and interests of others. When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep your comments appropriate, polite and diplomatic.
© UAP, Inc. • 04/16/14
Policies and procedures. Develop and follow social media policies and procedures related to confidential/proprietary information, copyrighted material, best practices, etc. Privacy. Respect the privacy rights of others, and do not post information about them or any images (still photos or video clips) that depict them without permission (written permission is the best practice). And even with permission, be sure to use images in a way that does not harm the reputation of any person being depicted. Client transparency. If you have permission to share what a resident is doing publicly (e.g., launching a website, supporting a charity, running a race, or running a contest), you must be transparent and disclose your relationship. For personal blogs, this may include a few sentences fully explaining your relationship. Be compliant. Abide by laws and regulations that apply to the company’s business, as well as all laws that apply to online behavior in general. Comply with all regulations and rules from any regulatory body or organizational standards. Your company should prohibit the display or transmission of any electronic communications that may be construed as harassment of any legally protected status or be construed as an attempt to discourage legally protected groups from being a part of your community. No content should interfere with your commitments to customers and business partners. Protect yourself and your company and be guarded regarding the type of content being transferred.
Note: While this Social Media Policy Tool is absolutely NOT LEGAL ADVICE from For Rent Media Solutions™, we hope you find this useful!
© UAP, Inc. • 04/16/14
