Five Ways That Social Media Marketing Can Help Grow Your Rental Property Business

In today’s digital age, young prospective tenants spend their downtime on social media. If your property or rental group is on social media, it can give prospective tenants confidence in your brand, so they look to you for their next apartment. You can fill vacancies easier and even reduce the time and effort you spend on advertising apartments to rent. Of course, to reap the benefits of social media marketing, you will need to share the right kind of content. Here are a few key ways social media marketing can boost your rental property brand and what type of content works well to attract potential tenants.

1. Social media presence boosts search results placement

Perhaps the best argument for why your rental property business should be on social media is the simplest: Doing so boosts your search results.

Perhaps you've heard of the phrase “organic search.”It’s what all businesses are after, but like so many good things in life, patience is required. Companies that have won the organic search game are those that turn up at the top of the first page of search results when a particular keyword is entered—to give an example, type in the phrase "best Miami luxury condo."

Organic search is essentially free advertising: Your blog content performs well, automatically bringing qualified leads to your website. From there, leads can browse available rentals or complete an application.

When you share your content links on social media, you increase the number of eyeballs on your new blog post with every single click. If your content is valuable, other users may share it or even link to it from their blogs, further extending your reach.

To get this benefit, all you need to do is share on social media each time you update your website or blog. To have the most extensive reach, share a link on each social channel you use. Then track analytics to see which platforms are driving clicks back to your website.

2. Social photos or videos increase interest in available units

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, and social media channels offer you easy ways to share videos and photos of your rental properties. Sure, the same images may be available on listing websites, but there's something to be said for reaching a user where they like to spend their time. Even someone who knows they need a new apartment might not be browsing apartment rental websites all the time. They might be on Instagram, taking a break at work. When you can be the rental property that reaches them on the site they like—Instagram, for example—you'll increase the likelihood they will apply for an open rental.

When it comes to sharing images or videos online, quality is key. You will get better results if you share high-quality photos or videos, such as those shot by professional photographers and videographers, than if you post images you took yourself on your smartphone. Given that you can reuse the same content each time the property is back on the market, hiring a professional is a worthwhile investment that soon pays for itself.

Social media channels also offer you the chance to broadcast live through Facebook Live or IGTV. Going live, whether it's behind the scenes during a renovation to one of your units or at the apartment block party you're hosting, can bring the community to life in a vibrant new way. Whenever possible, use the live features to connect to your audience directly.

3. Direct messaging lets you reply to inquiries from prospective tenants

Integrated messaging features allow prospective tenants to communicate with you one-on-one. Leveraging direct messages will enable you to maintain attendance enthusiasm and move them through the sales funnel, so they convert by renting one of your units. Chatbots can help here by triaging messages that come in, so you get the benefits of being always available via message without needing to dedicate time 24/7.

4. Social media advertisements drive traffic to open houses

Either by posting content or purchasing adson social media channels, you can advertise for limited-time events such as open houses.
Targeting these advertisements by location means that you can easily target a particular demographic. This ensures that ads go to the right audience, all down to the zip code where your rental properties are located. Honing in on the right audience, whether it's people who already live in that zip code but are looking for another apartment or people from a neighboring town who are moving into the area, allows you to extend your reach with minimal effort.
Social media advertising pays off when users take the desired action, such as attending an open house where they'll learn about new rental units and completing an application on the spot. For property owners, the benefit is enormous: You could potentially rent all available units from a single event when you leverage the power of social media.

5. Regular posting keeps you top of mind

Now that you understand a few of the ways social media marketing can benefit you and your rental properties, you may be inspired to get started. One key takeaway to leave you with is the power of regular presence.

It's far better to post daily than it is to turn to these channels only when you have a vacant unit to advertise. Posting regularly keeps you top of mind, so members of your target audience develop a positive feeling about your brand (or in this case, daydream about moving into a particular building the next time their lease is up). Since social media channels use algorithms to control whose content is displayed, posting regularly increases the odds that your content will be seen organically.

There are all sorts of ways that you can get on a track with a full social media calendar. You can even outsource social media marketing if you're not sure what to post or if you need help from a professional to get started. If you want to take advantage of these benefits, you must understand that regular posting is essential to a successful social media marketing campaign.

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